November 2010 Hometown Hot Rodding

1965 Pontiac GTO
Pitcher's Dream Car
Baseball fans may recognize the name BJ Ryan, who made a career in MLB as a pitcher. Sometimes we forget that professional athletes have the automotive cravings we have too, and that they are just regular guys who may have dreams of cruising and corner carving. Growing up, BJ didn't have much exposure to cars up close and personal, but learned to admire them from afar. When he was older and could experience the cars firsthand, he was much more impressed and awaited the day he could have his dream car. His first ride wasn't a Nova or a Mustang, but a utilitarian Toyota pickup that served him well, but didn't fulfill what need he saved for later in life.

Buddy Brian Wolf, who was big into muscle cars, told BJ if he wanted a car, he wouldn't rest until he found one for him. He clicked through the pages of eBay and spotted this super-clean '65 GTO, and sent BJ the link. A California born and raised car, it had very little rust and almost no damage all together. Wolf's dad drove out to check the car out firsthand, and gave it the thumbs up.

Browsing the Palm Harbor, Florida, shop Chimera Customs, BJ met PJ Davis, the head of design. Davis was showing him a complete car BJ was shopping around for, when the topic of the GTO came up. Rather than buying a finished car, BJ employed Davis and Chimera Customs to build his GTO. Previously unfamiliar with the whole build processes, BJ just told them what he liked and what his driving goals were, and they filled in the missing pieces. It turned out better than BJ could have hoped.