- Story by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton

From West Shore Life + Style magazine

Disco can inspire some bold moves, and that鈥檚 not just on the dance floor.

Metchosin鈥檚 Jody Dick had only just began his gig as a keyboard player in a popular Victoria band called Tight Hair when things started getting groovy.

The band quickly began lighting up dance floors across the Victoria area. They had the sound, they had the look and they had the moves, but it felt like a little something special was still missing.

It was the band鈥檚 guitarist, a 30-something Englishman by the name of Christopher Lloyd, who nailed the missing ingredient.鈥� The band needed a 鈥減impin鈥� ride.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 an old soul who digs retro things,鈥� says Jody. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the one who pitched this crazy idea.鈥�

Nearly two years after the bandmates were tossing around ideas for Tight Hair鈥檚 wheeled mascot, 鈥淢onica鈥� is nearly ready to hit the streets and, quite possibly, make an appearance at a disco night near you.

鈥淪he鈥檚 a lot of fun to drive,鈥� Jody says. 鈥淚t just literally glides likes it鈥檚 on air. She screams mid-70s with this long hood, the way the windshield tapers back and these really cool lines.鈥�

You might miss Monica鈥檚 distinctive look, but you鈥檙e highly unlikely to miss her colour. Pagan Candy Apple Gold is every bit as bright as it sounds. The colour seems to illuminate the surroundings, halo-like, on a wet and dreary West Coast spring afternoon at Jody鈥檚 home in the forested hills of rural Metchosin.

鈥淚t looks pretty intense,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the sun, you literally cannot look at it without sunglasses.鈥�

Monica is a rare breed, a 1976 Mercury Cougar XR-7, which Dick found stowed away by the grandson of the car鈥檚 original owner.

Jody was flabbergasted to discover that, as a teenager, he鈥檇 worked as a part-time detailer at the very same dealership where the car was purchased more than 40 years ago.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a chance I could have touched her then,鈥� he says.

Jody has come a long way since he cleaned cars as a high-schooler. These days he鈥檚 the general manager at Victoria Hyundai. Whether in the shop or in the showroom, he鈥檚 covered a lot of ground in the automotive sector. The experience and relationships he built up along the way served him well when it came to rebuilding his new ride.

Dick saw promise in those iconic lines and near-mint details, like the rear seat 鈥渙pera windows鈥� that are stencilled with the silhouette of a fierce mountain cat on the prowl.

As is the case with any creative project, the artist must begin with raw materials from which to carve out his or her vision. From the moment he saw it, Jody was confident the Cougar hit all the right notes.

鈥淚 play a lot of music, I鈥檓 fairly creative and I come from an artistic family, so I just looked at it and said 鈥榦kay,鈥欌�� he says.

The car had a pair of minor door dings and a few bubbles of rust. The low mileage was a positive, but years of sitting idle silenced the car鈥檚 original purr. Dick says the car鈥檚 long-expired gasoline had turned chartreuse green and wreaked havoc on the carburetor. The entire tank had to come out, and the original 351M engine underwent a near complete overhaul.

The gray body colour was peeling badly and needed to be completely stripped and repainted if the old Cougar had any chance of lighting up the dance floor. The Pagan Candy Apple Gold called for three coats of base, six coats of tint and three coats of clear to really make it shine. It鈥檚 set to receive a coat of gloss before the job is complete.

Jody went to see an old friend, Doug Thompson, at an upholstery shop downtown to source some chocolate embossed paisley material for the car鈥檚 roof. He also found some dark-gold velour for the bucket seats and accents.

As if that weren鈥檛 enough eye candy, the front headlights now feature multi-colour LEDs designed to flash in synch with the beats of funk and disco tunes playing on the car鈥檚 stereo. Despite the high-tech upgrade, however, Monica remains true to her 鈥�70s roots with no air conditioning, hand-cranked windows and an AM radio.

鈥淪he started as a low-budget custom and morphed into not-so-low if you know what I mean,鈥� Jody says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to gaudy it up or anything, but I think we鈥檙e at that line.鈥�

With the sunny driving season and a full schedule of gigs right around the corner, Jody is nearly ready to call the project done. The car鈥檚 inaugural test spin through the winding streets of Metchosin has already got people talking. Jody says a nearby motorist actually rolled down her window to scream, 鈥淥h my god!鈥� while stopped at a traffic light.

With some wide, white-wall tires, a little clean up and a stretch of sunny weather, this cat will be ready to prowl.

鈥淪he鈥檚 turned a lot of heads already and believe it or not, has a following of sorts,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a Camaro or Chevelle or Mustang. There鈥檚 a ton of those cars out there, but nobody is crazy enough to customize a 1976 Cougar.

鈥淓xcept me, of course.鈥�