Tag Archives: eBay

Mustang II Daries 4

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Now for Some Tunes

My car came with the standard AM radio, but around here, there aren’t any music stations on AM, just talk shows, so I needed to upgrade.
I wanted a 70s look and feel, so I bought a working 8-track AM/FM from another Mustang II owner. I also bought a new antenna off eBay because the one I had was all rusty.
My dad and brother weren’t available to help on this project and back then I wasn’t confident enough to attempt it myself, so I took everything to Best Buy and asked if they could do it. You can imagine their reaction when I showed up with a 77 Mustang and an 8-track player and one in-dash speaker! But they were up to the challenge (and promised to be careful) and they did an awesome job. Looking back, I can’t believe I want to BEST BUY, but it all turned out OK. Whew!
Eventually I was able to track down on eBay a sealed Ford demo 8-track from 1977 that came with the new models for that year that showed people how 8-tracks worked. It’s a neat piece to have with the radio.
Update: The one speaker in the dash has started to go out on me, so I’m hoping to replace it this summer (2010). I’ll try this project myself, so if you have any tips for me, let me know!

Rockford Files: James Garner’s Grabber ’70 Olds 4-4-2

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You loved the Camaro  Firebird he drove on the show, but in real life James Garner was a car guy!!!  (Corrected – As Bill points out in the comments – the car in The Rock Files was actually a Firebird!  — Thanks Bill.)
by on March 7, 20

American muscle cars and Hollywood royalty have long had a close relationship. While just about every star from A-to-D list celebrities has some sort of muscle car in their garage, back in the day actors like Steve McQueen and Paul Newman did more than collect these cars; they raced them in serious races, from Trans Am to the Baja 1000.

Having film and television star James Garner piloting his Goodyear Grabber 4-4-2 was publicity boon for the tire maker.

Yes, it might be strange to think of American muscle cars racing across the desert of the Baja peninsula, but back in the 60’s what else would you have raced? There were all sorts of shops that specialized in converting American muscle into crazy off-road competitors.

Among the many Hollywood stars who would drive in these off-road desert races was one James Garner, a television actor who became so enamored with car racing that he raced an Oldsmobile 4-4-2 in the 1969 Mexican 1000 (a pre-cursor to the Baja 1000).

The star of the Western-comedy show Maverick, detective show The Rockford Files, and racing-packed Grand Prix, Garner rose to fame as an actor. But he was a more than competent racer as well, and among his many rides was a rather unique 1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 modified for the NORRA Meixcan 1000 off-road race.

This car was lost for decades before being found, restored, and brought back to racing condition for the 21st century. Now this unique, star-touched car is up for auction on eBay, of all places.

Getting The Grabber To Go

Garner first got involved with the world of motorsports during filming of the 1966 flick Grand Prix, in which he plays a race car driver who falls for his teammate’s estranged wife. In 1969, Garner grabbed a sponsorship from Goodyear tires.

Garner suffered a virtual Rube Goldberg-level breakdown that robbed him and the Goodyear Grabber 4-4-2 of their 45-minute lead, landing them a 2nd Place win during the 1969 Baja 1000.

Thanks for reading

Tim