Pontiac Trubute Day brought pretty Ponchos and GMCs to Westfall

It couldn’t have been a more perfect day for the Fourth-Annual Pontiac Tribute Day at the Westfall GMC Truck Center on Saturday afternoon.  There was plenty of sunshine, it wasn’t too hot, and the parking lot was full of fine Pontiacs and GMC trucks.  In all, I’d say it was a pretty successful event for the KC Arrowheads Pontiac Club.

I’ve always been a fan of these old Trans Ams, and this particular example from 1979 was especially sweet.  The owner claims that it only has 16,000 original miles, and that less than 100 of them were painted dark blue.  Now, I love the black ones, don’t get me wrong.  But this was so different, I may actually like it better.  Steve and Becky Schappaugh brought it down from Lincoln, Neb., and I’m definitely glad they did.

And speaking of black Trans Ams, Smokey and the Bandit, the greatest movie ever made, was well-represented at this show.  This is obviously a ’77 that looks just like the one Bo Darville raced across the south.  It was also accompanied by Snow Man’s Kenworth, and Buford T. Justice’s Grand LeMans.  Buford was even there posing for pictures.  I noticed that he wasn’t nearly as salty as he appeared in the movie.

This ’67 GTO was another one that I really thought stood out.  It just had everything going for it—the 400 under the hood, a four-on-the-floor, and red line tires that perfectly complimented the Coronado Gold paint job.  This is probably my favorite year for the GTO anyway, and when you see one this nice, it’s easy to see why.  I mean, how could it get any better?

This show was also open to GMCs, and although there weren’t very many of them, every one that was there was a good one.  Take Bill Alderson’s 1981 GMC General.  Not everyone recalls that Chevy and GMC used to have a full-line of heavy-duty, over-the-road trucks, so here’s a reminder.  The only thing nicer than this one was the ’51 GMC 640 that the ’81 was pulling.  These trucks were really beautiful, especially when you consider that they were designed for work.

This also has the distinction of being the only non-new car show that I’ve ever been to that had an Aztek in the lineup.  Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures, and you can see them in the slideshow below.  Or click this link for a better version.  You’ll see some great Pontiacs and GMCs (even the Aztek is someone’s baby), and they have the rollercoasters of World’s of Fun as a cool backdrop.