I Would Like to Share this with everyone

I have a story to tell about a young man that has touched the lives of many car enthusiasts in our hobby. His name is Elijah Ault. I first met Eli at Chrysler’s @ Carlisle in July of 2010 while I was visiting with Rick Gorski from Firecore50. While with Rick, I met a young man who told us about his battle with cancer and how the cancer is affecting his life. He was not complaining about the cancer or how it may be life threatening, he was simply stating the facts and how it has affected his daily activities. But, he still tries to live his life to the fullest, and not let cancer get in his way. This young man was not looking for sympathy, but instead, was looking to extend his hand out to who ever needed help in his path. After a short conversation with Eli, Rick and I went on with prep for the show.

The next morning at Carlisle, I heard that one of the writers for Mopar Collectors Guide, Paul Wilson, had lost his battle with Cancer. Throughout the day, I could not help but think about that young man I had met the day before and his ongoing battle with cancer. Then I bumped into Ed Buczeskie, Events Manager of Chryslers @ Carlisle and he asked me, “What do you know about an enthusiast in CT that is battling Cancer?” At first I wasn’t sure who Ed was referring to, but when he told me the persons name, I knew who he was talking about. I told Ed I had met Eli that weekend and knew only a little about his situation. We continued our conversation about the show and went on our busy ways. The next day Ed and I spent sometime together at a luncheon and again Eli came up. Ed looked at me and said, “WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING FOR HIM! DOES HE HAVE A CAR? WHAT KIND OF CAR? WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!” At that point, I told Ed I would take the lead and get information about Eli, his car and his situation. The weekend passed with great success, Another Chrysler’s @ Carlisle event, even better than the one before.

On my ride home, I could not help but think about Ed’s sense of urgency and need to make sure something gets done, and done quickly. The Tuesday morning after the weekend, I made calls and gathered enough information to present to Ed. Then I called Ed and the process started. Both Ed and I agreed we needed to take this project from delivery to completion in less that 90 days. We had no idea of the condition of Eli’s car, other than it was a 1966 Dart 270 Convertible. Per my conversation with Eli’s best friend, Jack McLean, I knew Eli wanted a V8 installed in it and that was really about it. Ed and I spoke about who could we have do the body work and paint? Who could we get funds from to make this come together? We bounced around many ideas and then went on our day thinking of ways to solve our challenges.

Within a couple of days I received a call from Ed and he said that he found someone that would do all the work at NO CHARGE! Gary and Pam Beineke from 71WingCars.com. Once I heard Gary and Pam were going to be involved in the restoration, I knew this project was going to be a success. I filled Ed in on information Jack had given me, that on July 25, 2010, Eli’s friends were going to have a benefit picnic for him and present Eli with his 1966 Dart that Sandy and Sally Schrader had spent many weeks making road worthy so it could be registered and driven. I contacted Jack and filled him in on the new restoration plan. Jack could not believe what was going to happen.

July 25, the plan was in place, bring my truck and trailer to Eli’s benefit party, talk to Eli and the 50 to 75 people at the party about the plan and then load the Dart and deliver it to Gary and Pam that same evening. The event was filled with happiness and friendship for the young man I had only met weeks ago. I had a chance to visit with his closest friends and understand why Eli is in such great spirits. The love and feelings all of these great people have for him is amazing. I heard stories about how Eli touched each and every one of their lives. The party went on and it was time to fill Eli in on our plan. As we brought the crowd to attention, Eli could not figure out what was going on. I told Eli how he touched my life, along with many other car enthusiasts and friends, and how we were going to do our part to bring his dream car to life, and bring some extra joy to his life and help lift his spirits as he endures his treatments. With tears of joy, Eli could not believe what was happening and was humbled that his friends new and old would do something like this for him. I then explained it was time to deliver his Dart To Gary and Pam Bieneke. We pulled the truck and trailer out of the back of the lot and loaded the Dart. Eli, in his true form, helped with the process from tying down the Dart to closing the door, excited to envision what it would look like the next time he saw his beloved Dart.

The process started with a deadline of completion in under 60 days. Gary, Pam, Ed and myself knew the urgency with this project was set to high. Gary started a wish list of parts and supplies needed, e-mailed it to me, and the calls began.

We should all be fortunate as I am, to be surrounded by the best group of enthusiasts and friends in the car hobby. The list of people that rallied to contribute parts, time, money, supplies and know-how is staggering. The stories and tears that were shed during every phone call I made telling Eli’s story to a friend, vendor or enthusiast are too many to tell.

On, September 19, 2010, day 56 of the build, we presented to Eli and all of his friends new and old, Gary and Pam’s Creation, “Eli’s 1966 Dart Charger.”

Eli’s Friend, Ralph Barbagallo

Contributors

This is what we started with

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Pete removing the Slant Six.

Fitting the Rally's and checking tire size.

I invite all the people that helped in this build to share Pictures and Stories.

The Big Day. September 19, 2010

Eli waiting....