I was there...

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My memory tells me this was 1977 or 1978. Mrs. Cole had been recently widowed and donated their Pontiac Monte Carlo to the Pate Museum of Transportation in Fort Worth, Texas. They headed out of “Motor Town” and were going south on I-75 near Lima, Ohio when the differential bearings/ring & pinion decided to give up the ghost. It was towed to the dealership where I was working at the time, Komminsk Pontiac.

It was on a Saturday afternoon. Monday morning all of us mechanics had this gaze in our eyes. “What the hell is that?" No, you are not drunk; it's a Pontiac Monte Carlo prototype. Cool! Myself and another mechanic, Gary Buechner had the "privilege" of repairing it. We had to call engineering by way of Dot Cole to get the parts. She was a very charming lady to talk to. It took about 6 months, as there were no parts on the shelf at the time. She said Ed had built most of it in his garage at home. I think it was a daughter (not positive) that was using it for college transportation and I guess decided to drive it through the local mako shop for $29.95 and had a fresh coat of competition orange painted over the original pearl white. The elements of Detroit winters did not make repairs an easy task.

I cannot count the number of times I was called a liar when I mentioned I had once worked on a Pontiac Monte Carlo. These were good times. Amen.

Sincerely,

James E. Dickman
Ft. Jennings, Ohio

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