It was one of those experiences you just don’t forget. We were cruising the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on our trusty loaner golf cart at the Street Machine Nationals. It was a picture-perfect late- June day in Southern Illinois. As we neared the facility’s iconic marquee, first we heard it.
Whooomp. Whooomp. Whooomp. Whooomp.
What. Is. THAT? Then we saw it. A gorgeous, gleaming, screaming yellow bucket of badness just five cars back in the cruise lane.
We immediately pulled our cart to the side and hopped off to snap some pics. Ittook a grand total of about three seconds to decide that we had found another feature car for RPM’s Street Scene series.
The guy behind the creation in its current state is Terry Ciesla, a thickly-built shop manager from New Lenox, Illinois. Ciesla isn’t just interested in building his biceps, though. He likes plenty of muscle in his garage, as well.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have been interested in engines and what makes things tick,” Ciesla said. “My mom used to say I was always fixing things, from go-carts to mini bikes and pedal bikes. As I got older it changed to snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and finally cars,” he added.
At 16 years old, Ciesla’s first car was a ’57 Chevy. After selling that first ride, he purchased a’68 Cougar that he had built as a driver and a show car. The Cougar went to the Street Nats from 1985-1994. Following an ’86 Mustang SVO and a 1996 Corvette, Ciesla decided it was time to return to his roots. He traded the Vette for the ’55 two door post in 2000 and set out to build it to his liking over the course of the next decade.
“The car had been treated to a complete frame-off restoration by a premier local …. Read more of this article. Just click on the digital feature below this introduction.
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