My garage grew from an out of sequence trip of restoring my car. I had looked into ways of trying to stop spending money on my truck and start enjoying my car. Simple enough to say. My bright idea was to rebuild an engine for my car and then sell off the truck to cover the expenses. I had rebuild a Ford 302 for the '77 Maverick I had in high school, so how hard can it be to put together one I had never seen. Little did I know that thought would span two and a half years, with neither the car running or the truck sold.
I have made some progress, mind you, and the efforts have not been a total waste. The journey began way back in the spring of 1997. I was in upstate New York attending classes and was in need of transportation. It was too much to go retrieve that Maverick of mine from Washington state, and I had grown tired of that car anyway. I scanned the classifieds and settled on a nice little car that wouldn't break the bank now or in the future, a white Honda CRX.
As fate would have it, that car was sold before I got there and I had to find something else. Everything I could find needed work and I was too busy for that even if I had the money. I was getting desparate when suddenly, I ran across an ad about a metallic blue, 1968 Pontaic Firebird with a shiny new motor. Could I afford it? What kind of question is that! That portion of my brain was tied up, beaten, gagged and hasn't been seen since. Good riddance!
I had a friend drive me out to meet the keeper of my future obsession, and I remember it clearly to this day. It was mid-morning in May, on the weekend. The fog was burning off, but not gone and neither was the chill. The car had been pulled out of the garage and wiped down and was dressed for the show. We rounded the curve and I had my first glimpse. Sold! Wait, maybe I should get a closer look. We parked next to it and I leaped out of the car. I was washed, waxed and ready to go. Sold! Stop doing that I say to myself. You haven't even heard it run.
This guy asks me if I was interested in hearing it run. Duh! I was barely able to stammer an affirmative through the shock of the moment and the saliva I had somehow forgotten to swallow. It was like a supermodel had asked me out to dinner! Was this really happening to me? I wasn't paying attention to anything else but the lines of the car until the engine cranked over. A well built 427 Chevy motor, and a properly tuned exhaust broke the lazy morning silence and sent shivers through me. It was electrifying and hypnotising at the same time. And at long last, I finally said what I had been trying to stiffle all morning. Sold!!!! 
I couldn't believe my fortune. I was the proud owner of a rumbling, shiny, go fast with add ons I couldn't have dreamed of owning at 20 years old. 10 inch wide tires in the front, 12 inch in the rear. Nose down like a sprinter in the starting blocks and believe me it wasn't just for show. One tap on the gas pedal and I was brought a sudden respect for the power of this car. What I came to learn later is why it was being sold. A car like this isn't for the timid. It still had its original suspension for a manual transmission which was far lighter than the current TH-400 holding the gears. The brakes were still the original 4 wheel manual drums that required a strong leg to get stopped in less distance than a fully loaded semi. To compound both of these wonderful character traits, the car had an undersized steering wheel and manual steering. Who needs a gym membership when you can get your exercise on the road!
I have made some progress, mind you, and the efforts have not been a total waste. The journey began way back in the spring of 1997. I was in upstate New York attending classes and was in need of transportation. It was too much to go retrieve that Maverick of mine from Washington state, and I had grown tired of that car anyway. I scanned the classifieds and settled on a nice little car that wouldn't break the bank now or in the future, a white Honda CRX.
As fate would have it, that car was sold before I got there and I had to find something else. Everything I could find needed work and I was too busy for that even if I had the money. I was getting desparate when suddenly, I ran across an ad about a metallic blue, 1968 Pontaic Firebird with a shiny new motor. Could I afford it? What kind of question is that! That portion of my brain was tied up, beaten, gagged and hasn't been seen since. Good riddance!
I had a friend drive me out to meet the keeper of my future obsession, and I remember it clearly to this day. It was mid-morning in May, on the weekend. The fog was burning off, but not gone and neither was the chill. The car had been pulled out of the garage and wiped down and was dressed for the show. We rounded the curve and I had my first glimpse. Sold! Wait, maybe I should get a closer look. We parked next to it and I leaped out of the car. I was washed, waxed and ready to go. Sold! Stop doing that I say to myself. You haven't even heard it run.
This guy asks me if I was interested in hearing it run. Duh! I was barely able to stammer an affirmative through the shock of the moment and the saliva I had somehow forgotten to swallow. It was like a supermodel had asked me out to dinner! Was this really happening to me? I wasn't paying attention to anything else but the lines of the car until the engine cranked over. A well built 427 Chevy motor, and a properly tuned exhaust broke the lazy morning silence and sent shivers through me. It was electrifying and hypnotising at the same time. And at long last, I finally said what I had been trying to stiffle all morning. Sold!!!! 
I couldn't believe my fortune. I was the proud owner of a rumbling, shiny, go fast with add ons I couldn't have dreamed of owning at 20 years old. 10 inch wide tires in the front, 12 inch in the rear. Nose down like a sprinter in the starting blocks and believe me it wasn't just for show. One tap on the gas pedal and I was brought a sudden respect for the power of this car. What I came to learn later is why it was being sold. A car like this isn't for the timid. It still had its original suspension for a manual transmission which was far lighter than the current TH-400 holding the gears. The brakes were still the original 4 wheel manual drums that required a strong leg to get stopped in less distance than a fully loaded semi. To compound both of these wonderful character traits, the car had an undersized steering wheel and manual steering. Who needs a gym membership when you can get your exercise on the road!
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