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workingonit · #**149** 07-22-2021, 01:06 PM

I've been obsessed by vehicles for my whole life, and spent most of my after-work hours around the car hobby since the '60's. I even made an attempt to become a professional mechanic, trained in a GM (Buick, specifically) tech school in the early '70's, but never worked as one (the Gm dealerships objected to my longhair and moustache...I refused to shave, out of principle). Sorta funny, since I've been mostly regarded as a "-redneck" ever since (hippy-redneck, redneck-redneck, old man-redneck, etc., though I've never lived on a ranch or farm).

Anyway, I have had obsessional feelings towards my cars/trucks over the years, often going too far into modding them, and usually never selling/trading them, unless totalled (one was T-boned, two were stolen/totalled by my brothers). I have traded several for other vehicles, usually to make the wife (at the time) happy (if that's even possible), when absolutely necessary. But, I'll normally have a favorite or two that're untouchable.

My '66 Chevelle was my latest obsession, at least it was until '08, when I quit drag-racing (perceived job-insecurity and/or upcoming retirement sapping $$ needed to maintain it, nearing old age/overwork sapping my energy to race, and wifely pressure to stop, were all factors). So, the Chevelle sat untouched in the garage for 13 years.

Meanwhile, I piddled working on two daily drivers, and two pickups (and ignoring two other ex-daily drivers, sitting in the yard...a Fiero, and an Olds Quad 4 coupe, that my wife wouldn't let me get rid of), and resisted selling or parting-out the Chevelle. I wanted it to continue on, either racing, street driving, or both. So, I waited.

Interim period: And I built a semi-offroad squareback trailer, when I missed the racing/building/racing cycle, after three years. It is still an ongoing distraction.

My next-door neighbor, an EE, was always working on his small fleet of vehicles (Subaru, Hyundai, two dirt bikes), often using my lift to yank out, rebuild, and replace the Subaru's engine). Trying to perfect it, I guess. But when he got the dirt-bike racing fever (at 40+ ??), I suggested drag-racing as a substitute. Or street-modding with a classic car. Over the years, he became more hooked on the idea. So the swap was born.

He found a '01 X5, that was primarily used for highway travel to and from West Texas oil-lease properties. Hi-mileage, and travel on hard-packed alkaline soils, keeping it mostly in good shape. Over the next 3+ years, he restored to like new the cooling (except for the clutch fan), suspension, transmission, and finally the Vanos/timing chain & guides/engine seals. Then we swapped cars.

He moved a few miles away, so I'll have to visit the Chevelle as he converts it to a streetable resto-mod, retaining many of the racing pieces it has, and converting it to fuel-injection with an overdrive tranny (goodbye carburetor, trans-braked Powerglide, and 4.88 gears w/full spool). From what I've tested, and knowing his work, there'll be little for me to work on the X5, at least for a while. The wife's already pissed about the "unnecessary" fan conversion.

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