My project actually consisted of 4 cars: the first car was a 1971 Matador that was located in Princeton, New Jersey and transported to California.  My first cost was $1800.00 for the transport.  The car was clean and a former Police car from the San Francisco Bay Area.  I had not located a 1972 vehicle, so I decided I would convert the 1971 vehicle into a 1972 - pretty easy right?  This project started in June 1998.  For three months prior, I had to begin the monumental task of locating the vintage emergency equipment and gear that the LAPD used back in 1972.

The portfolio highlights the cars used in the restoration project.  In August of 1998, I started searching junkyards in the area for spare parts.  I located a 1972 junker that had sat for over 7 years.  This was going to be the donor car, hood, trunk, doors, locks, speedometer, interior pieces, fenders and trim pieces.  It took me over 3 weeks to strip the car and then have it towed away.  Over the next 6 months, I began tearing down the 1971 Matador and chipping away the rust.  The car was gutted, interior, fenders, doors, everything that could hide rust was laid bare and sanded, grinded, and scraped clean of rust.  Keeping track of hundreds of nuts, bolts, and pieces was becoming a challenge.  Learning how to get some the pieces to break free was the other challenge.  Busted knuckles, bent tools, and trying to undo what the assembly line put together over 27 years prior was daunting.  I would spend hours trying to figure out how a piece came apart.  I had to be careful, breaking, bending, and stripping parts could prove costly if a replacement was needed.  By July of 1999, I had completely cleaned and stripped the car of rust.  The primer and bodywork began.  By August, I had learned that I was going to be moving south from the Sierra Foothills of Yosemite to Los Angeles County for a new job.  The car would be packed up, and ready to transport in September.