AT 5 years old, I was sitting under the hood of my dad’s 1956 BelAir, 4 speed/427. When I stood by the idling ‘Little Thunder’, my clothes would shake.  Riding with my dad, when he pulled a gear, I was pinned to the seat. Feeling and hearing the power of that engine, seeing my dad turn a wrench to bring little thunder to life ~ I was hooked.  I had to know what made these machines run.

Among many hot rods over the years, when I was 10, my dad owned a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird, Petty Blue ~ so cool! Finally, when I was old enough to drive, I found my favorite muscle car of all time, the 1970 Chevelle SS 454 big block/ 4 speed, Red with black racing stripes!

Working on muscle cars allows me to exercise my pure mechanic skills.  There are no on-board computers telling me what’s wrong.  I have to figure it out using my critical thinking, technical skills and experience.  WJj