I suppose some people would be surprised to find a woman writing an article on collector cars. I can credit my grandfather with the interest. So when my neighbor, Daniel Habershaw, tells me that he is working on a 48 year old car in his garage, I want to know more about it. We agree to meet after he gets off work.

Dan takes me into his garage. I get my first glimpse of the car he's been telling me about. Even with the front and back hoods open, I can see that this 1960 Ford Thunderbird is a beauty. The lines are still hint at the 1950s-rounded edges, a streamlined flattened fin flowing from below the windshield to tail-retro before retro became popular. It is the last of the line before car design veers into a vastly changed universe.

I ask Dan how his interest in old cars started. He tells me that he discovered the magazine stand at the grocery store when he was in first grade. He found a car magazine he especially wanted, so he asked his mom to buy it. He says, with a smile, "She told me she would buy it for me, if I raked the leaves. I raked the leaves." Dan's fascination with cars had begun.

In seventh grade Dan's neighbor gave him his first book on how to build a car. The neighbor, who knew how much Dan loved cars, had a Volkswagen. He had begun customizing it, but he was now too ill to work on the car. He promised Dan that he could have the car if he got the job done. Dan took that car apart and put it back together. Dan applied everything he could from the book. Unfortunately the man passed away, and his wife sold the car. Dan did get to keep the book however.

Dan got over his disappointment, especially after he read a book in ninth grade on how to choose a Volkswagen for restoration. Today, he is actually glad the neighbor's wife had sold the car, because it turned out that that model year was a poor year for VWs.

Now that he had some experience, and a book to tell him what to buy, he asked his parents if he could get a car. They told him to get a job. So 14 year old Dan landed his first job, bought a 1958 VW Bug at 15 and spent the next year rebuilding the engine. He got his driver's license on his 16^th birthday. Driving his custom VW to school the first time was a high moment.

In the years since Dan has continued to love tinkering with cars. He works as a mechanic by day, so it's almost surprising that he enjoys coming home to get under the hood of his current project. With the nip of winter in the air and an unheated garage, I realize just how much dedication it takes to say no to the warm house, cozy sofa and the television.

I ask Dan how he found this car. He tells me he found it on CraigsList in April of 2007. I ask him if he is restoring it. He says, "No, I am customizing it in harmony with the technology that was used back then." I discover this is Dan's passion-researching the techniques and materials that 1950s and 60s car buffs used and customizing his cars to those specs. If the technology didn't exist in 1960, he won't use it.

He starts to tell me about what he has been doing so far. The first thing he did was to change the wheels. He took off the radial tires and put bias-ply tires back on the rims. He tells me that the frame wasn't designed for the way that radial tires handle, so he actually feels safer driving the car with tire technology genuine to the time the car was built. He says, "I love to drive my cars." I must admit the wide white walls look very sharp against the black paint.

He tells me that this car came with the lowest original stance available at the time. He has lowered it even more so that the rear fenders are level with the tire rims. He smiles as he says, "The cops like to pull us over when we get the car that low, but as long as the fender isn't below the rim, it's legal." He goes on to tell me that it is a safety issue. If he ever did blow a tire, it wouldn't be good if the frame hit the ground first.

He has changed the exhaust system. He is currently working on the engine modifications. He tells me with pride in his voice that his wife, Jenifer, is helping him do the work. "She can't diagnose, but I can give her a job, and she does it." The previous owner put a large, non-stock carburetor on. He replaced it after a very expensive drive to a rally. He's gone back to one that is the same size that the engine was built for. It cut his gas usage by almost a third.

He also pulled out the air conditioning unit to save gas. He tells me that if he were restoring the car, he'd have to get it working again, because it was stock. He says with a grin, "We only need it one month of the year around here. If it gets that hot, I'll drive the car out there to the store." He tosses his thumb over his shoulder (as though the new car isn't worthy of the garage).

I point to the wing vent windows. He agrees that they work very well at funneling air into the car efficiently. "I can even talk to my wife as we drive to car shows with it open."

He points out the custom Hirohata knobs he has installed on the wing windows. These teardrop-shaped Plexiglas knobs, originally popularized by Bob Hirohata in 1952, are period correct. Dan's knobs are clear and white.

I notice that he has teardrop knobs on the radio. He tells me that the vintage radio doesn't work, but he's got it wired so he can play his MP3 player through the speakers. He plans on leaving the radio installed because it would ruin the whole interior if he pulled it out.

I comment that the upholstery looks like it is in good shape. Dan says that it has to go. The inserts are nylon velour, a fabric that didn't exist yet in 1960. He plans on redoing the entire interior seating in white vinyl. He will customize the inserts with the pin-tuck technique that was common at that time. I can see that a white interior will harmonize with the accents in the teardrops, the steering wheel trim, and the dials in the dash. The contrast will suit the black exterior.

I ask him about the vinyl top. It looks like it is in good shape, but Dan says that he's going to replace it. "This one is my wife's car. I've got my pickup, so I'm letting her choose the design on this one. She'd like black metal flake, so we're going to pull off the vinyl. It may be stock, but we're customizing it, not restoring it."

He shows me the special vintage license plate he got from the Washington DMV. "I messed up there," he says. "I got the wrong first letter. Now everyone will think this car first entered Washington in Tacoma instead of Clark County." He shrugs his shoulders. "At least I won't have to register it again as long as I live in this state." As soon as he takes the car off the blocks, he can drive it anywhere.

He shows me one last change he is going to make. He points to the chrome handles on the door. "I'm going to remove those. When I'm done, the line on the fins will be clean all the way down the side of the car." I'm a bit puzzled. I wonder how he is going to get into the car. He tells me that he's going to put a magnetic catch in the door. I ask him, "Can't anyone with a magnet get into the car then?" He laughs. "They have to know where I hid the magnet. I can put it anywhere." He assures me that this is technology from 1960.

Dan has customized too many cars to give me a count, so I ask him, "Why do you do this?" He tells me that he doesn't want to see the art of building cars disappear. Most of his car-building buddies are in retirement.

Dan tells me that this is a disappearing art, taking parts from different cars and building something of your own creation. He points to parts lined up around the garage. "That's my next project. I'm going to build a hotrod that fits the textbook definition."

I bring him back to his current project. I ask him what he plans on doing with his car once he's finished with it. He says that he's looking forward to driving it to his next car show. He says that he really doesn't care if he gets into the show. The real fun is driving there with his wife and sharing notes with all the other enthusiasts that show up.

He tells me that his goal is to get Jennifer's car ready for the upcoming Chec's Banger in the spring. "I proposed to her three years ago at the Chec's Banger. I hid the engagement ring in a tin of hair grease. She was completely surprised. So it's kind of an anniversary."

I realize my feet are very cold. It's time to find a warmer spot. Dan is looking a bit cold, too. I don't think he'll be working on his car tonight. The cozy sofa may just be too hard to resist tonight. But maybe he'll get back to work tomorrow!

By Denise Rutledge

Denise Rutledge is a freelance writer and editor, living in Vancouver, WA. She has always loved old cars.