I was contacted by a guy in Justin, Texas about 6 months ago. He was looking for a paticular set of wheels for a 1966 Fairlane he's been building for 3 years. It's a replica of a car his Father had owned back in the day. The wheels? Keystone two peice - steel wheel, aluminum centers. He's been looking for them for 3 years. I knew the style of wheel but not that keystone made a version also. I knew them as classic torque thrust wheels. But the set had to be the Keystones, because that is what his Dad's had.
The quest to rebuild a car our parents drove in their youth is one I surely share since I was very young. My Mom had a maroon 66 chevelle 283 2speed coupe. It was nothing special, but it was to her. My Dad a special ordered navy blue 66 Chevy II w/ 350hp 327 and a 4 speed, ordered as a base model, the lightest model - my uncle and him had parts all over the garage floor and the heads sent out and the short block out and off to balanced and blue printed same day he drove it home from the dealership. Dad (my Grandpa) was furious!
I grew up hearing stories about these legends. Good ones, how that little 289 with the right driver, Pam in this story, knew how to make it move and surprise quite a few guys cruising Woodward avenue in 68. Another story, that after a race my Dad would have to reset all the radio stations because the Chevy II pulled so hard off the line all the radio buttons popped out to the reset position. I still have never been in a car that did that. He drove it to the track, and raced with guys with trailered cars like Don Garlits. I badly want to rebuild both cars some day. I have a 283 on a engine stand i picked up about two years ago. I haven't progressed any further...as soon as i find one to start with and the money to to do it, it's on - and seriously a 350hp 327 Chevy II...that's a 50k car now i think! A real legend.
So, after telling Alan that there has to be a set out there somewhere, I warned him, it could take months or even a year for me to find a them. He said he may want to go with an similar set and wait til the set appears. So about a week ago, Alan sent me out a set of very similar vintage Ansen 1 piece aluminum wheels to change bolt pattern and re machine the edges. The previous weekend I ran across a guy who told me he had a set of 60s keystones. I contacted Alan and let him know I think have a set that I located that may be the wheels. The owner told me they were 60s and for sure Keystones and I was driving up Tuesday to see them. It was a two hour drive to look at a set of wheels, but they were the right ones. They were the set that took 6 months to find, and at the last minute of course. So that's the story, just one of the quests to locate just 4 parts in a restoration of a legend.
Out of all the things we do and have done with cars, it is a great honor to be a part of restoring or building a tribute to a legend. Each one with a story about why and how it all happened to come to sit in row of legends, at your local car show.
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