JUST BECAUSE

TONY NETZEL'S TUBBED AND TWIN-TURBOCHARGED '61 PLYMOUTH BELVEDERE FLIES IN THE FACE OF PRO STREET CONVENTION. HE WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

- BARRY KLUCZYK

There's a lot of existential power in “just because”— the reflexive reply to an impulsive act that seeks neither validation nor approval. When we're children, “just because” is the answer to why we pushed your little sister to the ground or poured maple syrup down the heating vents. No guilt. No contrition. No second thoughts.

“Why'd you do it?”

“Just because.”

Whether through confidence or plain old thickheadedness, “just because” carries through to adulthood, and believe us, there's not a second thought in Tony Netzel's head about his choice of a 1961 Plymouth Belvedere as the foundation for twin-turbocharged Pro Street supremacy. He plucked it from a wrecking yard in North Dakota way back in 1994. He'd gone there from his home in Duluth, Minnesota, to buy another Mopar, but that car didn't have a title. The owner then directed Tony to the Belvedere, and at a mere $300, the price was right.

“A '61 Belvedere wasn't remotely on my radar, but it was so odd-looking that I had to do something with it,” says the flooring specialist from the Gopher State. “And for the money, it was better than driving home and listening to the empty tow dolly rattle on the highway.”

With inspiration from the low-slung, big-tire Pro Street cars he'd seen in magazines when he was young, it wasn't long before Tony had the quirky-looking Mopar with the furrowed brow back-halved and tubbed. A blown 440 came, too, along with a tweed interior and a tangerine paintjob. It was all the standard fare of mid-'90s hot-rodding. “It was great, but I wanted to stretch the car more and take it to the next level” he says. “The plans were grand, but my budget and free time weren't. Life got in the way.”