Built from the ground up

A “backyard mechanic” with no formal training, Doug Smith found a way through years of hard work to build a car from what was ready for its end.

The finished product? A fully rebuilt 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle 300. The beautifully painted turquoise muscle car, which oozes cool, is one of 11,000 of its kind. It was the 31st one off the company line, according to Smith.

Smith knew what the scrapheap he saw in 2011 could be. So he bought the car, and after 13 years he has a piece of shiny, mechanical art. He took it to the Show and Shine Car Show in order to show it off on Saturday at Aberdeen Summerfest.

While his car didn’t win at the show, it didn’t seem to matter. Smith was happy to talk about what he’s done in order to get it to its current condition.

The smooth, custom-painted classic automobile required a lot of work. Smith was prepared.

“When I bought it, I dragged it out of a barn,” Smith said. “It was gutted and stripped for 13 years in a barn. It was ready for the shredder. I built that whole car myself, painted it and everything (else) in the garage. I built every piece of it, motor, transmission, rear end, everything. I’ve done it all myself, suspension, everything. That’s actually the first car (that) I did all the interior.”

Smith said when he picked it up, it shocked people.

“Most people looked at it like ‘what did you buy that for?’” Smith said. “And now, they would love to have it. But I saw the diamond in the rough.”

The fact it was a Chevelle was a huge selling point for Smith.

“I’m a Chevelle guy, I love Chevelles,” Smith said. “I wanted one and I built my own.”

Similar to a house that needs repairs, Smith could see the good “bones.”

“When I bought it, when it was stripped and gutted, I mean there was nothing. It had no steering no brakes, nothing. It was ready for the shredder,” Smith said. “I paid $3,500 for it. Right now, I have about $8,500 into it. It’s a gold mine right now. It’s unbelievable what those cars are going for. I’ve seen one go across Barrett Jackson (Auction Company) for $150,000. It’s super rare.”

How much time did it take?

Smith and his wife Jackie showed what the car looked like before all of Doug’s work. The car looks completely different now from what it did then.

The Chevelle looked like something to give to a nephew who drives recklessly. It didn’t look like a showpiece. But thankfully, for the Chevelle, Smith was the one who saw what it could be. And he went to work to do what he could to bring it back to glory.

“It took me a year and a half to find enough parts because they never made any reproduction parts for that car. That was a throwaway,” Smith said. “It was a demonstrator in ’66. This car was actually the 31st car off the assembly line in ’66. Basically, this was the car that they showed you to talk you into buying the (Chevrolet) Malibu.”

Despite all of this, Smith worked fast.

“It took me a year and a half to find enough stuff to put it together,” Smith said. “And then, once I had everything, I was working all the time. Start to finish, I built the car, didn’t paint it, but built it and had it on the road in four and a half months by myself. Nobody else helped me.”

Backyard mechanic

“I was never taught anything, I learned on my own and it was just something I was fascinated by,” Smith said. “And I just excelled from there.”

Smith said he’s always had a passion for old cars.

“From the time I was 14 to 15, I started building motors on my own for people,” Smith said. “And then I just excelled from there. I just turned into a Chevy guru. I started working on everything. There ain’t much I don’t know how to fix. I do body work, everything.”

Smith said he loves this kind of work.

“When you get to the end results, that’s when all your hard work pays off,” Smith said.

Smith called the Chevelle a challenge.

“You can’t buy rear corner panels for it, you can’t find door skins, there is no glass for that car anywhere,” Smith said. “I’d have replaced the glass years ago, but you just can’t find it. I can get the front windshield, but I can’t get the side glass or the back glass.”

“Nobody will make it for me since it’s bowed,” Smith said. “From top to bottom (the glass) bowed in and nobody will cut it for me.”

Smith showed off the original glass.

“I’ve been trying since I’ve got the car to find glass and it’s not available,” Smith said. “When the Glass Doctor came in town, I thought ‘Oh, I’ll see if he can find it.’ He gave me a number for a guy on the East Coast. The guy said he had it. I called him up. It was one of those deals where it was like ‘Yeah I have it all.’ I go, ‘for a 300?’ He goes ‘it’s a Chevelle?’ I said ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘But it’s for a post car, right?’ He goes ‘oh … no I don’t. He said ‘I can’t get that either.’”

Smith said he is still “stuck with a stock glass. I can’t change that,” Smith said. “But that’s OK. I’m having fun with the car and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Just last year Smith converted it over to a T-10 four-speed, because he always wanted a four-speed. So he converted the whole thing.

Speed racer

Smith loves driving his Chevelle.

“It puts a smile on my face every time I start it,” Smith said. “It’ll definitely plant you in the seat if you want to be planted.”