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Hi, my name is Doug. Welcome to my site mostly dedicated to one of my biggest (and best) projects. This site
has been created under the criteria for my Comp100x class at DeVry in Fremont for Professor W. Massey.
I'll start off by going through all of my project vehicles, none of which are actually finished, but all are in completely
different stages. I'd like to think a good project can never really be done, but if that was really the case, why would
anyone keep working? Correct answer: Cause its FUN!
First, here is my truck. Not the 1st project I came across, but definitely my favorite. Its a 1985 Toyota
Pickup SR5 4x4. Its the Xtra cab model which means its got some room behind the seats for tools, but not much else...
definitely not room for a person. I did a lot of customization work on this truck, and my mods are not yet complete.
The truck, also known as Metallica II, was my daily driver until very recently when I picked up a new car. Now I've
got the freedom to mess around a little more with performance mods, and not just exterior appearance!
This is my Harley Davidson. It's my very first project, I started when I was 18. Now for you Harley guys
out there, you're probably either cursing up and down, or calling me a liar, but its true. This little bike's got the
name on the tank just like the big ones. But its a special Harley. Back in the 60's and 70's, smaller engine sized
motorcycles were starting to take off in the US. Mainly Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph, and BSA were the more popular bikes.
Harley Davidson, making only the big, loud cruisers, wanted to dip its hand in the smaller bike market. H-D teamed up
with an Italian motorcycle company called Aermacchi, and created a small line of Italian designed Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Nowhere on the actual bike does it say Aermacchi, however, all the parts are metric (with stamped H-D part numbers).
With around 60,000 motorcycles made between 1961 and 1974, only 2,000 bikes were of my model, making it sort of a collectors
piece. When I came across it in 2001, it had been sitting for nearly 18 years in the back of my uncle's garage.
A bet on whether I could get the bike running after so long was placed, and the wager was the bike. Well, the rest is
history. I'm pretty sure my uncle knew he would lose the bet, but I'd say the bike gets ridden slightly more often by
me anyways.
This is my 1964 Barracuda. Originally, my dream car was the Dukes of Hazzard's 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. Oh,
what a car! But, after seeing just how covetted those cars were, I decided to jump on the chance to pick up this Barracuda.
I figured it would be my entrance into the world of MOPAR, and someday I'd find someone to trade. Now, I'm not
so sure I want to.
I love this car. The 1st year of the Barracudas, it was released as competition to the first Ford Mustangs.
Coming with only a 273 cubic inch engine max, the release of Chevrolet's Camaro in 1967 with a 327 cubic inch engine off the
showroom floor pretty much wiped out all interest in the small Barracudas and the 'CUDA was born, with an even bigger engine,
and all sorts of other upgrades. The Barracudas were best recognized by the enormous sloping rear window, and the charismatic
front grill. Sharing many features of its sister car, the Valiant, my car still has its stock, push button 3 speed automatic
transmission. However, what's NOT stock, is the 360ci motor that I dropped in this baby last summer. Although
the car is not yet back up and running, I do have plans to start racing it around by the beginning of next summer.
OH, and by the way.. the car really does not have those huge 33" tires on it, that was a joke. If you look carefully,
you can see a small part of Metallica II sitting in the background, and its oh-so small. Those 33" tires would
soon be going on that baby truck in the background.
Finally, my 1971 Chevy Blazer K5. It's the last project I picked up only one year ago. The first project
besides Metallica II that I actually had to pay for (so THAT'S who would pay for that wreck on the left) I bought to keep
wrenching while I was waiting for the Barracuda's transmission to come back from the beef up shop last December. Although
the Blazer looked like crap, it runs PERFECTLY. With a brand new motor, and newly rebuilt tranny, the hard stuff was
out of the way. All I had to do was body work... And body work I did! Literally from bumper to bumper, I sanded,
painted, pouned, welded, replaced, refit, and straightened damn near every body part on that truck. Alot of the parts
came with the original purchase of the truck, but I did have to do alot of fishing around for most of the interior parts.
All in all, I replaced 90% of the interior to make it look like a brand new truck in side. Plush sheep skin seat covers,
and a new carpet was really all it took, but I replaced the cracked and weathered vinyl parts, and included my own personal
touch; a lockable center console with up-to-date stereo electronics. Now that its pretty near to completion, I'm sad
to say, I must get rid of it. Obviously, I've got too many cars, and one's gotta go. Last one in line is 1st on
the chopping block. The Blazer is now officially for sale! Email me for info!
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