Our story
About Me
I majored in geology and marine biology in school with a concentration in paleontology. Obviously, science is my deal. I love adventuring, exploring, discovering, learning, and experiencing. So it’s really no surprise to anyone that as soon as I graduated I announced my intention to take a huge trip as the first chapter in my post-academia life. And it’s really no surprise to anyone that I actually followed through with my intentions, as I am well-known for my “bulldog” nature. Once I get an idea I’ll grab it in my teeth and I won’t let go. Which brings me to the next part…
Meet Calamity Jane, my 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback
How did this all start?
I’ll take the opportunity here to give a brief (for me) history of how I’ve come to be driving this 48-year-old monstrosity on a cross-country road trip. I’ve had this car for nearly 4 years now, and everything that this car is is a direct product of my inability to let something pass me by. Back in the spring of 2010, I decided that I was tired of sitting on my butt twiddling my thumbs and that I should learn to work with my hands. And if I was going to work with my hands, it might as well be something useful, so I decided that auto mechanics would be my new thing. But modern cars are very complicated and honestly not that fascinating to me, so I decided that I should get a vintage car to start my new hobby off. And naturally it followed that if I was going to get a vintage car, I might as well go for the gold and get my dream car - a 60’s Ford Mustang. Specifically, I wanted a ‘65, ‘66, ‘69, or ‘70 fastback. It had to be powered by an all-American V8 and a manual transmission - nevermind the fact that I had no idea how to drive manual. I figured I would learn when I got the car in a “sink or swim” type situation. The car needed to be in serviceable condition with no structural body rust or damage (though poorly running engines, fudged transmissions, and dented or rusted exterior sheet metal was fine with me). Mostly I wanted a good “starter project” car. I spent a few months perusing Craigslist and eBay looking for THE car. There are many cars in this world, but I assumed that only one would be exactly right for me.
In September, I stumbled across a Craigslist ad for a ‘66 fastback with a 289ci V8, 4-speed Toploader transmission, running and driving, with a decent body. It was nearby so I hopped over to the guy’s house to take a look. When I saw that car sitting in his driveway I was a goner. Couldn’t have any other car. Someone could have put a concours gold Shelby GT500 in front of me and I would not have looked twice at it. So, that weekend my new old car came home with me. It was the start of an absolutely absurd, totally ridiculous, extraordinarily frustrating, and oftentimes hilarious partnership. After the first month the car had already earned her name – Calamity Jane.
Fast forward 3 years. My obsession with this car had really only gotten worse and I was determined to build her into my perfect ultimate daily driver. This included extra safety (3-point seatbelts, late model Mustang seats, LED taillights), better street handling (rack and pinion power steering, improved disc brakes, throttle body EFI, subframe connectors), and some creature comforts (A/C, a radio with an auxilary port, and that’s about it). It took me three years of weekends to get her exactly right, but in April 2013 she was DONE. I took her to my college in North Carolina for finals week for a “shakedown week” in which I ironed out all of the problems that could and would crop up. This was done in preparation for driving her halfway across the country to Colorado, where I had a summer job lined up.