beginnings

The late afternoon sun shot a dappled beam through the orange trees onto the dusty black-white checkered floor. The garage door was open and it was almost 5 o'clock. Almost quitting time, almost time to go home. Silence reigned in the orange grove outside the shop and a springtime wind scented of citrus wafted by our nostrils. I leaned back against the weatherbeaten paint of the Volvo station wagon and cocked a foot against the rear bumper.

"So dude, we have to come up with a name for that sticker of yours."

DC nodded and pulled at the cigarette. A curl of smoke blended itself into the sunbeam's haze inside the shop.

"It's so much more than just another sticker idea though. A good name should really express what we're about. And we're about a lot of things. Simple things, old things, fixing them and keeping them running, but all the while keeping up the hot-rod spirit, adding that little bit of art into it, you know."

"You're right, we have to think of some themes; daily-driver, simplicity, homemade, but with a hot rod attitude. Maybe not quite the hot rod spirit of total performance though."

"That's not to say performance will be entirely left out of the equation. I mean, I'd like to supercharge the sedan, and you're talking about putting hotter cams in the GS."

"True, but I don't NEED more power. Neither of us needs more power just to get back and forth to work...but there is something to stripping the machine down and giving it that little bit of edge."

* * *

A few weeks passed after this conversation. Nothing would come. No good names. I couldn't for the life of me come up with a concise word or phrase that captured our attitude toward our rides....but today DC pulled me aside.

"I've got the word, dude! Try this: "imperfected" but leave out the last e."

And there it was. Homemade, cobbled together from new parts and used parts, simple and raw always with that quality of daily-driver practicality, but also with a pinstripe or two, polished rims or painted valve covers to keep alive the hot-rodder in both of us. Always a work in progress, always a new part to add or an old one to repair. Imperfect'd indeed.

And so Imprfctd.blogspot was conceived as a way for us to chronicle our projects, the blood, sweat, tears and joys...and equally important, the ideas and links and resources we come across along the way.

So welcome to the garage! Enjoy your stay, and we hope you find something fun or useful.