RAMBLIN' MAN

SHANE MCELLHENNEY'S 1965 RAMBLER HAS AN LS ENGINE AND PRESSURIZED AIR

Is it the journey or the destination? That's a question worth asking when someone builds or restores a vehicle. In most cases, the simple answer would be the destination. A satisfying result at the end of that journey usually makes a person want to do it again, though maybe with a little less effort. For Shane McEllhenney, that meant searching for a completely different vehicle after the comprehensive restoration of his 1991 Camaro.

The only criterion Shane had with the search was that it had to be Bow Tie flavored in some way, which was a brand preference ingrained in him at an early age. "I grew up in a GM family, working on cars and going to car shows and the local dragstrip. My grandfather worked as a mechanic and my dad always had Camaros. Cars have always been around me and are in my blood," he recalled. The Camaro was his first car, which he purchased when he was only 15 and still has to this day. He continues, "Not being old enough to drive at that time, I completely stripped and partially restored it to use as my daily driver throughout high school. I eventually restored it again, a process that included installing a ZZA 350 crate engine, and it landed me a feature in Camaro Performers magazine in 2010."

When the phrase "life gets in the way" is brought up, it's a safe bet that anything with wheels usually lands on the back burner. Shane explained, "I had a lot of good times with the Camaro until I bought a house. At that point, playtime came to a halt because I ended up spending roughly two years doing some major house renovations." His home-improvement regimen became a massive time sink, but that lack of wrenching gradually amplified the desire to kick off another vehicle project.