"She was a basket case," Drennar said. "There
were no floors, both rear quarter panels needed replacing, no
engine, no tranny, no driveshaft. It was full of bullet holes,
but they never shot the windshield out. Figure that one out."
But it wasn't all doom and gloom for a vehicle that had been
"right buried in a field" and "dragged through
a swamp" on its way to restored glory. Drennar said one
of the benefits of such a deplorable shape was he wasn't about
to offend the automotive purists insist a vehicle of such
pedigree should be restored to original vintage.
"It was so shot I figured I could do what I wanted and
not get the car gods mad at me," Drennar explained.
One of the greatest influences along the way, Drennar explained,
was his wife Maria, who at some of the lowest points of the
restoration project kept the desire to keep going alive.
"Just to buy this, what she called the 'ashtray,' has
been a big commitment. I almost quit this car twice. I couldn't
have done it without her and her support." A member of
the Manitoba Street Rod Association and also the 567 Club
of Manitoba, Drennar also said the help of belonging to such
clubs had been the catalyst to a project that needed all the
help it could get.
"I don't know how guys build cars without car clubs,"
he said. "There's just an enormous amount of talent in
this city. This is the California of the North. Winnipeg should
really capitalize on that, because its been like this since
I was 18."
While the end product may reflect a project well done, Drennar
said being a rookie with such an intensive project had its
ups and downs, especially when it came to lessons learned
the hard way.
"If I learned anything about building cars, it's to
tighten things as you're thinking about them. We didn't tighten
the U-joints and as we were driving along Portage, it came
loose. If you think something needs tightening, do it then,"
he admitted, recounting that even in a broken down moment
waiting for the flatbed, there were still admirers to be had,
and a pursuit to be loved.
"What can you do? It's not going on a trailer if I can
help it, and it's not sitting in a garage," he explained
of using such an exquisite car more than most would. "It's
part of the hobby."
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