DIY - Do It Yourself
This site is dedicated to those individuals who like to do-it-yourself (DIY) when building Kustom cars and hot rods. These are the ones who take "it can't be done" as a challenge and like to prove it wrong. People who enjoy spending the time searching through junkyards and data books looking for the illusive part that will work.
1954 Pontiac Tempest Kustom
Here's how it looked when I first found it! If I only knew what I know now!
Front grill
Rear 3/4 view
The view you will see when I'm going down the road!
My name is Eugene Blanchard and I'm a born and bred DIY (Do It Yourselfer). My project is a rare 1954 Canadian Pontiac Tempest that I'm in the process of kustomizing. Early on, I found that the standard pen and scrap piece of paper method of keeping track of the project wasn't working. I ended up with a pile of papers and photographs stuffed into a binder in no particular order. Switching to webpages for my documentation provided the clear and concise platform that I needed to remember what the heck I was doing.
One of the great side effects is that I'm also able to share the information and resources that I've discovered with the rest of the world. Here's my 2 year runaway project now going on its 8th year!
This site is divided into the following resources:
- Differences between 1954 Canadian Pontiacs,
American Pontiacs and Chevs
- The story of my car
- My Car's build sheet
- Advice to those who've never tackled a
project like this before.
- Progress report and Tech Articles - This is divided into two sections: the progress reports summarize
what I'm currently working on and the technical articles detail the do it yourself how-to topics. Lots of info here.
- What I would do and not do next time
- How to stop a car thief! You can't really stop
them but you can slow them
down enough that maybe they'll look somewhere else.
- Just plain old links to Car Stuff links
- A list of car books that I just plain like.
- I purchased a box of hood ornaments at a flea market and ended up making
the
Identifying Hood Ornaments page
which helps to identify all makes of hood ornaments.
- I collabrated with the Seattle Street Rods to create their
Technical Article
Index which lists
car magazine (Hot Rod, Custom Rodder, Rod and Custom, Car Craft, Street Rod
Builder, Hemmings Rod n Performance, etc..)
tech articles by category. So if ya don't know how to do something, look there
cause they probably already
wrote a howto about it during the past 40 years.
- Here's other links to 1953-54
Chevs/Pontiacs and other car build-up sites that I particularly like.
- Came across a great deal on a 1957 Corvette
resto-rod replica car and was all gungho on building it but I had to sell it before I really got started.
- Here's my website on the 1954 Corvair Fastback which is really a 1954 Corvette Fastback show car from the 1954 GM Motorama. I hope to build a restorod of it someday. It would have modern drivetrain and suspension but look exactly like the 1954 model. I understand that there is an exact replica being built right now! I'll wait until the builder makes his announcement before leaking any more news.
- Here's some webpages I threw together of cars that I have previously owned and worked extensively on:
- Lastly, I would like to acknowledge all the wonderful individuals and companies that have helped me.