Chapter 1:
What was your first experience with a C-body? For what reason made you want to own/restore a C-body?
My story is a long and stupid one, but one worth telling.
It all started in a land far away (From Texas anyway), I started my Search for a Anything in May of 2012, I looked at everything you can think of, '65 Mustang Coupe 289 Hi-po 4spd car, '72 Grand Prix SJ 455 car, '69 Impala coupe 327 car, '73 LeMans 350 car, '82 Grand Prix 307 car, '76 Firebird Formula 400 4spd car, and finally a friend called me at work on a Wednesday, he said hey I seen an ad on Kijiji of a guy selling a car for scrap value, I gave the guy a call, he said he had a guy who was interested coming that afternoon, this was at about 12 PM, I called again around 5 PM and was told the guy never showed stop by and have a look!
This was what was going to be the start of a long and painful task that would lead me through good and bad times, teach me new skills, teach me about people who were in my life and bring people into my life that I would end up calling some of my best friends!
6:30 PM, I got off work, picked my buddy up, got lost, figured out where the hell Andy's house was and met Andy for the first time, at that moment I didn't know that Andy would become one of my closest friends.
As I entered his backyard I couldn't help but see a '70 Duster is Primer with the hood up, a brown turd sitting in the corner of the yard covered in tree crap and dirt, and a white something poking out of a home made garage, I didn't realize these 3 cars would leave a lasting mark on my life. They were Mopars.
Here I met Andy, he told me about the two Fury's, what the hell is a Fury I thought, I instantly pictured Christine, I knew Roadrunners and 'Cuda's, not Fury's, as we walked over to the Brown car I couldn't help but think "Why am I wasting my time looking at this junk?" Then we went in and looked at the white car, the frame was solid, and it had been on the road in the last 6 years, it looked okay, Andy turned to me and said "Keys in it Nick, see if she'll start", I cranked it and it turned over no problem and tried to start, My hopes grew a bit, I made one big mistake,
I had sat behind the steering wheel looking down that hood, I was hooked.
Now it was time to talk Turkey, or Car or money, whatever. We talked and Andy threw out a sum around $800, I said "well scrap is around $200 a car and these cars are pretty rough man" Andy Asked me a question I'll never forget "What are you going to do with the cars?", I said "I'm going to build one car from the two and have something I can enjoy" Andy shook my hand and said "$450, $400 now and $50 later, there yours"
We shook hands, Now the hard part, I had to go and get "A" parent, I chose my dad, I figured he wouldn't murder on the spot, he'd hear me out first, then kill me, much to my disbelief after seeing the cars and talking to Andy my dad said "I don't see how you can go wrong, there's probably $400 worth of parts and steel"
My dad gave me a deal, find a place to put them and you can buy them. It was now 9:07 PM, by 9:43 PM I had exhausted a few leads when it hit me, it was peddle down old 305 screaming time, at 9:50 PM we arrived at Bill's, By 10:01 I had a place to put the Fury's.
August 14th I called Andy in the morning and told him I would be coming to get the first car that night, after a long list of mishaps, I ended up with a second truck, and a 3rd person, by 11 PM we arrived at Andy's with the whole crew. By 11:53 PM The Fury I would call Angel was at his new home, The next day my Dad, one of my best friend's and one of my High school teachers/Friend moved the Brown Fury that would later earn the Title of "Rusty", That night after I got off work I went to see what my cars looked like. After 15 minutes we had the white car running, it ran good!
I never intended to buy a C Body, but I wouldn't change it for the world.
It wasn't till nearly a year later I realized how important This car really is to me.
I bought it on August 13th 2012, it was an F8 '69 C body, My grandfather passed away on August 13th 2003, in October of 1968 he ordered an F8 '69 C body.
With all the good this car has brought me, I KNOW it was meant to be.
The day I take my Fury for it's first good romp I know all the blood sweat and tears will be worth it!
Thats my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Nick & Angel