While making our way back towards our campsite after spending a few hours doing tourist things at the Grand Canyon Lodge and Visitors Center, we walked past the showers and laundry building on the main entrance road, and we spied this beauty....a mid-1930's Ford Coupe.
A couple of other features...the tail lights are rectangular as is the brakelight mounted on the license plate holder...and this design element is carried through to the shape of the exhaust pipes.
When we mentioned this car to Sue and Fletcher, Fletcher said he saw the owner cleaning the car too. Later, as we walked with Sue and Fletcher to dinner at the Lodge, we saw the car again, this time all shined up and gleaming in the late day sun.
Fletcher happened to see the owner on the path to the Lodge, so we walked over to say hi and tell him that we liked his car...this is Mark, the owner of this very cool car.
This is the (brief) story of Mark and his car...Mark is from Maryland, and 20 years ago he found the hulk of this car hanging in a barn. He thought he could fix it up and maybe it would be a three year and $10,000 project. Well, it turned into a 20 year project costing $30,000, and when we asked him about whether it was done by Chip Foose, and he said it was not, though when we pointed out the Foose rims he said that he did give Chip Foose some money.
When Mark bought the car he found a map of the Grand Canyon in the glovebox and he swore when he got the car done he would drive it out there. Then, five years later Mark suffered a stroke at the age of 44 and it has left him without the use of his left arm.
The 15th anniversary of his stroke came this year and coincided with the day of the eclipse. So his plan came together...he would finally take this beautiful car to the Grand Canyon as he promised he would, and he would do it to on the day of the eclipse to celebrate his triumph over such a very dark and trying chapter in his life. So Mark drove over 1,900 miles from his home in Maryland to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon using only his right arm. (Ask Michael and he'll tell you it's quite a chore even with two good arms!) And on top of that, at one point his GPS led him astray and he ended up on a gravel forest road...this beautiful low-slung coupe creeping along the gravel road at 10 miles per hour...which explains why he needed to do some detailing on it when he arrived!
It was an honor to meet Mark and learn his inspirational story...and to see his beautiful car, the Foose Camping Coupe!
Now, being fans of nice cars, and having watched more than a few (hundred) car make-over and restoration shows on TV, we had to take a closer look. As we examined the car we saw a few unmistakable design cues that it was at least influenced, if not recreated by the master of resto-mods, Chip Foose. The door handles have been removed to create smooth, sleek lines. The antenna is retractable and has been recessed on the rear deck near the rumble seat. Speaking of the rumble seat, the handle is also gone, and it, along with the doors, must open from an electronic fob. Very cool.
The last piece of the puzzle...Foose rims...this is it! The ultimate camping coupe ala Chip Foose!
When we mentioned this car to Sue and Fletcher, Fletcher said he saw the owner cleaning the car too. Later, as we walked with Sue and Fletcher to dinner at the Lodge, we saw the car again, this time all shined up and gleaming in the late day sun.
When Mark bought the car he found a map of the Grand Canyon in the glovebox and he swore when he got the car done he would drive it out there. Then, five years later Mark suffered a stroke at the age of 44 and it has left him without the use of his left arm.
The 15th anniversary of his stroke came this year and coincided with the day of the eclipse. So his plan came together...he would finally take this beautiful car to the Grand Canyon as he promised he would, and he would do it to on the day of the eclipse to celebrate his triumph over such a very dark and trying chapter in his life. So Mark drove over 1,900 miles from his home in Maryland to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon using only his right arm. (Ask Michael and he'll tell you it's quite a chore even with two good arms!) And on top of that, at one point his GPS led him astray and he ended up on a gravel forest road...this beautiful low-slung coupe creeping along the gravel road at 10 miles per hour...which explains why he needed to do some detailing on it when he arrived!
It was an honor to meet Mark and learn his inspirational story...and to see his beautiful car, the Foose Camping Coupe!
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