My name is Bill Overton. I am just an average guy that works for a living, but one of my passions is cars, especially the ones I have as projects. I started this website in 2002 so friends can follow my projects. I am also known as matchframe on several different forums. Early in my career, I worked as a broadcast video editor and matchframe is a video editing term. I call this site Big Dog Garage in honor of Annie, who we called Big Dog. Annie was a South Carolina Yellow Dog who we adopted from my brother's family. She died on Valentine's Day 2005 and is buried behind the garage. We also had three dogs that kept me company while I worked in the garage. Zora was my Husky mix who I named after Zora Duntov, father of the V-8 Corvette. Ginger was a Cocker Spaniel and is a ball of energy that never stops, who belongs to my wife. Bella was my daughter's Black Lab. I found Bella running along the freeway when she was just a pup. Zora died on 7 August 2017. Ginger drowned in the Hurricane Harvey Flood. We had to put Bella down in March 2018. We got Axle in November 2017 when he was 10 weeks old. Axle is carrying on the tradition of Garage Dog and he does it well. He is a good guard dog. His full name is Axle Grease Overton.
My projects are not like what you see on TV where they begin and finish in one episode..... mine progress as I save money to work on them.
This is where it began for me: in 1973 at age 15 I built a dune-buggy from a late 1950's VW chassis. The picture below shows me working on the tunnel after cutting the frame in half. I took out 18 inches to shorten the chassis. I also bought a 1965 VW Bug for the engine and transmission. My Dad and brothers all pitched in to help me complete the dune buggy before I got my drivers license a year later. I have always been fascinated with cars and when I discovered that I could build and modify them, they took on a whole different meaning. It sort of became an art form for me. I created this website to show my projects and expressions. I hope you enjoy it and maybe be able to get some good information from it for your projects.
I have four projects that keep me busy;
1978 Corvette Resto-Rod.
I am building it the way I think it should have been built in the first place; Big Block! The basic theme of the Vette project is Aircraft, specifically Fighter Aircraft. I love anything aviation. If I could do things in life over again, I would probably have been a pilot of some type.
I have some ideas I am working with over in my mind about how to create the Vette along this theme, but know I have to be extremely careful not to cross the line into something gaudy. I have the interior sort of set in my mind on how I want to do. Hard to explain, so you will just have to wait and see how it evolves.
1953 Chevy Wagon.
This wagon was bought new by my grandfather as a delivery wagon for his grocery store. My Uncle and Cousin restored and drove it many years before it was handed down to me. The goal for the '53 wagon is to build it in such a way that it can pull a car hauler with the Vette on it, then drive the Vette wherever we are. I have a 5.3 LS engine from a 2005 Silverado and a 4l60e from a 1997 Silverado that I will use in the '53 Wagon. I am learning all about LS engines and transmissions as well as LS swaps. The plan is to use a TCI front suspension. I have a rear end from a 1967 Camaro SS. It is a full posi but with 3.08 gears. The guy I bought the rear end from added the 3.08 to get better gas mileage when cruising in his Camaro.
I watch people at local car shows, and one thing I noticed was that parents who bring their kids along, the kids are bored. Looking at all the cool cars don’t appeal to the some of the younger people. If we are to pass along the passion for cars to the next generations, we should have things for the kids to do that might get them excited about cars. I have a 1973 Super Beetle. The Supers have a lesser appeal for those who are into vintage VW Bugs. Why not use my Super Beetle as a fun thing for the kids?
I experimented with different paints and found that semi-gloss black makes a good chalkboard. A chalk eraser will remove the chalk as easily as they do on chalkboards. This is where I got the idea of painting the car semi-gloss black and letting kids draw on the Bug. I had my great nephews and nieces try it out by drawing on the Bug in my driveway. They had fun and ask when they could come back to draw on it again. We counted that as a success.
We brought the Bug to a church block party in Killeen, Texas in October 2025. The kids and adults all enjoyed writing and drawing all over the Bug with chalk.
1970 and 1974 Honda CT 70 Trail Bikes. When I was young, a lot of my friends had Trail Bikes like these and I always wanted one, now I have two. The 1970 one is a CT70H model which is the manual clutch 4 speed. I still have a lot of work to do one that one. I ride the 1974 Trail Bike most afternoons when the weather is good.
