Fairfield-Echo

Carl Necaise retired and moved back to his hometown of Gulfport, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2005. His 1966 Mustang convertible was safely parked in the garage, and he would have plenty of time to cruise with the top down along the Mississippi gulf coast.

Twenty-nine days later, Hurricane Katrina hit Gulfport and the Mustang was filled with water and mud, clear to the top of the windshield.

"The water filled the car for about a day, and I tried to clean it out quickly," Necaise said. "I lost the house and everything, but I hoped I could somehow save the car."

That's where Springboro's Ken Stidham stepped in. Stidham, 63, and Necaise, 63, are loosely related by marriage (Stidham is Necaise's brother-in-law's nephew), but the two have known each other for years.

"I told him that I could do all the mechanical work, and I knew a guy who could paint it, so I told him I'd have it back on the road in 90 days," Stidham said. "I had no idea what I was getting into. I've changed engines and transmissions before, but I never rebuilt a car from the ground up."

The car was trailered to Ohio and Stidham got started, taking the entire car apart. The engine, transmission and rear end were rebuilt, the frame stripped, and the interior thrown away.

"I got out some catalogs, and found out you can buy virtually every part for that car. So I started ordering parts. I got to be real good friends with my UPS delivery guy," Stidham joked. "I had parts everywhere, my wife even let me keep some of them in the house."

The painter buddy arrived and suggested that Stidham strip the body himself to save money.

"I did that, and then he came back and said, 'Now you've got to fill it and sand it.' He showed me how to apply filler, and off I went. Then he said I should shoot some primer on it. I got a compressor and spray gun, built a paint bubble with plastic sheets in the garage and I primered it," Stidham recalled. "This guy is one of those people who can encourage you to try anything. He showed me how to sand, and then told me, 'Just paint it.' I had the booth built, so last year, on the Fourth of July, I started to paint. I put sealer, primer, three coats of color and two coats of clear on it. My mentor came back and said he couldn't have done any better."

When the car was put back together, it did get a few options: a high-performance 289 V-8, dual exhaust with the rear trumpets, and upgraded brakes. Those are the only nonstock pieces in the restoration.

Necaise, who has since moved back to the Hamilton area, admits he has no mechanical skills.

"I've had the car for 20 years, and I love to drive and go to car shows, but I can't work on them," he said.

But he did turn out to be a pretty good grinder and polisher. Stidham had Necaise restore the original wheels, and also clean and polish some of the exterior chrome pieces that could be saved.

"I bet I polished that pony on the front grille for two days," Necaise said. "It was hard work, but it was fun."

Stidham finished the car in late February, and Necaise has put a few miles on it in the past weeks.

"I really can't believe I did it," Stidham said. "I don't think I'll ever do it again, especially since I don't have a heated garage," he added.

However, there is an old GMC pickup truck in Stidham's garage right now, sitting on jack stands while he installs power steering and disc brakes.

"I'll be glad to get that truck back on the road too, it's fun to drive."

He also wants to get it finished so he can clean the blue overspray off the floor and get his wife's car back in the garage.