THRILL OF THE CHASE
If you peruse my editorial on a monthly basis you will recall me talking about project cars in issue 189, and what I’m about to say will totally contradict what I said then. Here is a quote from myself to recap: “Like many of you, I have a young family. I have work on my house to finish, and yeah, I also try to fit in a summer racing program, so spare time is a luxury. At this stage, finding another spare 10-hours per week in the shed is a stretch.”
Well, call me stupid, call me an idiot, or call me a fool, but as I write this a tow truck is backing down the drive with a new major project strapped on the back with my name on it. I’m not really sure how that happened. One minute my better half and I are talking about getting something to fit our growing family in, but more importantly something that is not a lot of work; the next minute, we’ve purchased an ex-Cali long-roof Bel Air that is in need of some serious TLC before I can even hear the engine running.
It’s not like we didn’t try to buy something more completed; every night I was deep in all four corners of the USA marketplace on multiple sites, engaged with some local car finders. I even sent Cali-based Kiwi Steve on a wild goose hunt for one of our dream cars only to get a simple reply of “Barge pole” accompanied by some comical photos of suspension work you’d expect to see the LVVTA posting on its social media for a laugh.
As much as I love searching car listings — it’s been a solid pastime most of my life — eventually we settled on something that was already on our shores. It’s currently about a two-month wait to get something shipped so I was glad to avoid that. Better yet, what we found, and ultimately settled on, ticks the boxes, the biggest being the ability to cram the whole fam in and road trip — or the wife wanting to take it out without me.
Yeah, it’s way more work than I envisioned I’d be doing in 2021, but the price was right, the vision can be formulated, and it’s just about how fast I can get there. I quote myself from issue 189 again: “Knowing when to draw the line and not barrel-roll down that hillside into a full no-bolt-left-unturned build”.
So, while I try desperately to keep myself in check, and chill the F out on the grand plans, you have to put yourself in my shoes. I eat, breathe, and sleep car builds — all the best of this country and elsewhere come across my desk on a daily basis, so you tell me how I’m supposed to keep a lid on grand plans? HELP ME! It’s something I need to work on, and having a laser-tight deadline might be the only way to keep myself in check. This one’s for the family, and summer (!) is only just around the corner, so I’d best knuckle down. I’ll enjoy that project honeymoon period between taking possession and the realisation of the mountain of work I actually have to pull off in order to meet that deadline.
On another note, I’d like to put out the call: I’m looking for more writers to join the team as freelance contributors. If you think this might be up your alley, drop me a line. I’m not just looking for feature writers, I’d also like some columnists. Don’t be shy, get in touch!