Air Grabber mesh open grille inserts on a car without the under hood Air Grabber ne1

[A12]

I've been reading resq302's '69 GTX vert restoration (GREAT JOB btw!!! ) and know of a B5 '69 GTX vert that showed up at a local DQ cruise night that the owner ordered in 1969. Long cool story that I'll tell (if anyone wants to hear it of course) sometime but as I'm looking at the car I notice that the GTX has the red Air Grabber (AG) mesh grills but no AG and on top of that it's an Air Condition car so there is no way it could even have the Air Grabber system. I asked the owner if someone put the AG mesh grilles in and he said no, they were there when he got the car.

He ordered the car in '69 when he was going to college in Florida and said he ordered the Air Grabber system and also ordered the A/C at the same time. When the car arrived at the dealership he looked under the hood and no Air Grabber :disillusionment: Then they told him that the AG couldn't be ordered with A/C and he just never thought about the red open grilles. I believe his story that they were on there when he went to the dealer to get the car, as he was a commercial airline pilot until he retired and still flies vintage planes for the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, not someone that would BS IMO. My wife can read people like a book and we met months later with him for some food at that same DQ and she really likes the gentleman and the story about the recovery of the P61 Black Widow, (check it out here http://www.maam.org/p61.html )

Has anyone ever heard of someone having Air Grabber mesh grilles and no AG????

Here's his un-restored '69 LOADED GTX convertible all original/numbers matching next to my '69 GTX 4-speed all numbers matching car at the DQ. We were the only two cars out that Saturday, two low build numbers Gixers. (sorry for the poor quality image, never thought that anyone would be out cruising that day so I didn't bring the camera and only had a cheap flip phone during that time)

 

[69hemibeep]

Its possible, I would bet the broadcast sheet had a crayon correction to leave the airgrabber off, or they ran out of blanks and tossed screens on the hood.

 

[Basketcase]

I've been following the restoration of the MAAM's Black Widow. Hope to see it fly.

 

[A12]

I've been following the restoration of the MAAM's Black Widow. Hope to see it fly.

Really interesting story and awesome restoration. He told us the entire story and how he was involved with the recovery effort in Hollandia, New Guinea. Don't know if he will be the pilot to fly it first but he's been constantly training to fly it someday. He's from Northeast Ohio and just happened to have a small summer house right on Lake Erie. He was at the DQ within walking distance just a little ways from his summer house and never brought his GTX up there. I didn't know it as I was away from my GTX with my wife and son but he was checking it out. When I went back to my car his wife walked over and asked if my 8-track played in the GTX worked and I said no but there are a few places that repair and restore them in the US. She then tells me that her husband who was walking around has a GTX with an 8-track player that needs looked at and asked if I had any contact info for these places. I said not with me and just then her husband comes over. He tells me the story of how he ordered it and we talk and talk and talk. We exchange contact info and he tells me that he wants to bring the car up sometime but first he needs to find someone that can straighten out the carburetor issues and explains the symptoms. I show him that I pulled the original Carter off of my GTX and that I have a Holley 770 Street Avenger hidden under the air cleaner that was a plug and play and no more drivability problems. I did the same carb swap on my '68 383 road runner and pretty happy with it..............this was all a couple of years ago in mid-Spring......fast forward to later that Fall and my son wants to get a burger at the DQ on Saturday evening and it's overcast and but nice and when we get there there's no one there...(bunch of lightweight locals lol). We're inside eating and I look out and there he is with his wife backing their GTX vert in next to my car. I run out and we're car guys so you know how long we hung out talking cars and comparing things and on and on and on...........my burger and fries were doggie bagged by my son...lol

 

[A12]

Forgot to add that he got the Holley and that's why he brought it and had been driving it a lot more since. The next year I'm at the same DQ, just my wife and I and I see him heading over to my car as we were in the DQ. Invite him in and we talked for about two hours mostly about MAAM and planes he's been flying for them to different places and the entire story of the P61 Black Widow and the other two P61's at the Smithsonian and Air Force Museum in Dayton. The MAAM will be the only one to fly again

 

[Basketcase]

I've been to The Air Force Museum many times. Be sweet to see the Window flying. China has one too.

 

[A12]

Shoot I just realized I hi-jacked my own thread :stupid::biggrin:

So: Air Grabber mesh open grille inserts on a car without the under hood Air Grabber anyone ever heard a claim of this...........or know anything on the P-61..doh :jester:

 

[RoadRunnerJD]

Great story and nice to find a new GTX buddy so close to home! I would believe him since he's the original owner. I wonder if the hood came like that from the factory or were dealer installed to make it look like an AG hood? I had red screens on my 69 RR with no AG but I bought them over the counter the first few months I owned the car. The guy I sold the car to in 1972 probably thought they were original.