72 SUPER CHEVY SEPTEMBER^2019For Andy McDonald of Edgewater,
Maryland, growing up in an
automotive family certainly had its
merits, starting as soon as he could
turn a wrench. His earliest memories
revolve around working in the family
garage alongside his dad, Pee-Wee.
With their yard always being full of
cars it was easy to get enthused every
day when coming home from school
to take on a new project assignment.
Seeing his young son’s interest in the
hobby, it wasn’t long till he surprised
him with his very first car, which
just so happened to be a 1957 Chevy
Bel Air. Although it wasn’t a runner
at the time, it represented an entire
world of possibilities, especially to a
14-year-old who didn’t even have his
license yet. The $300 special gave the
pair a chance to work on it together,
replacing a blown rearend and getting
it into shape.SLAMMED TO PERFECTION
With the car finally in running
condition it was parked outside the
garage while another 1957 Chevy
project rolled into the driveway, now
capturing the young hot rodder’s
attention. Combined with spending
nearly every weekend at B&B Auto
Parts with his dad and the business
owners, he was surrounded by a virtual
candy store of hopped-up cars and what
seemed like miles of parts just waiting
to get bolted into a project. Add in
regular visits to Capitol Raceway
watching gassers and Funny Cars leave
the line in a haze of nitromethane-
induced tire smoke and a fascination
with a particular yellow ’57 Chevy
known as Project X it’s easy to see
that a path was set defining a high-
performance future. Later, meeting and
marrying his lovely wife, Mickey, the
pair shared the passion for performance
with Mickey regularly fielding her own496ci-urged ’70 Chevy Nova down the
quarter-mile. Countless hot rods and
muscle cars followed; each one with a
unique story to tell.
Remember Andy’s first car? Well, it
sat outside at his property for 36 years.
Time raced by through starting a family
and running a business. However, it was
never forgotten, as it was very special
since it was his first. Three years ago,
Andy made the decision to haul it into
the garage, give it a full teardown, and
have it blasted clean to see what was
salvageable. Although the time spent in
the elements had not been kind, there
was still enough left to make taking on
its build worthwhile. It was at this time
he met with Billy Lerner of Edgewater
to discuss ideas for the car’s rebirth.
Lerner, an exceptionally talented
builder, looked deep into the remains
and proposed injecting a twist into the
restoration, bypassing what the norm