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    1. #1
      Join Date
      Nov 2012
      Posts
      296
      Country Flag: United States

      Behind the Wheel with Suzy Bauter powered by Optima Batteries



      BEHIND THE WHEEL FEATURE WITH SUZY BAUTER

      Powered By optima batteries
      Written By Brandy Phillips
      Photos By Suzy Bauter's Facebook Page



      As the time has come once again to announce who will be featured on the next Pro-Touring.com shirt, this
      year’s unveil was someone who is near and dear to the pro-touring community. Their involvement in the pro-touring
      scene over the past several years has helped our small community grow across the country as they continue to bring
      awareness to the pro-touring culture, inform others on upcoming events, help manufactures with product awareness,
      and help share coverage from the West to East coast throughout the year.





      Yet, as we all know it takes more than involvement in the pro-touring community to make your way onto the
      Pro-Touring.com shirt. First, one must own a cool ride before they are even considered for such honor.

      How can you pick just one cool vehicle though? There are so many vehicles that deserve the acknowledgement of
      the time and effort that has been put into them, but sometimes there is a particular vehicle that just screams “look at
      me.”





      There is one vehicle that made its way onto the SEMA showroom floor last year for its first debut. Not knowing how it
      would be received, the owner knew she had to make the most out of this once in a lifetime experience, but little did she
      know the true amount of attention the car would receive in such a short amount of time.





      Suzy Bauter and her 1963 AMC Rambler wagon started their journey together around seven years ago. The journey
      began through a Craigslist ad that led her to purchase the wagon. Though a Rambler was not her first choice, the fact
      that it was a wagon and the price point fit the bill spot on.





      Her initial intent was to restore the original flathead-six, though after submerging herself in the pro-touring race
      community, she quickly realized further upgrades would be needed in order for the Rambler to handle sufficiently out
      on track.





      One of the initial items on Bauter’s checklist once the wagon came home was to start a Pro-Touring.com build thread on
      the forum. The thread, which was started back in 2012, would describe Bauter’s initial goals with the build as well as
      updates along the way: 1963 Rambler Sugar Resto Track Travel AutoX





      Unfortunately the Rambler took a back seat to the family’s 1968 Camaro in addition to two-moves, which included a cross-
      country journey from California to Tennessee. Sugar, which was the original name of the vehicle before it met its new
      name the “Flare Witch Project,” was put off again and again until the family officially settled in Tennessee.





      An opportunity to take the Flare Witch Project to SEMA came about, which pushed the build into its final stages of
      completion. With SEMA in mind, Suzy and Rodney hustled to get the vehicle done in time for it’s big debut. With the help
      of Rob MacGregor from No Limit Engineering who supplied the flares and the new name for the build along with Best of
      Show Coachworks in Escondido, CA who helped with the body and laid down the beautiful blue paint along with wrapping
      up the finishing touches right before SEMA, the wagon was on its way to Las Vegas with the hope that people would
      accept it for what it was.





      Now it could be said that a Rambler isn’t most people’s first choice when building a pro-touring vehicle, especially a
      wagon. Furthermore, Suzy Bauter’s wagon was slightly more extreme, featuring it’s huge flares and BFG 315’s tucked
      on all four corners. The big question going into SEMA was how it would be perceived. It was definitely one of those
      builds that people would either love or hate, but Bauter never expected the response that came next.





      Since the Rambler’s debut in the Spectre Performance Booth last year, the car and Suzy have been a rollercoaster of
      success. The vehicle was received better than ever anticipated with several features in print and online media as well
      as being honored the recipient of the prestigious Grand Turismo Best Hot Rod award.





      After SEMA the car was awarded a Golden Ticket into the optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational at Las Vegas Motor
      Speedway. The can would then make an appearance at PRI in December before heading home to get sorted before the
      next race season.





      Suzy and Rodney have spent 2018 sorting the wagon both on and off the track. Bauter has since had a couple autocross
      days with the wagon. Her main goal is to always have fun, but you have to admit the wagon looks extremely good out
      on track.





      In addition to her success in 2017, the Rambler found its way back into SEMA this year as one of the 15 final contestants
      for the Hot Wheels Legend Tour. Hot Wheels hosted 15 events across the country in search of the next Hot Wheels
      diecast. Bauter, who attended the Nashville, TN Legends Tour, was honored as the official finalist for that event. This
      meant she and the Rambler would be featured in the Hot Wheels Legend Tour Booth at SEMA in contention for the grand
      award; the possibility of a Hot Wheels diecast modeled after her vehicle.





      Though the Hot Wheels Legends Tour will not announce their winner until later in the week, Bauter had another surprise
      coming as Larry Callahan was on scene at SEMA to unveil the next vehicle on the Pro-Touring.com t-shirt. With only a
      handful of people in the know, Larry couldn’t wait to surprise Suzy with the shirt during day one of SEMA. The t-shirt,
      which was designed by Ben Hermance, will also be available at the Pro-Touring Dinner during SEMA.





      As we congratulate Suzy Bauter and her first year anniversary of amazing success, we hope that the Pro-Touring.com
      t-shirt will only continue to remind her of what a great influence she has been through her build and her commitment to
      the pro-touring community as a whole. It is people like her who continue to help bring this community together. For
      those that have been fortunate enough to work or connect with Suzy, then you know how special she is and how hard
      she has worked to help promote others. It’s an honor to see her Rambler on this year’s Pro-Touring.com shirt and we
      can’t wait to see what next year will bring for both her and the car.
      Last edited by Trackside-Brandy; 10-30-2018 at 04:16 PM.
      Brandy Morrow Phillips
      Site Contributor

      WWW.PRO-TOURING.COM

      Follow me for the latest event news on Pro-Touring.com

    2. #2
      Join Date
      Apr 2006
      Location
      Huntington Beach, CA
      Posts
      2,415
      Country Flag: United States
      Awesome! congrats Suzy! And who doesn't love the Flare Witch Project?
      Please Subscribe to the AutoXandTrack YouTube Channel

      Autocross and track blog about running autocross and track events with pro touring cars

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Oct 2012
      Location
      MAYODAN,NC
      Posts
      64
      Country Flag: United States
      Congrats! Awesome car

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Oct 2016
      Location
      Auckland, New Zealand
      Posts
      68
      Country Flag: New Zealand
      Well done Suzy, great recognition for both you and the wagon.
      cheers Russell

      My 1957 Pontiac Star Chief powered by a 5.3 LS with a 4L60E transmission, on 18" US Mags Big Slots.

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Oct 2018
      Location
      Phoenix, AZ
      Posts
      584
      Country Flag: United States
      So happy to see this write up here!

      I made sure to stop by and see the car before I left. Looks AMAZING in person. You can't fully appreciate what's done until you're standing there. I wanted to say hello myself, but the car and Suzy both seem to draw a very steady crowd. And it makes sense. Even next to the crazy builds people have done just for this contest, it stands out in the best possible way.

      Congrats! I'm crossing my fingers this wins and becomes a model.
      '95 F-150 track ready street beast
      Want more projects/photos? Check my Instagram

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Nov 2008
      Location
      Lawrenceburg, TN
      Posts
      4,083
      Country Flag: United States
      thanks to everyone Suzy and I are grateful for all the support !

      here are some cool picture from the last year


      becoming a hot wheel
      Name:  35102519_10155318392120807_7824995169916157952_n.jpg
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      Suzy with Jesse James
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      running optima
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      grand Turismo Party
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Views: 1389
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      Suzy and Cammie Edelbrock
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Views: 1638
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      Donut?Hoonigan Media
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Views: 1462
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      Spectre K&N promotions
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      Suzy and Chip Foose
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Views: 1471
Size:  120.6 KB

      and so MUCH more crazy and hard to believe!!!!
      Last edited by Rod; 02-01-2019 at 08:29 PM.

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Sep 2011
      Posts
      188
      So cool! One of my Favorite cars and people!

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Apr 2001
      Location
      San Jose, CA
      Posts
      4,210
      Country Flag: United States
      This is an awesome build! So cool!
      @Camaro.Family Camaros
      1967 #QuickChangeCamaro - SpeedTech Suspension LS1/T56
      1967 #CFBee - SpeedTech Suspension SuperCharged LS3/T56
      1969 #TaxReturnCamaro Art Morrison Suspension 496/T56
      1986 #IROCdaily - Stock IROC

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Nov 2008
      Location
      Lawrenceburg, TN
      Posts
      4,083
      Country Flag: United States
      more great shots, at other events



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      Top 100 street rodder of the year!!!

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      Cart Craft Nationals best of show!!

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Views: 714
Size:  119.2 KB

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Nov 2008
      Location
      Lawrenceburg, TN
      Posts
      4,083
      Country Flag: United States

    11. #11
      Join Date
      Nov 2010
      Location
      Ventura County CA
      Posts
      556
      Country Flag: United States
      Awesome! Thanks for sharing the video. I love everything about the car.
      Clint - '70 Nova "restomod" cruiser & autocross family car





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