On Dec 8, 2001 My bud Frank S. and I went to the 1/8th mile drags down the street from my shop at the Irwindale Speedway. 1/8th mile is only half a race in my mind but with the price of land in SoCal, half a race is better than no race at all. It's going to take me a while to get used to the E.T.'s and how the performance relates to quarter mile times. There were a bunch of interesting vehicles there including a few 64 Plymouths. Frank and I both commented that it would be cool to be able to get my old Savoy back someday but we both realized we'd probably never see it again. I sold it in 1984 becasue I couldn't afford 2 projects at the time and I wanted to get my Duster finished. As it turned out I ended up selling that car before it was finished too. When we left the race track he mentioned that he was going to the Long Beach swap the next day and asked if I was going. I declined because I really didn't want to go spend money on stuff I didn't need.

The next morning I was awakened by the ringing phone. It was Frank on his cell phone from the swap meet. I thought he said "I found a 64 Savoy at the swap meet". I replied "You found a car like my old one?" He said "No, I found YOUR OLD CAR". At first I couldn't believe it then when he told me its condition and price I quickly decided I didn't need another project that needed that much work. I told him that I would pass.

While taking a shower I thought about how much I always regretted selling that car and that this was probably my only shot at ever getting it back. So, despite the fact that it needed a bunch of work and the guy was asking too much for it, I figured I might as well at least go take a look at it. I called Frank back and told him I'd be there in about 45 mins.

A half hour later I was standing there looking at it sitting on a trailer. Sure enough, it was my old car. It suffered many indignities in the years it was out of my care. Shorty after I sold it someone put a big NOS unit on the stock 383 and blew it up. The car was pushed into a back yard and it did duty as a dog house for several years. That explains the missing interior and rusty floors. While I was standing there looking at it, 4 of the 5 people who had the car in their possession at some point in time stopped by to take a look. After reminiscing for a while and talking to the guy selling it he asked "What was your name again?" when I told him he showed me the pink slip for the car which was still in my name. Amazingly, none of the subsequent owners ever transfered the title into their name. I figured that was some kind of sign that the car was meant to come back home to me so I bought it back.

Over the next few days the 440 engine that was purchased to put in the car back in 1981 came back into my possession too. Another sign.

The last thing I needed right now is another project but I'm really glad to have it back. It needs a complete rebuild but it's going to have to wait until after the Cadillac and the Deuce are done before I put much work or money into it.

This is how it looked when it had a stock 71 Road Runner 383 and before the rear end was narrowed.

It ran low 14's in the quarter like this . Later it got 13X31 McCreary's, 4.56 gears, and a 440 6-PAK. The best times were in the 11.90's which got me kicked out of OCIR because the car didn't have a roll bar.

Here's a few shots of how it looks now.