In this interview, Cale Majchrowski, a car enthusiast and builder, shares his journey from building model cars to undertaking his dream car projects. He discusses his most cherished projects, involvement in the car community, and excitement for future goals.
My name is Cale Majchrowski, I am 19 years old and I have been into cars pretty much since the day I was born. It’s said that but I was brought home from the hospital in my father's 1969 Pontiac GTO, so I feel that statement stands fairly true. Like most people, I started out with Hot Wheels and eventually got really into building custom 1:24 scale model cars. Eventually, I started an Instagram page showing the model cars I was building and that turned into more of a business opportunity for me. Throughout middle school and high school I built model car replicas of customers' real cars and that is how I saved up for my first car, a 1972 Plymouth Duster (we will get more into the Duster within the next few questions.) Currently, I am going to college at the University of Northwestern Ohio to earn a High-Performance degree while also running my Youtube channel and Instagram page showing the progress of my builds.
As I mentioned previously, my first car was a 1972 Plymouth Duster and that is the project I am by far the most proud of. My father and I found this Duster all the way across the country in Albuquerque, NM. Over winter break four years ago we made the drive from Chicago to Albuquerque to pick it up and start the project. Quite the project it ended up being! Long story short, the car has gone through a few variations over the past few years but currently resides with a 5.3 LS I built and a 5-speed manual transmission. Almost everything on the car has been gone through and redone by myself and my father. At least 50% of the sheet metal has been replaced, all new tubular suspension, a mopar 8 ¼ rear end we built, the entire car fully rewired, and of course all the custom one-off pieces to fit the LS and 5 speed into the car. Minus the winter months, I have daily driven this car the past few years and just completed a second long haul on the Hot Rod Power Tour. This car has been a great addition to my life with many memories made with it already and I plan to keep it around for as long as I can.
In the springtime of last year (2022) I added the SouthWest Performance Parts LS valve covers to the engine of my Duster. I really like them over the factory-style valve covers because they clean up the look of the engine which ultimately cleans up the appearance of the engine bay. I am fairly picky when it comes to things like that and these valve covers definitely pleased me. Considering they have been in the car for well over a year now and probably 20,000 miles of use, they have held up great with no concerning issues. These valve covers have been a great addition to my Duster and I plan to use them on many LS engine projects in the future.
The last two projects I have started on, I kind of found by luck but they were vehicles I would have wanted anyway. Starting a new project is always fun and exciting but eventually, there will be some tough spots during the build process. The project management tactic that has been the most helpful for me is having a plan and an end goal. The plan may change along the way but there is always more than one way to reach the end goal.
I don’t necessarily participate in a specific car group or groups but I have a pretty solid group of friends from all across the country and even a few in other countries. We have all been friends for a few years now and go to quite a few car events all over the country throughout the year. We all met online through YouTube and Instagram, and as weird as that may sound, they are some of the best friends I have. It is funny how a bunch of ratty old cars brought us together but in my opinion, that is the special thing about these cars. We always say “The cars brought us together, but the people are the reason we keep coming back” and that statement holds true.
Currently, I have a few projects going on, some more intense than others but all of them are fun. Obviously, I have my 1972 Plymouth Duster which is my daily and always ongoing project. I have a 1979 GMC C15 which is the shop truck, tow rig, and winter beater. All around a good truck and it is hard to go wrong with a square body. Recently I picked up another 1979 square body, but this one is a Chevy ¾ ton K20 with some special parts on it. Not that I needed another project or wanted one but I was offered the truck under one “simple” condition. I got it out of the yard of the gentleman it belonged to, to clear up some yard space and I did just that. My biggest project though, is my 1970 Dodge Charger. My all-time dream car that I was lucky enough to find last year and take home for a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Currently, I have the car all torn apart and mounted to a chassis table I built. Everything on the car needs to be replaced and currently, I am in the process of doing just that. When all is said and done, the plan is for it to be a full chassis race car that I can hopefully use to get my name out there and show what I can do.
