I was becoming an adult; not quite there yet, but my second year in College was stirring an interest in cars, particularly since I was studying Mechanical Engineering Technology.I needed a form of transportation and in 1981, believe it or not, my parents found the car I liked. It had bucket seats; poor for necking but man, it didn’t look like Dad’s car! It had a Slap Stick shifter even though it was still connected to a 904 tranny. Unknown to me, my parents presented that car as a belated birthday gift.They paid for the car and first year of registration with the condition that I pay them for the car when I get my first career job. Well, I gotta’ tell ya’, that motivated me to work harder in College.Back then, I thought that this story would end as I fully intended to get rid of it after College; you know, when I get a real job and buy a new car!

Well, that new car day almost came.I had the money but my heart became set on making that Satellite a winner. I mean, why spend 20 grand on a new plastic thing when I could get steel for half that price. I began to sketch, then draw, then colour, an image of what I wanted my car to look like. My cousin, Wally and friend Keith, who owned and operated a service station sort of took me under their wings and influenced me greatly with the planning and execution of this restoration.

First, the original 318 had to go. Yes I kept it and still have it but not in the car.The empty space was filled quickly with a rebuilt 1967 383 I found at a wrecker, converted to 1966 specs spewing a brake horsepower of 325HP as rated from the factory.I had some minor upgrades to the original design; nothing to write home about but with headers it was expected to push about 360 brake HP at the engine. So, I had to connect it to an A727 with a 3000 stall converter and a 400% shift kit. It was all intended to turn a 371 (I think I have that ratio correct) rear end but it still houses the highway 273 set on an 8-1/4 carrier.

The restoration was a nearly ground-up scenario as I had the four fenders removed and thrown out as they were rusted beyond repair, the doors removed, all chrome stripped, and the interior yanked out except for the lonely dash. I completed most of the interior work myself except the two front buckets which were nicely restored. I purchased the last two OEM replacement rear quarter panel fenders that were in the continental North America; the left from central US and the right from the California area.

My endeavours resulted in a completion of the car in 1985 with a set of highly polished Aluminum Keystone Vortex wheels after two years of hard work and the temporary ownership of my Father’s garage. I’ll bet he was happy to put his car in there again for the winter for the first time in two years! It was only two years ago that I removed the hot wheels, dropped the car back to its original factory height, and installed a new set of rubber on each of the four original factory wheels with stainless steel wheel covers.It rides very well now!

I didn’t have the advantage of the knowledge that the members of MMA now offer me but through perseverance, my first restoration can be categorized as a success.Many challenges arose with the two body shops to which I had to take this car, particularly after the first one fell short of their promises. I ditched that $800 of rebuilt materials and labour, stripped the car of that junky work, and structured the second restoration attempt through another body shop with yet other challenges. As a result of my family and friends, I made my life dream a reality; I restored a hot car and now enjoy showing it off. Thanks to MMA and all its members for this opportunity to share my car with you on this Feature Ride.