In high school I had a couple of friends who were interested in cars so I slowly became interested in what they were doing. I purchased a 69 Camaro because I liked its sporty look. I had that Camaro for fifteen years. It holds a lot of memories for both me and my family. As with many young families I had to part with the Camaro due to a hardship in 1981. I sold it to a friend with the understanding that I had first refusal if he ever decided to part with it. To make a long story short, I never saw the car again. Years later I inquired about my car only to be told that it went to the bone yard. I was miserable about it for years.
In the early 90’s my wife, Mo suggested we get a car. I knew it had to be a Camaro. Mo searched for one, set up the deal and in 1998 we bought one for $2,600. It was a two year project.
I heard about CSRA from my neighbor Steve Van Blarcom and thought I would enjoy being part of the club. What I didn’t know was that I had to have a running pre 49 car that was NSRA inspected.
On vacation to Lake George we found Hemmings News. I like the look of the 28 – 31 cars and Moe found a 31 for sale-Body, chassis, with no motor and nothing else. We made the deal and we picked up a 1931 Chevy Coupe. I figured I could have it together in 2-3 years.
Now I have learned how to estimate the window of time it will take you to build a Street Rod. You think maybe it will take about two to three years. Well, take the higher number and double it and add the difference. A two to three year project ends up being seven. We are on year number six and all we have left to complete is the interior and paint. We are right on schedule for our seven year project.
I am not willing to sacrifice any of the quality just to make it a quicker job. My Dad gave me some advice along the way. “Nobody will ever compliment you on how much time you saved.” So I just try to do the highest level I can. If it takes two, three or four iterations to get it, that’s what it takes, and I got what I want.
We can’t wait for the roads to clear in the spring. To cruise anywhere and everywhere. It pains us to have to put the street rod away in the winter. Such is the circle of street rodding.
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