For many young gearheads, getting your license is a rite of passage. It can be an opportunity to get a little greasy and build the car of your dreams. It takes a lot of time and certainly even more money, though, but getting to know every inch of a vehicle is what it’s all about. The end result may not be the “perfect ride” with all of the shiny new parts. However one’s first project car is always a special one.
Shane’s first project stemmed from his first love; his father’s maroon 1964 Fold Falcon Futura from when he was merely 5- or 6-years old. His dad picked him up from Kindergarten and Shane was hooked. When Shane turned 15, he knew that his first car just had to be a ’64 Falcon.
Building one’s dream car at such a young age is a challenge, though. Project cars require more money than most teenagers have and even more time and dedication. Shane found the shell of a 1964 Falcon Sprint for $500. He knew that this was his car, but he didn’t have that kind of cash. Not to be deterred, Shane decided to make payment arrangements with its then owner, for five $100 installments, to get his Falcon home.
Once there, Shane and his father bonded over this project. Shane did the bodywork on his own, sanding the body down to bare metal. To get the car on the road he traded labor at a junkyard for a 5.0 engine from an ’83 Mustang. The transmission came from a Mustang as well and the brakes from a ’70s Torino. For added stopping ease Shane added a brake power booster from, of all places, a ’94 Geo Metro.
Now, more than 15 years later, Shane’s project is still a work in progress. His Falcon looks complete on the outside, but there is still interior work to be done and an engine to clean up. There can always be more money and time thrown at a project car, but it’s not about that. The bond, knowing every inch of your vehicle, is truly what it’s all about.
Ashley Cegelka basically grew up at car shows as a kid, which nurtured her love of classic musclecars. As she got older, her love heightened for the Ford Mustang specifically, and her first car was an ’83 Mustang with T-Tops that her grandpa helped her to get out on the road. Now that she’s grown her summers are spent at car shows and the dragstrip, taking in the rumble of an awesome engine and the clean lines of a great ride.
