[78Macho]

I grew up in a very modest family. We had what we needed and my dad worked really hard for it. We bought one new car, when I was 11, a 1977 Camaro. I have since inherited the Camaro, but that is another story. The first thing my dad did after purchasing a new (used) car, was take the dealer insignia off the trunk lid. For some reason he didn't like to advertise for the dealer, but he kept the emblems on a shelf in the garage. Fast forward many, many years and I am thinking the opposite of what dad taught me. I put a "MP" dealer insignia on my 1978 Macho as a finishing touch. I think it adds to the originality of the car and is comparable to the paper trail that tells a story.

For my latest project, the "stripper in the garage", I have been very fortunate to find the son of the original dealership as well as the previous owners of the car and the original owner. One of my questions to these folks was about an original dealer insignia. Bill Cooper, the son of the original dealer did not remember if his dad had an emblem for the dealership or not. I put an ad on CL several years ago in the "region" and finally had someone respond that had a Cutlass that was sold through Cooper's in Chestertown, MD. Turns out the dealer used a stencil and painted their name on the trunks of the cars they sold new! I wasn't so sure about this and decided to pursue recreating what an emblem might have looked like if they actually used one!

Very long story short, I saw a post on PY where a member was referencing 3D printing. It was a thought I had looked into before, but hadn't found the right person. I sent a message to JohhnyB on Sunday night. We messaged back and forth many times, and by Wednesday he had several examples printed out and ready to mail to me from NY! We have finally come up with the example shown on my rear spoiler in the picture. It is made from PETG plastic which should be weatherproof for my use. I took an example to a local foundry to see if they could cast it in aluminum, but they said the plastic was too flexible and the letters too angled for them to get a successful mold.

I am pretty excited! Now, if the car were just done and ready for a dealer insignia on the rear spoiler...