Having smashed into a Camaro on the second day.
The 25th HOT ROD 2019 Power Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance and Driven by Continental took place this year from June 8th through June 14th. The exciting seven-day, seven-city journey brings together more than 6,000 vehicles and 100,000 spectators to make it the largest traveling car show on the globe. That being said, each year has its highlights; and this time around, a 1967 Mustang Fastback is making it into the spotlight.
This year was the third HOT ROD Power Tour for Cole Phillips, 20, of Auburn, Alabama and his 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback. He and his father fixed up the muscle car when he was just 15 years old. Cole has driven the car on a daily basis through high school and even commutes two hours to his family’s home when he isn’t busy working as a machinist. He roughly puts about 5,000 miles on the Fastback each month. Cole says, “It’s nothing crazy. It’s got a small block, refurbished suspension, I built the rear end for it, and put Sniper EFI on it.” In order to have it ready for the 2019 Power Tour, he added a Vintage A/C system, power steering, and a five-speed manual transmission.
Unfortunately for Cole, things took a pretty bad turn almost immediately. During the second day of the Power Tour, his Mustang slammed into the back of a fourth-generation Camaro that had come to a quick stop in a lineup of cars. This was the culmination of approaching an overcrowded gas stop on a damp roadway with old drum brakes. Tires were screeching and hearts were pounding, no doubt about it. Luckily, no one was hurt in the accident, but the cars took quite the beating. The Mustang was far more wrecked than the Camaro with the core support trashed, a broken headlight, twisted bumper, messed up hood, mangled radiator, and a pushed-in fender. According to HOT ROD, the Chevy went on its merry way with just some scratches and dents, chipped paint, and what sounded like a broken exhaust.
Rather than throwing in the wrench, Cole and his family decided to do a quick repair on the Fastback so that he could continue on and finish the 2019 Power Tour. His dad and younger brother jumped in their truck and came back with a Toyota 4Runner radiator that would fit his Mustang. Although it was too tall, the two of the holes in the core support actually lined up. Cole got his hands on a battery-powered angle grinder and went on to cut a hole in the hood. Before anyone knew it, Cole Phillips was back on the road in Martinsville, Virginia. The car was surely a sight to see and ran great as it pulled into Bristol Motor Speedway on day three.
A woman he met along the road handed him a Sharpie and suggested he have people sign the car. He went along with the idea and made a post on Facebook about it. Before he knew it, people were flocking to him and asking if they could leave a print on the wrecked ‘Stang. Everything from the windshield forward is signed and stickered, as is made evident by all the black and silver Sharpie marks. Cole Phillips said that the car ran fine until he was about 100 miles from his home, with the plugs acting up.
Of course many people would be devastated if this happened to their Mustang, and maybe even quit the journey. Cole Phillips did just the opposite. He kept a positive attitude and willingness to finish the Tour, which made for one of the most interesting stories of this year’s event. “It’s weird, people love that it’s wrecked and want me to leave it that way,” says Cole.” He said it’ll stay in its current form for a couple more months. “I’ve already got the parts I need from a donor car.”
Source: HOT ROD
