CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: MIKE WOLFSLAU, FORT GORDON, GA
If you search for these parts on the Internet, people usually want about double.
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When Mike Wolfslau first moved to Georgia, he owned a Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor, a supercharged midsize that made headlines in its day. “There wasn’t really a reason to sell it,” Wolfslau said. “It was just starting to get a little pricey to do maintenance, and oil changes on a supercharged Mercedes are a PITA, so I sold it to a friend.”
Wolfslau’s grandfather, Junior Conway, worked for famed movie car builder and hotrodder George Barris in the 1950s and now does high-end restoration for Concours cars. Growing up watching his grandfather’s craft, it was inevitable that Wolfslau would take on a project car himself. The Mercedes was replaced with a sedan that can play both posh and punisher: a Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
“I knew I wanted a CVPI,” Wolfslau said.” I’d been watching them since high school. I knew a kid who had one with a budget supercharger and some hot cams. It was a nice sleeper to go to the track with — and they’re durable as hell.”
Home Yard: Pull-A-Part Augusta.
Today’s Project: My CVPI has about 130,000 miles on it. I’m going to pull the longblock and trans, rebuild them, hotrod them with some cams, and swap them into my car. Rather than having to wait until my engine goes out and throw something in, I’d rather take this one, put it on a stand, and build it the way I want.
Why Pull-A-Part: The prices are pretty good. I was looking at some long blocks that people wanted $800 for. No way I’m paying that much for a long block with 95,000 miles. So I checked online, signed up for a Notify Me Alert, and as soon as I got a message that you had a car, I came down on my first day off. It’s exactly what I’m looking for.
I did like that the website had a Parts Interchange. With this project, I’m still kinda new to the CVPI cars — finding out which years actually work together was a big help.
Favorite Car: ’71 El Camino. It was my first car in high school. My dad actually had a silver ’71 when I was born up in Seattle. It was the first car I ever rode in. My first car was a red and black SS clone. When I was 17, my dad and I had a longblock built and we swapped it in. It was a nice little runner through high school: it had the IROC rims off an ’80s Camaro and the centers were painted red. It looked a little goofy, but it was still fun. I actually went to a private Catholic high school — everyone there liked BMWs. I was the lone redneck.
Favorite Road: Probably the Pacific Coast Highway. I took my Harley on that about a year and a half ago, all the way from Monterey to my grandfather in LA. That was a blast.
Clubs and Hangouts: I’m still looking for an online club, so if anyone knows one — I haven’t had a chance to get too involved yet.
A-Frames are provided at Pull-A-Part for engine removal. Remove the engine from the car, and we’ll take it up front to load it in your vehicle.