Progress on taking ex-racer A12 back to the street

[Rebelrouser]

I bought this car in 2007 out of Akron. Belonged to a guy named Paul McCoy, maybe you know him from the track.

This is just before I bought it:

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It was all stripped out and cut up, courtesy of this guy
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I took it to a few T&Ts but eventually I bought a parts car to get everything I needed to turn it back into a street car
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But I wasn't able to get anyone I trusted to do the metal work so it sat disassembled for about 10 years.
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Eventually a guy I knew and trusted started up a bodyshop, so it went there in 2022.

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Yes the cowl top came off because it had the wiper/louver delete from Arlen, including the bottom of the cowl delete since water couldn't get in there now. You can see there even the V-brace is gone. I guess the moral of the story is to never trust a man who gets cars for free to prep your car.

Eventually it was all patched up, rotisseried, and painted.

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Finally, almost 3 years to the day it left, it's back here

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It still has the speed holes, mini-tubs, and the springs are moved into the rails so it's not completely neutered now.

More to follow.

Akron Arlen or Arlen Vanke is no longer with us, but was a major figure in super stock and early prostock. If you have any paperwork that ties him to your car it would be good to keep it. I remember Arlen joking that just his name on the title was worth an extra $2000. Several years back before his health failed, he raced Nostalgia Super Stock, and I raced with the group heck of a nice guy.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/akron-arlen-vanke/