Like a Phoenix From the Ambulance Ashes...

I have been pondering for a while what car I would like to restore if it ever fell into my lap. I had a near-purchase experience several months ago with a 1977 Toyota Celica. The price was wrong, the budget was tight, and let's face it, it was puppy love. A high school crush if there ever was one for an automobile. You see, it had been a long time since I've been able to fabricate alongside my old man, and in the time that I've been away, I've developed an itch. I know what you are thinking, so let's get it out in the open, "seriously, a Toyota?!" It is important to interject here that, yes, I do have standards. My list of automotive interests includes many relevant cars ranging from the cliche (1965 Ford Mustang GT), to the muscular (1968 Chevy Camaro), to the unattainable (1971 Plymouth Barracuda). In the heat of passion, I felt that the Celica was the Juliet to my Romeo. This seemed to be the piece of me that had been missing all these years. That is, you see, until my friend Craig('s list) open my blind eyes. It was not loyalty to the Celica name that had drawn me in, it was the was that she masterfully imitated everything that I love about the muscle car generation. Her three bar tail lights that reminded me of the iconic mustang tail lights; the long, low fastback, reminicent of the prowess of a Charger.  Fortunately, by the time I had enough money to purchase a project car, all I could see were the Celica's shrinking tail lights.  I say fortunately because there was a new girl moved in just down the street and I heard that she was looking for a new owner.  On Craigslist I found a 1973 Datsun 240Z.  She looks like she has had a rough past, but with some TLC, I think we will have a bright future together.  THANKS CRAIGSLIST!!!