When I was hired straight out of college as an Associate Editor for Mopar Muscle Magazine, I was assigned to scribble out 400 words introducing myself. Years later, I found myself transitioned over to powersports media where I was given 800 words to blab about myself. Now the Editor of Street Legal TV, I’ve been given 1,000 words. Awesome…

From the Ground Level
Besides the traffic, the whiny fame-grubbing starlets, and the ridiculous cost of living, growing up in Southern California isn’t too bad, especially if you’re born into a car family.

My father during his “greaser” years embodied that iconic So Cal Hot Rod spirit; hair slicked back, clad in cuffed jeans, a pair of Chuck Taylors and a wrinkled pack of Lucky’s tucked up in a rolled t-shirt sleeve standing beside his belly-dragging ’51 Ford Vic. Soon, a small block Chevy-powered ’30 roadster followed his sled and when we kids showed up, he picked up a ’67 Oldsmobile Turnpike Cruiser with the big 400 and TH350. He was now a “family man” after all.

My older brother inherited the bug too, cycling through a massive variety of muscle cars including a 10-second ’69 Chevelle, a pair of big block Novas, two ’69 Oldsmobile 4-4-2s, a real four-speed ’67 R/T Coronet, and a wicked street-rodded ’55 shoebox. About the time I put away my action figures and started taking an interest in classic cars, my father and I picked up a ’65 fastback Mustang.

More rust than steel, the pony car was sold off. My eyes fell on my brother’s ’70 455-powered 4-4-2 he had picked up. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money so the burgundy-and-black striped Oldsmobile was sold off. I eventually landed an option-laden, smog-bogged ’73 split-bumper Camaro and enjoyed peg-legged burnouts and chasing down all the odd knocks and rattles. In the years between high school and college, I tooled around in one of my brother’s Novas which forever converted me to the hallowed big block.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to get my hands dirty, I consider myself the more “hands-on” type.

Crossing Over to the Dark Side
Yet, it wasn’t until I was 23 that I made the transition to Ma’ Mopar. While I was raised on endless reruns of the “Dukes of Hazzard,” my choice to hunt out a second-generation Dodge Charger was more influenced by the mobster-driven triple-black ’68 R/T Charger that pursued Frank Bullitt and his ’68 GT 390 Mustang in Bullitt with Steve McQueen. It was only chance that landed me a ’69 instead of the ’68 B-Body.

Nearly everything but a true R/T, the Charger touted Chrysler’s smallest big block, the four-barrel 383, a 727 TorqueFlite floor-mounted automatic, stout 8¾ rear differential, dual exhaust, air conditioning, power steering, power front discs, and interior light package. Yet, since so many ’69 Chargers either end up orange with a Dixie flag on the roof or completely restored into trailer queens, I had never seen an aggressively set-up, clean street Charger and vowed to build one myself.

Gone went all the power accessories. In went a six-point cage while retaining the backseat (I know, it’s a little of an odd anachronism), square-tube sub-frame connectors and torque boxes. I cut and boxed the factory K-frame like Dick Landy and Sox & Martin did so many years ago. A lightweight four-pin fiberglass hood replaced the heavy steel bonnet. Surprisingly, stock wheel wells house giant 30×9 slicks and a big RV battery rests behind the passenger-side rear wheel.

Right now, she’s still powerless – much to my chagrin. I’ve got bits and pieces to make her run, but not anywhere near the level that I know a pump-gas powered ’69 Charger R/T clone can. Hopefully, that will soon change. Dreams of a 1,000-horsepower 91-octane-friendly, all aluminum “no-B.S.” HEMI have entertained me at night. Maybe someday…

An absolute highlight of my career was the chance opportunity to pull and rebuild the venerable cross-rammed Hemi from Ronny Sox’s ’68 Super Stock Barracuda. Besides worrying that we’d injure the restored legendary race car, we also did the swap over a polished wood floor.

Jumping Into the Deep End
Sliding in behind the wheel at Street Legal TV was a unique experience. Believe it or not, I applied to parent company powerTV over three years ago when the company was still very new. It was only by a “long shot” email (and all the pictures of the Charger build on my FaceBook page) that I was considered for the position. Little did I know what I was truly getting myself into. Running one of the leading digital muscle car and hot rod magazines on the web is a bigger elephant to eat that I expected!

So what’s in store for Street Legal TV in the next few weeks and months? Up to date, SLTV has brought you some of the best up-to-date news, event coverage, interviews and shop visits imaginable. I like to get my hands a little dirty, so expect to see a whole lot of technical how-to articles. We want to help you get your project vehicle up and running. We want to give you tips from some of the industry’s best manufacturers on how to squeeze more power out of your classic ride, and more importantly, want you to be blown away by some of our never-before-seen project cars!

Flanked by my father, Kerry (far left), wife Heather (immediate left) and my older brother, Cameron (far right), I’ve been blessed to share and enjoy my love of hot rods, muscle cars, and everything else with a motor throughout my seven-year career.

Of course, no Editor’s an island and that’s why I’m happy to be flanked by Mark Gearhart, B.J. Kimbrough, Ian McBride, Andrew Wolf, Chris Demorro, Gordon McDonald and our crew of regular contributors.

Right now, me and the SLTV team are cooking up some pretty cool ideas; weekly departments like our weekly “Case of the Mondays” humor column, the “Hump Day Hole Shot,” and “Cars You Need to Know” departments, more diverse car coverage (we’re talking to you, Mopar, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac guys!) and tons more because there’s a lot more out there than Mustangs and Camaros. Plus, we’ve still got Project Grandma, our all-out-Malibu, our ’66 Chevy II, the “All Air” Camaro and “Swinger” Nova in our garage.

All dressed up and nowhere to go. Looking good from the outside, my nine-year budget project ’69 Charger still lacks a powertrain to get those 30×9 slicks to wrinkle up. My hopes are for low 10-seconds on pump-gas 91.

Steeped in California’s car culture, it was easy for me to fall in love with these machines. The Beach Boys sang about ’em, they swarm the streets on sunny Saturdays, and much of the aftermarket still inhabits the Orange Coast. But, whether you’re from California or anywhere else for that matter, today is a good day to be hot rod/muscle car enthusiast. Street Legal TV is the home for muscle car lovers. Welcome home, you’re in good company.

Light ‘em up,
Kevin