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Owners of vintage cars are passionate about their "babies." Date published: 9/3/2006
ROM LATE SPRING TO EARLY FALL, it's car show season. On Friday nights, parking lots around the Fredericksburg area fill with bright cars that sparkle like jewels in the sun. They're fields of chrome and dreams. Car lovers like to study the details. Guys, and a few gals, poke their heads under hoods. Car guys have deeply held opinions and aren't afraid to share them. Got a new battery in your 1955 Ford? A car guy will point it out. Think your car is all that? The vinyl top on your classic had better be original. But owning an old car is about more than debating the fine points. After all, as any car salesman can tell you, cars are about dreams. Dreams of freedom. Driving down the road, radio blasting, roof down on the 1966 Mustang convertible. Wind in your face, wind in your hair. Sometimes, it seems like an old car can drive a man back into his past. When he was wild and free, drag-racing down a strip. When he and a few other buddies piled into a car and just cruised. A younger man is connected to generations of car guys before him. He's one of them. In honor of the breed, here's a peek at a few car guys. Wesley MusselmanWesley Musselman looks like a wild man. His wavy brown hair is messy, overgrown. He wears a T-shirt with his name and the Chevrolet symbol airbrushed in cursive. He likes a hot rod. You ask him why. Oh man, he says, you've just got to drive one. "You gotta have the gas in your veins," he says. He rebuilt a 1973 Chevrolet Nova SS. It's not a classy car, not a rare car. But it can't be ignored. He had it painted bright yellow. He says his grandson wanted a yellow race car. The car belonged to his brother-in-law. It was sitting behind his garage in King George County, covered up by weeds, until he re-built it. "To most people, it would have been junk." The car was his first total restoration. He tore off the frame, redid the motor, the seats, everything. It was torn completely apart, he said.
Date published: 9/3/2006
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