BluePrint + Hot Rod to the Rescue
We were recently reminded of a heart-warming way that we were able to come to the rescue for a serviceman with our friends at Hod Rod Network.
Arthur Ingraham left his 1968 Firebird at a shop outside Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2009 in order to serve our country.
At the time, he was stationed at Fort Brag and was about 2,000 miles away from his home in California. As such, he had nowhere to keep the car.
He reached out to a local hot rod shop that took his money, offered the Firebird a place to stay, and while Ingraham was on active duty in Baghdad, they ruined it.
After returning from Iraq, Ingraham realized that several parts he ordered were nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, the 400ci Chevy built by the shop barely ran.
“I felt my stomach drop out when I saw the car,” Ingraham told Hot Rod Network.
“I noticed the stick welds and thought ‘I can weld better than this,’ and I’ve only welded once on my grandparent’s farm as a kid. It was so saddening to see it like that. I just wanted to be done,” he said.
After seeing the Firebird in such poor condition, the folks at Hot Rod were determined to help Ingraham make it right. They called us about a new engine and we were able to have a 383ci short block with a forged rotating assembly, oil pan, timing cover and a full roller cam valvetrain airfreighted the next day.
We also included a set of aluminum units, pre-assembled with valve springs for a hydraulic roller cam.
The end result after some elbow grease?
A beautiful Firebird that we’re sure he’s not to let out of his sight for years to come.
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