ClassicRecreations
Member
Recently I spoke to another blog about my story in the car business. I wanted to share the ins and outs of what I have experienced int he last few years (4 years). I will start posting today and add a little each week. I'm not telling this story to gain anything I just wanted all Mustang enthusiasts to hear what its like in todays industry.
Ill start today....
As a youth I always liked cars. My Father was in the used car business and always had a cool car sitting around. When i was 8 years of age he had a 1966 Chevelle that was candy red on the showroom floor. I would sit in this car and act like I was speeding around a track. I did this for hours. I would yell "Dad look out for car number 5 its coming up on us" he always laughed and let me dream. I helped the mechanics in the back change oil, replace valave cover gaskets etc.. I know I was in the way but the guys always showed me how things work.
When I was 14 my father bought me a 1978 Camaro at a local auction for $400. I was yellow and very ugly. It didn't run as the balancer and pulleys were all screwed up. It had an earlier model 283 form salvage in it. I went with my father to a local salvage and found the right stuff to make it run. I helped him put it all together. And for the first time in my life I watched a car start that I worked on. I then took it to my barn behind the house and painted black stripes on it with Krylon. At the time I thought it looked like a show car but I'm sure it wasn't much to talk about. I drove that car all over our 5 acres. I tuned on it, powerslid in it, played the radio and thought I had a real race car.
At the age of 16 we sold that car for $1500. I was so happy to make a profit. I looked everywhere for a cool car that would replace my 78 Camaro. I was driving by a Ford dealership and saw a Mustang GT. Wow it was killer! I dreamed of owning one of those and what i could do to it. So I begged my father and worked extra hours everyday at the detail shop. Then one day here comes a new Blue and silver GT. It was so exciting I thought it was a real dream. I had tears in my eyes and my dad said " You earned it"
I immediately took it to the detail shop and waxed it, vacuumed it and had it ready for Friday night. I drove that car for two years. And learned alot from tuning to exhaust, suspension and hard work.
I sold it when i was 18. At age 18 I moved to Las Vegas to experience life away from Oklahoma and that's where all the custom ideas hit me like a train. I saw fox mustangs slammed with 18 inch wheels, minitrucks with flame jobs, etc...
I joined a local car club called trendsetters and bought a 1991 Nissan truck. In my dads garage I cut out the cab for a speaker box in the bed, made a custom bed cover, lowered it with autozone blocks and a wrench for the torsion bars, and painted my interior pieces. I learned alot about custom cars in the minitruck era.
At age 20 i sold all of the minitruck stuff and went on a search for a muscle car. I purchased a 1968 Mustang coupe. I completely tore it down to the body in my detached garage and started all over. I built the engine myself (with the help of a local speedshop names Super Shops) and learned what it took to build an old car. It was killer when it was complete and I did it all by myself.
Several muscle cars later (like 12 and all Mustangs) I watched the Movie Gone in 60 Seconds in a local theater. I couldn't believe my eyes that you could take an old car and add todays looks to it.
Monday the story continues. Sorry for the long post
Ill start today....
As a youth I always liked cars. My Father was in the used car business and always had a cool car sitting around. When i was 8 years of age he had a 1966 Chevelle that was candy red on the showroom floor. I would sit in this car and act like I was speeding around a track. I did this for hours. I would yell "Dad look out for car number 5 its coming up on us" he always laughed and let me dream. I helped the mechanics in the back change oil, replace valave cover gaskets etc.. I know I was in the way but the guys always showed me how things work.
When I was 14 my father bought me a 1978 Camaro at a local auction for $400. I was yellow and very ugly. It didn't run as the balancer and pulleys were all screwed up. It had an earlier model 283 form salvage in it. I went with my father to a local salvage and found the right stuff to make it run. I helped him put it all together. And for the first time in my life I watched a car start that I worked on. I then took it to my barn behind the house and painted black stripes on it with Krylon. At the time I thought it looked like a show car but I'm sure it wasn't much to talk about. I drove that car all over our 5 acres. I tuned on it, powerslid in it, played the radio and thought I had a real race car.
At the age of 16 we sold that car for $1500. I was so happy to make a profit. I looked everywhere for a cool car that would replace my 78 Camaro. I was driving by a Ford dealership and saw a Mustang GT. Wow it was killer! I dreamed of owning one of those and what i could do to it. So I begged my father and worked extra hours everyday at the detail shop. Then one day here comes a new Blue and silver GT. It was so exciting I thought it was a real dream. I had tears in my eyes and my dad said " You earned it"
I immediately took it to the detail shop and waxed it, vacuumed it and had it ready for Friday night. I drove that car for two years. And learned alot from tuning to exhaust, suspension and hard work.
I sold it when i was 18. At age 18 I moved to Las Vegas to experience life away from Oklahoma and that's where all the custom ideas hit me like a train. I saw fox mustangs slammed with 18 inch wheels, minitrucks with flame jobs, etc...
I joined a local car club called trendsetters and bought a 1991 Nissan truck. In my dads garage I cut out the cab for a speaker box in the bed, made a custom bed cover, lowered it with autozone blocks and a wrench for the torsion bars, and painted my interior pieces. I learned alot about custom cars in the minitruck era.
At age 20 i sold all of the minitruck stuff and went on a search for a muscle car. I purchased a 1968 Mustang coupe. I completely tore it down to the body in my detached garage and started all over. I built the engine myself (with the help of a local speedshop names Super Shops) and learned what it took to build an old car. It was killer when it was complete and I did it all by myself.
Several muscle cars later (like 12 and all Mustangs) I watched the Movie Gone in 60 Seconds in a local theater. I couldn't believe my eyes that you could take an old car and add todays looks to it.
Monday the story continues. Sorry for the long post
