With weather concerns out of the way, the Jamaica Classic Car Club (JCCC) finally made a trek to the north coast as it visited Ultimate Jerk Centre in Discovery Bay, St Ann, on October 23 for its monthly activity. The club had to cancel its previous plans due to the passing of Hurricane Matthew earlier in October.

“It was a good meet, with 26 cars coming out for the north coast fans,” Shane Angus, JCCC president, told Auto.

While classic car owners came from as far as St Elizabeth to be a part of the meet, the standout of the day easily went to Montego Bay as the bright red 1967 Ford Mustang of Richard Rerrie had everyone’s attention with its near-flawless restoration.

“It’s actually not complete yet as I’m looking to add some more modern conveniences and reliability to it,” Rerrie said.

Having worked on the project for about six years to date, Rerrie said his love for the Mustang came from his childhood.

“My father used to own a ’65’ and I have pictures with us together in that car,” he explained.

The road to the car’s current condition hasn’t been smooth over the duration of the project as when it was first purchased it was in less than a shell.

“It’s kind of pieced together from several other cars and parts I’ve had to source from overseas, like the doors,” he said.

For example, Rerrie explained the running gear is from a 1969 model, while the front brakes and tyres are from a modern Mustang.

“I’m going for a more resto-mod situation rather than a true restoration,” Rerrie explained.

Res-to-modding is the act of adding modern features to a classic car. In Rerrie’s case, he wants to update the Mustang with a manual transmission, modern suspension, air-conditioning and power steering.

“This way I can drive it comfortably, but should I want to enter a dexterity or two, it will be up to the task.”

For now, Rerrie is happy with its head-turning abilities.

“It’s been like a real-life model car; putting it together, ,and seeing how it turns heads when I’m driving around in it is the best part of ownership.”

For the JCCC, they prep for their annual general meeting later this month on November 20.