Miss Maylene

So this morning I went out and messed around with the car. I started it and when she gets warm she runs pretty good.

Soo went for a cruise. I figured what the heck it can't hurt.

She ran pretty good surprisingly.

After a little bit into my cruise I just pulled off the road and stopped. (Out in the country) I left the car running and just sat there thinking. What am I doing? I asked myself. I'm not a real gear head. Honestly the most work I have done to a vehicle, till getting the dart, was changing a water pump. I didn't have a cool car in highschool I drove a hand man down truck that was a beater. I never took auto classes or anything to learn about cars sides reading some magazines. But for some reason I have this passion burning for automobiles. I love the smell of unburnt high octane fuel. I love that blood pumping rush when your speed is climbing. The feel of getting shoved into your seat. Maybe it's just Midwest Hell raiser kind of situation I'm not sure.

It all started I know when I played soccer as a kid there was this guy that had a 72 Demon I'm primer grey, jack up rear end and loud *** exhaust. That guy used to rip up our little town, and I love that car. I guess not to long after that he killed himself. Supposly that car is locked away in some barn around here still.

After that my grandpa would tell me stories about his buddies and him building there first cars. Basically the purest form of hot rodding I know. Engine from an olds, merc rearend, frame from a model a. I've always wanted to do that. Just find peices and build something. That's just awesome in my mind. So I was destined to end up getting some old car eventually.

So fast forward to freshman year, I was looking for a first car but I didn't really make money, I was to busy trying to chase girls and playing sports. So I tried my parents, well they didn't make enough to buy something for me or let alone want me driving a hopped up old car. So all through high school I just dreamed about having something. I ended up graduating high school and going to college to chase another dream. I went off to school be this hot rod dream never really faded. I looked on local forums all day and night, studied all kind of things. But again it was just a dream.

At the beginning of my second year of college my grandfather passed away. In that same spring my grandma, his wife of 54 years, had passed as well. That last summer with him was some of the best of my life. In fact we got to go to a car show and I impressed him with my knowledge. Christmas of that year my parents gave me an envelope with money. My grandpa left me some money so I could follow my dream. Which lead me to buy the dart and go down this pass.

Now you ask, why Tony are you telling all of us this? Well it's the back story to this build and insight on what's going on.

The past year I learned a lot and seen a lot. I've lost the love of my life and best friends. Ive been on rock bottom and tried to climb out. I lost interest in a lot of my favorite things, including the dart. So this past week I had decided to sell the dart and move on with my life. So that bring us to the present, sitting on this abandon road in the middle of BFE. I had a fire relight. I have a burning passion for an old peice of metal and gas sucking v8. I had thought that this build was going to be easy but I was far from wrong. I was thinking of some show car or what not but that was the problem. I just thought all wrong. I want this car to drive, not only that but to drive anywhere I point it. So this is a goal, I will find some show or something at the end of the month, I will have it running and driving right by then.

List of things to do:
Replace gas tank
Replace sending unit
Get gas gauge working
Get brake lights working (reverse lights are on all the time)


Things I want to do by end of summer:
Strip paint
Get car in primer
Hopefully spray some paint on it
Put dual scoops on
Fix speedometer (needs new cable)
Find and install rearend
New tires and maybe wheels
Find block to start building. I'm thinking 360 right now.
Get trans checked out

It is a large list but I think it's all doable.
I'm planning on selling a few guns that I don't shoot anymore to fund the project.


Hopefully next update you will see some progress.

Night and happy Father's Day
Tony