he automotive fascination that takes place for many at an early age is usually easier to explain when you’ve been born into it. Parents are the first shapers and in Mike Slayton’s case his immersion into the automotive world came about as a direct influence from his father, Dale. As the owner of a performance-oriented shop, he was instrumental in setting his son on a path that would not only encompass his spare time, but also help shape a career path. Mike recalls, “I started hanging out at the shop when I was 10.” Dale was hard-core when it came to the mechanical side of the business and was very savvy at squeezing horsepower from an engine. He was also an avid racer by flogging cars down the quarter-mile on Friday nights and Sprint Car on Saturdays. The other thing that he saw early on in his son was his ability to draw, so as a Christmas present he was given an airbrush. By the time he was 13 Mike was doing airbrush work on Harley-Davidson gas tanks and murals on car hoods, and at the shop Dale had him doing small things like running boards or truck caps to get a feel for laying down car paint. By the time he was 16 he had honed his skill set to the point of doing full paint on cars.

arold Light has always had a thing for Pro Street rides. Recently, the Lebanon, Pennsylvania, native finally decided to do something about this lifelong obsession. “I’ve owned an all-original ’56 Chevy 3200 for over 20 years. I’m never going to modify that one, so I decided to find a suitable ’56 that I could grab up and then fab into my dream Pro Street ride.”

henever I’m writing a feature, I always stress to the owners/builders how important it is to have as much background information as possible in order to help facilitate the best feature possible. Oftentimes, I get volumes of info; others, well, let’s just say it takes a bit of creative juice to get the story flowing!