As Told by Darrell Hyche

Photos by Juan Lopez-Bonilla

I grew up in the little town of Buchanan, Michigan, where my dad Dennis and grandfather got my brother Danny Hyche and me interested in working in the garage at an early age. That has stuck with my brother and I throughout our lives.

I left Michigan in 1986 and joined the United States Army, My first four years were in the Infantry, and my last 19-plus years were in the Engineers. I went to the Middle East twice. I was Air Borne and Air Assault Qualified and retired as a Master Sergeant with a little over 23 years. After I retired I took a position with Louisville Metro Police Department where I’m currently a detective.

When I retired from the Army I discussed with my wife Cathy that we needed a special retirement present. She was all about it, so we researched Shelby Cobras for about two years before we went with a Backdraft Cobra. The Dream Car Company’s owner Terry Riebel did most of the work on the car. We really appreciate his assistance in completing our car for us.

The front chin spoiler on our car was acquired from Backdraft. Common practice by most installers is to through-bolt it to the front of the car. It is basically used for the track-day cars so this type of installation is acceptable. But we wanted no visible attaching hardware.

Terry Riebel successfully accomplished that by cutting the spoiler into about six pieces to re-form it for a perfect fit to the front of the car. Then he built blind attaching braces that come in from the front area of the fender wells and under the car. It is a solid fit that looks great. I’m very pleased with the results.

The air cleaner for the Ford 351W, stroked to 408 cubes, was also created by The Dream Car Company. We wanted an air cleaner that matched the valve covers. It is polished billet aluminum, and the polished intake manifold is from Professional Products.

The PPG Indigo Blue body has the modern basecoat/clearcoat paint system, but the final stage of the paint work was completed with the application of three layers of clear coat to ensure a high gloss and durable paint finish. While certainly not military camo, this color would fit right in with the Army’s dress blues.