I thought this was going to be a crappy move. Then we pulled up to the new house on moving day. My new neighbor across the street was working on a 05 Pontiac GTO.

    "Dad, look at that awesome street racer!"

    "Yeah, that's cool, Zack," Dad remarked.

    My dad's not into cars as much as I am. I had less than a year until I could get my driver's license. It's all I could think about. I dreamt of being able to build my own car too. I just didn't have enough money to get started.

    The neighbor's car wasn't anywhere near ready to race yet. It was still in pieces all over his garage. I wondered if he would talk shop with me?

    I stared at the GTO every time I came to get another box. It was right there in front of me. Right across the street. I was getting tired of carrying boxes and looking at the GTO helped pass the time.

    My new room looked out over the street. I had a perfect view of my neighbor's garage and that GTO. I was supposed to be setting up my room. Instead I was staring out the window.

    Mom interrupted my daydreaming with a reminder to finish my room. "Didn't I hear about plans for a car show? I would like you to get your room done before then," Mom chuckled.

    "Mom, that's not for another week yet!"

    "I know, I know, but with all this daydreaming..."

    "Dont worry, Mom, I'll get it done."

    "If you say so," she laughed on her way out.

    I managed to get my room finished before the car show. And yes, that was with plenty of daydreaming.

    On the morning of the car show, breakfast seemed to take forever. All I wanted to do was leave. Dad was taking forever. Mom kept packing more stuff in the cooler for us.

    "Please, can we leave now? Please!" I pleaded.

    "Ok, Bud," Dad chuckled. "We're going."

    We pulled up to the car show parking lot. Even some of the cars in the parking lot were cool. I couldn't wait to see the show cars.

    That show was great! They had everything there! Old hot rods, dragsters, hooked up street cars, and show cars. I could have walked that place ten times and still not have been tired of it.

    It was lunch time, so Dad and I headed for our car.

    "Hey neighbor!" someone said. It was the GTO guy who lived across the street from us. "Hi, I'm Don. I live right across the street from you," he said. "This is my daughter, Ella. My wife Becky isn't here. She doesn't really care for cars."

    "Hi, I'm Peter. This is my son Zack.," Dad said. "My wife Jenn usually comes along. But she is bent on getting everything unpacked."

    "Are you guys car buffs like us?" Don asked. "Ella's only five and is already hooked on cars." Ella grinned widely, but sheepishly hugged her dad's leg.

    "I do like the shows," Dad said. "But Zack here can't get enough of cars. We go to every car show in driving distance."

    "I saw the GTO you're working on. Great car, and fast," I said.

    "Thanks. It's a good car to get started with, because the parts are so cheap. I'm trying to get done in time for a race coming up. But I'm working by myself. I don't think I'll make it in time. I could really use your help. If you're allowed?"

    "Yeah! I would love to!" I said as fast as I could.

    "Yeah. Thats fine with me," Dad said.

    "Great, I'll be home from work at 4:00," Don said.

    We had plenty of food to share. So we invited Don and Ella to eat with us. They agreed to eat with us and we had a lot of fun. The four of us spent the rest of the day together.

    I met Don after he got home from work the next day. The car needed a lot of work. Ella played in front of the garage while we worked. Don had a full roll cage installed inside. He also had the plastic interior parts and the back seats out.

    Don said we could only change certain things. It was part of the rules for the racing series he liked. We started by unhooking everything we were allowed to change on the engine. Every once in a while, Ella would hand us tools we needed. We worked nonstop for several hours. When we realized it was really late, we called it quits for the night.

    I went over to help again the following day. We started installing the new engine parts. It was harder putting parts back on than taking them off. At our speed, I could tell it would be weeks of work. A lot of it I'd already read about before. I get more than one car magazine in the mail.