January 2011 Under Construction

'79 Fairmont Monstang
The term hot rod invokes a different vision to different people. It's influenced by the cars you were raised with, what you see on the streets and on TV. As older models are gobbled up by automotive hoarders and customizers, sometimes we must dip into the later-model varieties to fulfill our hot rod needs. This '79 Ford Fairmont wagon in its factory skin doesn't move the soul the way a hot rod should, but Ryan Mullins had a vision to change all that. With a family of four and a love for Ford cars, Ryan knew this wagon would be something great. As a certified bodyman and a more-than-decent mechanic, he was confident this build would go smoothly; getting the car however, was quite a challenge. Discovered on eBay for a buy-it-now price of $400, Ryan committed to buy it. What he didn't account for was that the car was located out off an unpaved mountain road in the Sierras. The auto transport companies wouldn't travel the road to the car, but after a couple hundred dollars of tow truck fees, the car landed in a spot the transport would pick it up.

Sister car to the popular Fox-body Mustang, the Fairmont has a lot of choices when it comes to performance and styling. The donor Mustang already has been treated to a long list of performance parts that will all be transferred into the Fairmont wagon. One of the biggest visual changes Ryan has made so far is swapping the front clip from the Mustang to the Fairmont, giving it the look of a Mustang wagon.

Ryan has vast plans for the car, including upgrading the motor with aluminum heads, and the '95 Mustang suspension with RideTech goodies. Living in west Michigan, Ryan has felt the brunt of economic hardships, and this will influence the way he builds his car, using resources like Craigslist, eBay, and friends to make the build happen.

'65 Corvette Dedication
In 1987, second-generation Corvettes were popular, but not nearly as prized as they are today. That's when 15-year-old Bryan Albertson bought this '65 Corvette as his first car. He and his friends tinkered with it, driving it long distances to hang out with other enthusiasts using their newfound freedom granted to them in the form of a driver's license. The car was left close to how he bought it: rough. And no huge changes were made until Bryan got into college, when he completely disassembled it. He realized this was a bad time to make such a bold move because being a full-time student, time and money is limited, and the Vette didn't get put back together how he would have liked.

After college, Bryan even bought some other cars to avoid doing a full teardown on the Corvette. "The build has been a real long one, and the butt of many jokes among the family," he says. When his wife was on tour in Iraq, Bryan struggled to get a jump-start on the project, but without a garage he didn't have the space to work on it. He modified one of the house's exterior walls to allow the car entrance. He got a fair amount done, but when he saw the structurally disturbed frame, it stopped him in his tracks. The biggest decision he made was to enlist Speed Shop to create a bolt-in frame that would accept late-model suspension and a ton more meat between the fenders. While Bryan was himself deployed to Iraq for the second time, a close friend offered to work on the car while he was gone. He ended up repairing all of the bad bodywork and repainted the car before he got back.

Bryan's wife wasn't at all upset about the hole in the house, because it ended up becoming an addition to the home's space while Bryan got the garage he needed to continue working on the Corvette.

'84 C10 Pickup Self-Expression
Vehicles, trucks especially, have a root function: transportation. It's above and beyond the steel's fate to be more than that to anyone. A truck's life is usually filled with hardship and brutal conditions. A lucky small percent of these get the special treatment usually reserved for older generation cars. This is 18-year-old Jesse Coburn's second pickup. Unfortunately, the first one was totaled in an accident (yes, he was OK). Jesse's truck was an extension of himself, and he felt like he lost more than just transportation when his truck was declared a total loss. He quickly jumped back in the saddle and bought this '84 C10 for $400. The truck wasn't perfect, and needed a lot of work before it was worthy of daily driver duties. Fortunately, Jesse's family has been behind him the whole way, with dad teaching him the knowledge he needs to get it done.

Jesse has recently joined a local club called Midwest Tuning, and as the import theme implies, there are far fewer American muscle cars and trucks than any other breed. Jesse is hoping his finished project will draw more American cars to the club, and that everyone will appreciate everything that's out there.