CENTER TWP — After retirement, some men drive their wives crazy by meddling in their way of doing things. Dusty Rhodes, 62, decided he wouldn’t be that kind of retiree.

When he retired in December 2001, instead of rearranging the spice rack in the kitchen, he set out on a mission to convince his wife, Peggy, to approve of his new goal: to build a 1965 Shelby Cobra from a kit.

“When I came out of the service, I used to go to Gaylord’s (discount department store). They had a little course set up and cones in the parking lot. Triumphs, Porsches and the Karmen Ghias and MGs would go through a timed course. One time there was the 1965 Shelby Cobra. And he won,” Dusty said. “He used to come down there every Sunday and nobody could beat him.”

For almost a year, Peggy held out, believing it was just a phase her newly retired husband was going through. He had worked as a diesel mechanic for state Department of Transportation, then later in a management position there, so she wasn’t concerned about whether or not he had the ability to build the car.Months later, when she realized he was serious, cost became her main concern. The basic kit runs about $13,000.“(That’s) a lot to invest in a hobby,” she said.But Dusty was passionate about his dream, and he eventually convinced her of that.

In September 2002, with Peggy’s blessing, he embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. He began building the car he’d dreamt about since he was a young man.“You start off with a donor car,” Dusty said, “an ’87 to ’93 Mustang, 5.0 liter. You take it apart and use parts out of it to build this car.”Dusty found an ’87 for $1,000.“I had to completely strip the car,” he said. “When I was done it was nothing but a shell. (It had) set in the guy’s yard for three years so it had a lot of time to rust up. I spent a lot of time sand blasting and cleaning parts.”When he had the parts looking like new, he rented a trailer and he and a buddy drove to Windham, Mass., to pick up the Factory 5 Replica of the 1965 Shelby Cobra.

The fiberglass shell, completely covered in a protective gel coating, was light enough for the two men to lift without assistance. Underneath the shell was a steel frame and tubular inner-structure, which would eventually be bolted together.Also included were an instruction manual and boxes of parts Dusty could not get from his donor car.When Peggy saw all that, she was impressed with what her husband was about to do. “Very few people buy (a car) in boxes and go from the ground up,” she said.At first, Dusty did much of the work in a shed behind their home. When winter came, freezing temperatures forced him to thaw the metal pieces before working with them. Afraid that condensation would settle into the parts and ruin the motor, Dusty moved his project to the family’s heated garage.Peggy had only one requirement. “I said, ‘I don’t care where you put it as long as I have a spot in the garage,’ ” she said.Ironically, another hurdle Dusty had to overcome was not having proper tools.

“I used to have all the tools,” he said. When he moved into the management job, he and Peggy were not in the best of financial positions, so he sold the tools to make ends meet.“Plus, he didn’t need them,” Peggy explained. “He wasn’t working on heavy equipment and engines so there was no use for them.”After spending the money for tools, the couple thought Dusty was ready for the fun part: putting the car together.Unfortunately, the builder’s manual proved to be a stumbling block. “You’ve gotta understand the workings of a vehicle to even start,” he said.Though he understood the workings, he said the writer of the instructions either didn’t understand or couldn’t explain how to do many of the tasks. The manual was full of errors, he said.Dusty read and reread the explanations that didn’t jive until he was able to make sense of them.

“Think of putting kids’ toys together and they say put slot A into (flap B),” Peggy said. That’s what Dusty had to overcome.“You really have to know what you’re doing. For some guy who has (just) changed spark plugs, this isn’t for him.”Dusty figured things out and was finally able to get down to the business of building his dream car.“There were like 44 aluminum panels that had to be drilled and pop-riveted to provide the inner skin to the car,” he said. “They’re all pre-cut, provided by the manufacturer, some fitting required.”In order to provide a cushion between the Cobra’s steel frame and the aluminum panels, Dusty siliconed the seams where the two metals came together. With the frame done, he began putting in the parts he’d already prepared from the donor car.Getting the electrical system properly installed inside the Cobra was tricky.“I transferred the wiring harness from the ’87 Mustang to the new Cobra. (First) I had to check it all over,” he said. “I had it hanging in the basement and checked it all for proper contacts and condition, removing wires I didn’t need.”Then he decided to build the Cobra motor up for more horsepower.The donor Mustang was 225 horsepower with a 302 motor. “I put in a stroker crankshaft which takes it from 302 to 347 cubic inches with GT 40 P intake and heads,” Dusty said. That translates into 425 horsepower, but he hasn’t yet run it on the dynamometer, which tests horsepower to confirm the output.Dusty made some other changes to personalize his model. “I converted it to a five speed from an automatic, put in larger exhaust headers, under-drive pulleys, (and a) bigger oil pan.”Peggy got enthusiastic when the Cobra actually started looking like something a person could drive.“I bought the horn and the clutch for him for Christmas and his birthday,” she said. “That way when I burn out the clutch, I’m covered!”She even ended up helping him with some of the mechanical work. “I sat and pushed on the brakes however many times he told me to, and I helped him bleed the brakes,” she laughed.When all the pieces were together, it was time to paint the Cobra’s shell. “I chose to have somebody else paint it for me,” Dusty said.The workers at the body shop he chose took photos of the entire process. First they sanded off the gel body-coat, smoothed it, and block sanded and body-filled all the imperfections. Then they put on a primer coat and sanded it. Finally, they applied the permanent color.Initially, Dusty wanted to go with yellow. His plan changed when Peggy told him she didn’t like it.Eventually, he discovered a color that Peggy didn’t object to and one that intrigued him. “I chose to go with Mediterranean Mist Chameleon paint. It’ll change from turquoise, bronze, green, purple, (depending) on the angle you look at it,” he said.With the painting finished, Dusty had to complete one more assignment before driving the vehicle. “I had to apply for a license and title it with the state,” he said.When a private citizen builds a vehicle, there is a ton of paperwork to provide before getting permission to operate it on the highway.“(The DMV) wants to know the quality of the build,” Dusty said. “They don’t want somebody just throwing something together and going on the road.“You have to provide them with the documentation and everything you purchased for the car that you didn’t pay tax on,” he said.He ended up having to pay $1,100 to make up for the sales tax on the parts he had purchased out of state.He also had to submit photographs showing all his work. Then he had to get the car inspected by the state, and a state trooper came to the house to verify the car met legal and safety standards to be on the road.Seven weeks later, Dusty received his state-provided VIN number and license plate. With all systems go, it was finally time to start the engine and hit the road.In June, fully 21 months from the time he began the project, and roughly $32,000 later, Dusty embarked on his Cobra’s maiden voyage. “I took it to Indiana, Pa.,” he said. “I made sure I kept a phone with me just in case, but I didn’t need it.”How’d it handle?“Nice,” Dusty said. “It rides nice.”