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“It was just a constant swarm of people,” the Chaseburg, Wis., teen said. “I was kind of the envy of everyone, I guess.”
And he earned that envy. He completely rebuilt the car, tearing it all apart before reassembling it to be like new. He figures there were only four bolts that didn’t get loosened during the process.
It took him three years to build, and he had some major league help — his grandfather, Rodney Peterson.
Peterson, a retired metal fabricator and lifelong Onalaska resident, bought the Mustang, originally from Oklahoma, back in 1985.
“I drove it home, and that’s as far as I ever drove it,” Peterson said. “It just sat around and sat around, and I said, ‘Well, someday when I retire it’ll be a project.’”
Peterson, who already had built a few hot rods for himself over the years, got the car bug when he was about 13, and he had always been partial to Fords.
A few years ago when Rybold was 14, the car bug bit him, too, and he was especially smitten by Mustangs.
“He’s just nuts for them things,” Peterson said.
So Peterson made his grandson a deal: “You help me, and it’s yours when it’s done.”
Before he got his license, Rybold spent much of the summer with his grandparents, working on the car, and Rybold proved to be an adept pupil.
“He didn’t have any experience, but he was willing to learn. You tell him once and he don’t forget,” Peterson said. “He did everything I told him to. Now I gotta teach him to weld.”
Rybold enjoyed the experience of working on a car restoration with his grandfather so much that they already have started on a new project, a Model A hot rod.
Meanwhile, Rybold drives the Mustang whenever he gets the chance, although he doesn’t keep it at home in Chaseburg because there’s no place he can park it where it’s protected from the elements.
When he does drive it, he gets a lot of heads turning. “It’s fun to watch people’s reaction when you’re out driving,” Rybold said.
Probably the next time he drives it will be up to the Kornfest car show Sunday in Holmen, Wis. Peterson figures it might be in the running for an award.
“It’s really a nice presentable little car, I think,” Peterson said. “I don’t know what else I can do to it, other than going radical with it.”
Randy Erickson is editor at the Holmen Courier.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Kornfest Car Show and Swap Meet
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, with registration for car show participants ending at 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Holmen Middle School grounds, Holmen, Wis.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Cars made in 1958
ADMISSION: $4, free for children 12 and younger
