Jim's 66 Nova

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Reece's Z28

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When I (Lyndon) was in high school the car I really wanted was a 1981 Camaro Z28. Unfortunately circumstance and timing has never been right, and I have never owned one. So when I first saw this Z28 around town of course I noticed it. The custom paint job was nice, but wasn’t sure it was something I would like. Then this spring I spotted a beautiful black Camaro at the Lowe’s meet, so I had to talk to the owner. After meeting and talking to Reece, I soon realized it was the car I had seen before, but dressed in some new black paint. Since then, the car has also had the proper factory Z28 decals put on, and looks amazing.

For us older guys, some older than others, we remember these cars when they were still in the dealerships. They take us back to the days of our youth. But it is also nice to see the young guys of today take interest and appreciate these classic cars. Looking forward to seeing Reece and his Z28 at the Show N Shine events this summer.

The Day I picked it up.

I bought the car when I was 14 years old, and ever since then it grew my passion to build muscle cars. I’ve owned the car now for three and a half years. I’m slowly building the car in stages. First year was getting the engine mechanically sound, with new plugs and wires, new edelbrock carburetor and edelbrock rpm intake manifold a msd street fire distributor, fixed the tilt steering because it was very loose. The interior was next on the list. I wanted to do interior first because I could live with the purple flames but I didn’t like the tan interior so I gutted the interior put new door panels, headliner, carpet, arm rest, painted all tan pieces black, took out the stock shifter and added an aftermarket shifter, and for seats I got custom seats that were stitched with 32oz fabric instead of the covers you can buy that are made with 28oz fabric. This year was paint. I knew from the start I wanted to bring the car back to looking stock so I put the original 5 spoke wheels on and went for the black with charcoal stripes

New Paint

New Factory Decals

Michael's "General Lee"

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It was 1979, and I (Lyndon) was 14 years old living in Alberta. I had just acquired my learners drivers licence and enjoyed watching TV shows such as Chips, Starsky and Hutch, and the Six Million Dollar Man. I remember first seeing the commercials for The Dukes of Hazard. Of course I was mesmorized by the bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger with the confederate flag painted on the roof, the numbers 01 painted on the doors, and the horn that played Dixie. Oh the police chases, stunts, and especially the long jumps. The car had the doors welded shut leaving Bo and Luke Duke to climb in and out of the car through the windows, and of course what young boy wasn’t blown away by those Daisy Dukes. Of course the car was named “The General Lee”. The show soon became a big hit. I even heard it was so popular in the southern states they had to re-schedule Friday night high school football games because many people were staying home to watch the show.

The estimated number of chargers used while filming the series varies. It ranges from 255 to 325. Rumor has it around 17 original cars still exist in varying states of condition. Typically one General Lee was destroyed per show. When preparing to film a jump, 500 to 1000 pounds of ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over. As the series went on, they also raised the nose of the car to prevent it from scraping the take off ramps and losing speed. It was rumored that the stunt drivers loved the flights, but hated the landings. 1968 and 1969 model year Chargers were used. Typically the Chargers were 383 V-8 powered. When they started filming the first season, 2 directors of the show were driving down the road and heard a car drive by with the Dixie horn. They instantly knew they had to have it for the show. They chased the car down and keep offering the guy more money till he got out of the car and ripped it out for them. The word is they bought it for $300.

Even years later the General Lee still resonates with many people. Hundreds of replica’s are out there. In 2014 the General Lee was featured in a commercial for Auto Trader along with Dukes of Hazzard stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat.

Which brings us to Michael. Even though he wasn’t around when the show first came out, he still discovered the General Lee, and managed to acquire one.

How I got my General Lee

Hi my name is Michael and I own a replica General Lee. It all started when I got to take a ride in my neighbors 1946 Ford pick up truck. When I went for the ride something just clicked and I said to myself one day I would like to have a nice car in some point of my life. When I was in grade 9 my older stepsister showed me the 2005 movie of the Dukes of Hazard. I didn't care about the actors, but when I saw that car I said I'm going to have that car one day. I started looking around to how much they were going for and I had no luck finding one. When I thought it was time my stepmother and I put an ad up saying looking for a 1969 Dodge charger and I was in grade 10 at this point. I had some guys email me about 68 chargers 69 charger Daytona and regular 69 chargers that were not general Lee, but I kept on looking until one day on August 9, 2016 A guy emailed me saying that he had two General Lee’s sitting in his yard. One was for sale, the other one was not. He gave me the low down what was going on with the general lee that was for sale. He told me it needed some work and he sounded like he wanted this car out of his yard like now. So I phoned my mom and told her the whole story about this car. I gave her the guys email and she started chatting back-and-forth. Little did I know that mom had bought the car and I didn't tell me. She wanted to do a big surprise. She told the owner to keep me going thinking that the car was still for sale. Until one day she sent me a text saying that they needed help unloading some metal at her boyfriends house, and I said OK what time. She said 10:30pm, so I said OK. She picked me up and we drove to her boyfriends place. An hour and a half went by and then all of a sudden she said, it's here, so we walked out the door with her boyfriend and I saw the truck and I'm looking at it and I could see something but I just couldn't make it out. What it was in the back? All I could see was a radio antenna but I never clued in it was a car, and not even 30 seconds later the truck is up in the yard and there's a car sitting on the flat deck. I was in shock!!! I literally slapped myself twice and I was saying “it is not a dream”. I was so excited that I had my very first car and it was my dream car. We had it unloaded and it's now around almost midnight, and I was so tempted to fire up the car. So I got the go ahead from my mother and the battery was dead, wouldn't start. But I was happy to have it, so the next day I went back to my moms to go start the car and drive it. When I got myself behind that wheel of the car I was smiling ear to ear. So I just want to thank my mom and the previous owner Jason for making this dream of mine come to reality. I'm enjoying the car every day and every summer and every summer it's better than it was last year. So that's my story. It is a blast to drive and for future general Lee owners out there, it's well worth it

Grant Howell's 1937 Chev Coupe called Fast Orange

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1937 Chev Coupe we call Fast Orange, my wife Dayle and I have campaigned this car in the Canada West Doorslammer Series out of Mission Raceway for the last 18 Years. We won the championship in 2008 and runnered up in 2005. It didn’t start out so good, after purchasing the car from Karl Gronmyr in 2000 we were making our first practice hits at Western Speedway when the Throttle hung open, and it crashed off the end of the track. After a complete rebuild we started over. It has had 5 Motor combinations over the years, from 468 ci to 706 ci, and now for the last 8 years, we have run a twin carbureted naturally aspirated 632 ci motor that makes 1290 Hp. Running a best of 7.43@182 mph. The trans is an air shifted Lenco with Bruno converter drive. We have raced Bakersfield California, Seattle, Pt. Alberni, Ashcroft and Mission. Thanks to Dayle for letting me live my dream.

Tony's 76 Volare Roadrunner

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This was how the car started out. As he was nearing the end of grade 8 about to start his high school career at Victoria High school we knew the school had great shop programs and figured it would be the perfect time for him to start a project.  The project, turn this old Aspen into a Roadrunner clone and learn lots of great life skills while building your dream car at school. 

After some fresh gas new battery and repairs to flat tires and a really big clean up the car came home.

Next stop for the car was first year of shop class "mechanics grade 9" replace all the brakes change the exhaust system replace the rad and dress up the engine

The next step was to install the 6 pack hood scoop and paint the hood black and refinish the rims.

This work was completed, grade 9 was finished and it was summer break, time to enjoy a few car shows and cruising with friends. 

Tony and his sister Sophia had a blast on the last cruise before school starts up again.

The first day of grade 10 in the body-shop class with Kevin Blecic shop teacher. Tony brings the car to school really excited after a fun summer and a great first year in Mr Stewart Wheelers mechanic class. Now the students working together will learn how to do a complete body and paint job. This is tony's build team. They did metal work to the body and stripped down the interior and applied POR15 rust inhibitor before top coating in the orange.

After all the bodywork was done it was time for primer.

The next big steps after the body was primed was to color change all the interior panels and repairs to dash pad and test fit the rare spectrum interior package .

The next big step was to block sand the primer and apply the orange tinted primer sealer. After all that was done tony started painting all the inners on the car. Then it was time to paint the body of the car ,this was Tony's first time to paint a car and with help from his friend Jim Blackwood it went really well. Next up was to apply all the graphics to the car with help from his friend Bella Love

And at last we have the finished product.

Since the car has been finished Tony has gone on to compete in skills Canada bringing the school a Gold medal and silver medal in automotive refinishing he has had the car in many shows and also had a display representing Vic high shops at Rifflandia music festival. 

Tony at skills Canada in Edmonton with teachers and support staff with team BC

Tony and his teacher Kevin Blecic at a local car show

At Rifflandia display 

It's been a truly great high school experience for our son and his friends building this car.  Thank you Sarah for selling your car to Tony and thank you Courtney for selling him the cool interior and graphics and thank you to all our friends out there that helped Tony see this through to the end.

Jonathan's 1947 Ford

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I acquired the 1947 Custom Hot Rod out of Duncan on a cold wet day in March of 2013 from Jim Carroll Jr. it use to be owned by his Dad Jim Carroll Sr. He has since passed away.

Jim Sr. brought the car up from the states, and rebuilt her here on Vancouver Island. Jim was an original Hot Rodder in Southern California back in the day.

  The car had been sitting a while in Duncan, though under cover, it was parked on a dirt floor and she was tired and in much need of some TLC. She was a true hot rod. I fell in love with the car and purchased her on the spot.

We drove down to Victoria in the pouring rain, with no windshield wipers, windows or heat, she still doesn’t have any of that, she will always be fair weather sailor, lol!

 We took her into the garage for mechanical, got her on the hoist, to take a good look. We strengthened her frame did a lot of work to her, complemented with new tires. Then she went in for paint and body work and new mirrors.

At the end of 2014 I fell out of the car having a heart attack after that event, she was parked for two years, I refused to sell her, and both of us are just fine today. I was going to change the paint job, the blue line represents the heart line and everything is for a reason.

 Over the last 5-6 years we have kept working on her sometimes around the clock, we have just about rebuilt the whole engine, rewired it. To many things to list, along with polishing it making her the show car she is today.  She is all Ford, I like that.

 I do have T-Shirts for sale with the 47 on the back “Cruising Vancouver Island” and the car has her own website www.1947Ford.com  

 

Some of the 47's features are..

• Chopped  

• Shaved

• Red Neon Inside & Under-glow

• Leather Interior  (front seat 78 Lincoln)

• 9" Independent Rear End

• Original Carson Top

• Back Up Camera & LED Screen

• Automatic Transmission

• 302 Ford Engine

• Walker Radiator

• C4 Transmission  

• 2013 Sound System

• Power Steering & Brakes

• Cragar Spoke Wheels

• BF Goodrich Radial TA's

• A Really Good Time ;)

Garry Fisher's 1975 Pinto

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Backed half car
Ford narrowed 9inch with 4.56 gears
Jw bell power glide
Small block Chevy 422 ci dart block
Dyno on pump gas at 659 hp
Car has ran fastest in the 1/4 mile at 9.17 at 147 mph
I do all the work on the car myself
I’m the motor builder,mechanic and driver

Kristjan Thorsteinson's 1970 Chevelle big block

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I found the car when I was on holidays in Penticton shortly after I had just turned 16. After having held a job since I was 13 and no bills and growing up around racing and hotrods I knew my first car/high school ride had to go fast and look good, so a fox body 5.0 mustang was on my mind and budget.  Light cheap and easy to make quick. While talking to my dads friend on holidays in Penticton where both my parents are from the talk of cars care up very quickly as usually does in our conversations. My dads friend was going through a divorce and was liquidating his collection of cars, this 1970 Chevelle big block car came up and for a price that sounded too good to be true. We talked about it during and after our holidays and without seeing the car, only a few pictures of it, the decision was made, me and my dad would go 50/50 on it and over time I could pay him out as I got older and worked more so and so on. We picked the car up in September and drove it home from Penticton! I’ll never forget when I first saw it when I dropped the trailer door and heard it fire up. 3 tanks and one rain storm later it was back in our shop at home. Over time dad and I worked on it lots. When I turned 17 my parents gift to me was they insured the car for me for my birthday (being that it wasn’t paid for it was in my parents name still!). I think my parents forgot what I and the car looked like that summer as I really only was home to wash it or change out of my works clothes. I was out all the time that summer. In my grade 12 year I attended my first year of college for my trade (heavy duty mechanic) so I didn’t drive the car that much, with 7$ a day for parking and a car that cost more than that in fuel to drive to school I usually walked. One night in October just before Halloween I was on my way home after being caught in the rain and I lost it and ended up in a tree with the car. After 7 months in the body shop I got it back but with a VI on it due to a body shop I refuse to name, over something so minor it really seamed unfair but with finals approaching the car got put on hold. After looking around and finding some sketchy wiring we decided to buy a painless harness and rewire the whole car. After getting the car stripped when I was done school, i got a call and got a job in northern BC with a full apprenticeship. On went the car cover and away I went. A few years later I came home for another year of school and had some new Cragar S/S wheels and tires in tow with me. On they went and starting tinkering with it again, then it was time to take it up north (pic of it on the trailer) up north where it sat in my shop at my house being so busy with work it was hard to find time for it. I got someone in Quesnel, a friend of mine named chuck, to finish the wiring for me. I got it done and running and had a few things left to do before the inspection, however after I left for work July 7 2017 with my car sitting at home, that was the day the BC interior wildfires came through and with living on a ranch at the time it was out of town and I wasn’t allowed home anymore. The car was less than a km from the wildfire and suffered minor smoke damage which is still visible today on the car. The summer I thought I’d drive it, it lived in a horses dirt riding arena with the theory that dirt doesn’t burn. My neighbor was kind enough to move it out there for me since he was home still and I was not. Car sat again until March 2018. Being 23 and red seal journeyman in my trade I moved back to the island and brought the car with me. Since it’s been home it’s been inspected insured and driving. I’ve been drag racing it. It’s now got a full MSD ignition system giving that 512hp 396 the spark it needs, new exhaust. I love driving it again after sitting for those years and now being able to jump in hit the key and go drive it is the best feeling ever!! Oh and I did pay it off a number of years ago!!

Michelle Dahl's 75 Vega

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1975 Vega with a fibreglass 71 Vega front end and hood, 383 SBC stroker making 612 rwhp, two speed power glide with a trans brake, narrowed Ford 9 inch with 32.0/14.0-15 M/T drag slicks on Weld ProStar wheels.

Built by the guys at Associated Tire & Auto  www.associatedtireandauto.ca

Paint and body by John Webster in Campbell River

Cage and tin work by Ken’s Custom Metal Fab. in Campbell River

Decal work by Quality DeSigns in C.R.    qualitydesigns.net

Carbon Fiber graphics done by Dynamic Hydrographics in Nanaimo.