Ben Oh September 22, 2022 All Feature Vehicles
In the new car market women are practically kings. It’s said that by the year 2020 the average woman will make more than her male counterpart; that explains why automakers spend a lot of time and money marketing to the fairer sex. In the aftermarket, however, it’s a different story. Go to any custom car show and it’s obvious who wears the pants. Usually the only females you see are the wives or girlfriends of gearheads, and they look like they’re ready to leave after the first hour. You have to give them credit for being troopers in the first place. But the ladies we love the most are the ones who bring their own rides to the events.
Most of the Octane Angels have been into customizing cars since their wings were little. Rebecca Nunes, Michelle Ponce, Anita amd Brandy Brown, and Adele Zayas are the members of this Orange County, California, car club and these ladies are indeed gearheads.
Rebecca’s family has always been into classic cars. As she says, “My father has always owned at least one classic, if not more. I’ve always been around my father and his friends. So, it was natural that I wanted to own my own [classic].” That also explains her line of work, she owns the store Classic Whitewall Tires, in Orange, California. You can visit the shop online at Classicwhitewalltires.com. Clearly this more than qualifies her to be the ringleader of this group of angels.
This car was sitting in her dad’s garage for a couple of years before he built it for Rebecca. She says it was something of a battle. She wanted one color, and dad wanted another. The same conflict happened for the engine choice. “As with any family, compromises were made. He got the first motor done the way he wanted it; I got the color I wanted,” she says.
When you like customizing cars it always helps when you have technical skills in the family. Rebecca’s oldest brother has been a mechanic since he was about 13 (he’s in his fifties now), so he built the current motor in this car. The ’55 was actually given to Rebecca as a high school graduation present, but it’s much more than that. “She’s like my first-born child or a comfy pair of shoes you can’t live without,” Rebecca says. “I’ve drag raced her, done yearly 600-mile trips in her, and I’ve even done an autocross or two with her.” Definitely, Rebecca builds them to drive, as former DRIVE! Editor Bob Ryder would say.
Rebecca says she’s everything “I’ve ever wanted in a car and I wouldn’t change her concept. Improvements, yes, but not the original idea.”
Adele Zayas says she’s always been into cars but really didn’t know much about them. That is until her boyfriend and his father came along. They slowly and thoughtfully taught her everything she wanted to know and more. “In fact,” she says, “the reason I have this car is because my boyfriend’s father saw it at a cruise and it was for sale, so he nabbed it for me.” This car was a homebuilt retirement project from the guy she bought it from. Other than having the motor built, she has simply enjoyed the car.
As a teenager Michelle Ponce got into custom mini-trucks and was involved in the club scene. She’s been a truck and car enthusiast ever since. This flat black/silver metallic Comet was painted by Ronnie Cole.
It’s been Anita and Brandy Brown’s long-time dream to own and work on classic cars. Now they pick them up at a reasonable cost and start the restoration process. So, of course, they painted the white and turquoise Falcon you see here themselves.
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