This video comes to us from Tail Fins and Chrome, posted on YouTube on Saturday, May 4th, 2013. While covering the Wildwoods Car Auction, the Tailfins and Chrome crew headed north to Pomona to see about a “Hot Rod Farm.”

There they met Jim Rawa, a professional auto restorer and car collector. 

Jim had a whole host of hot rods to choose from, including a Lincoln Capri, a Lincoln Premier, as well as a host of Plymouth Furies. 

’71 Chevelle Malibu

Jim states that his connection to cars started with his ’71 Chevelle, formerly his mother’s, and the one that he was driven home in when he was a 1-month-old baby. 

Jim couldn’t bear to part with it and its history, even at a young age; he was working on the car all through his teens, doing detail and engine upgrades to make it impressive. 

His tour eventually takes us through a renovated industrial chicken coop, where he has collected all his projects and maybe-laters.

Being a self-made man, Jim takes pride in doing all his own restorations on-site: body repair, paint, and drivetrain modification, among other things. In fact, the only thing he doesn’t do himself is an engine block, which he outsources to local Pomona machinists on account of scarce garage space.

’58 Chrysler Golden Commando Savoy

Here in the garage, Jim has a sparkling gem in his 305 hp ’58 Chrysler Golden Commando Savoy, one that he believes is the last of its kind, based on the Chrysler historical registry and “deliberation through online car clubs,” he states.

Remarkably, he heard about the car through a friend of his (who was a caretaker) that the owner (who had bought and had it shipped over from Arizona) had passed away; even more so, the car had only been re-painted once, and nothing else. No broken transmission or faulty timing, nothing of the sort; just a miraculous, extraordinary automobile. 

’58 Plymouth Belvedere

By far, however, the apple of Jim’s eye is his ’58 Plymouth Belvedere Fury, and the one appropriately nicknamed “Christine.”

Purchased in ’98, the car had been in storage for 35 years. Jim had it repainted from white to blood and dropped in a 440 two years later, after he had sold his first “Christine” and wanted another one.

It’s gone through changes like disc brake conversion and rewiring since then, and driven from Connecticut to Pennsylvania and everywhere in between without a hitch: “It’s not afraid to attack 4,000 rpm for several hours straight.”

“And the gas mileage isn’t terrible either,” he adds.