Text Box: Continued from Page 1 What is a Pridesman? That’s a question I have been asked several times, In short, a Pridesman is an individual that has worked hard on a project, struggled through its development and is proud of what they have accomplished. Projects can be of any nature, it could be restoring an classic automobile, building a backyard shed, building your first computer or organizing an event. Any project you have poured your heart and soul into its development, it does not have to be perfect, it simply has to represent your best efforts. That’s the definition of a Pridesman. How was Pridesman Garage founded? In the summer of 1994 my best friend Francisco “Paco” Ramirez, my Father Joe “Floorboard” Martinez and I pushed my 1966 Mustang into the driveway of my parents home. The feeling of seeing that car in the drive was one of accomplishment. I now owned my first car and it was a great feeling, the question the preceded that feeling was, how am I going to fix this car? This car establishes the beginning of Pridesman Garage, because now here I am as teenager looking at a shell of Mustang coupe wondering how I am going to restore it. “Just put the Grease Lighting song on Jake and by the time it finishes, it will fix itself.” - Alfred Solis The Mustang was named Carter, after my first love Wonder Woman..aka..Linda Carter. Carter had an engine that did not run, a transmission that was questionable, a shredded wiring harness that did not function, and was missing half of the interior components. This 1966 Ford Mustang, that was about to become my first and awkwardly enough an ongoing project till this day. A-BB-A = AD Looking back at it now Carter represented a transition, a milestone if you will. Before Carter arrived, much of our time (my friends and family) was spent in the backyard being BB gun sharpshooters, military commandos, imagery basketball superstars and having campouts in the AD Clubhouse determined to beat an entire video game in one night. AD becomes Pridesman After Carter it was trying to figure how a $3.25 an hour job was ever going to get me all the parts I wanted to complete this car and get it back on the road. The backyard was transformed into a restoration center with a single goal, restoring Carter. Days were spent in school, while the evenings were spent working and being shade tree mechanics. I remember my dad would say, “Every part does not need to be replaced, where gonna tear it up and fix it as best we can”. Looking back, this is when I learned to do the best I could with what I had and sometimes it takes more that money to restore a car, it takes time, some good friends and little ingenuity. Chevy vs. Ford vs. Pride Paco’s first official vehicle was a 1969 Chevy Pickup that after months of begging, was finally given to him by his father. Determined to work on it we began doing whatever work we could to it. Paco and I would clean out the interior and repair the rust issues truck had. Frank and I where cutting sheet metal with snips, riveting in new metal and filling it Bondo. This project ended when it was determined the trucks engine needed an replacement or an engine overhaul, neither of which Paco or I was capable of affording at that time. This truck was later sold in a buy 1 get 2 sale as Paco’s mother sold this and another truck from the Ramirez collection. Alfred’s first official vehicle was an 1966 Chevy Impala SS. My father and I found this car in Skidmore, Texas. This impala was a Super Sport SS pretty rare we guessed so we delivered this car to him for his 16th birthday. Alfred, Paco and I were determined to fix this vehicle and we worked as best we could. In the end, I was too much too soon. It needed extensive drive-train work, more than we capable of performing at the time so the Impala was sold. Fast forward a couple years and both Paco and Alfred became mid 80’s Camaro owners. So there we where, three guys who owned functional cars, but not really the ones they wanted. I have always wanted a 1965 Mustang Convertible, instead I owned a 1966 Mustang Coupe. While Paco always wanted a 1977 Trans AM, like the one from Smokey and The Bandit. Instead he owned an 198? T-top IROC Camaro. Alfred I believe always wanted a Impala Convertible. Instead he drove an 198? RS Camaro. So what do you call a car club with a bunch of guys who are proud the work they have done and have pride in the vehicles they now own. But it was not the cars then wanted, the name seemed to fit, in my mind at least, Pridesman. What’s your 20? This is the time I feel the three of us had grown-up the most, fewer and fewer days were spent in the backyard and working on cars and more time was spent exploring the city in our cars. Gas was cheap and if the cars ran we were out and about. Understand that this was the time before cheap air-time/ minutes and cell phones where expensive. So what do we do, we all install CB’s and now we talk while on the road and in our cars. Alfreds call sign “Marlboro Man”, came from an move titled Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Alfred was the only one of us who smoked and he always wanted a Harley so it fit. Franks call sign “Bandit” came from the movie Smokey and The Bandit. Paco loved this movie so It fit as he would always imagine his car was that famous black Trans AM. My call sign was “Law-sheep” after the TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard. The name seemed to fit. Next