Name: Bud Burk | Location: Deltona, Florida
Car: 2007 Ford Ronaele Mustang “Orange Krate” | www.cardomain.com/ride/2927485

More thank 1,600 CarDomain members registered their rides for a chance to be featured in the pages of DUB. Starting in March 2008, DUB picked out one car each month until December. CarDomain members voted which of the Top 10 rides they liked most in January 2009, and top honors goes to Bud Burk’s 2007 Ford “Orange Krate” Mustang, which seems unbeatable, having won several contests on CarDomain within the past 12 months.

Burk’s “Orange Krate” story began in February 2007, when he finally bought his dream car for $36,500 after 20 years of saving for it. “I knew it would be a Mustang, but never knew the year or who would build it,” Burk explains. After surfing the Internet, he stumbled upon the picture of the 2006 Ronaele 450R Mustang Convertible (It’s actually “Eleanor” spelled backward). Burk tracked down the owner of Ronaele Mustang and began to disclose his ideas for his dream ride. “I wanted the car to be based around a Schwinn bicycle I had always wanted when I was a kid. It was called ‘Orange Krate’ and at that time (1960s), it was by far the best looking orange bicycle on the planet.”

Finally, finding the perfect orange color (he saw it on a 1969 Z-28 Camaro painted Hugger Orange), Burk purchased a white 2007 Ford Mustang GT and then took it to the shop. “Now with the color scheme nailed down, the ideas just started flowing, and between Ronaele and me, and we came up with a ton of them. I wanted to not only do the outside, but I want the engine to roar, the suspension to be top notch and the interior to flow.” The transformation was underway and after six months, “Orange Krate” was about 70 percent done. Not fully running yet, Burk took it to the 2007 Turkey Rod Run for its debut. “It was incredible how fun it was to see other’s think that my dream car was cool to them.” The car was finally delivered in September 2008, but Burk continued to add more customizations to perfect the “Orange Krate.” The final price for all the customizations came to a total of $110,000.

Burk would like to thank: Ken and Joe @ Crusin Concepts located in Deland Florida; Jud @ Advanced Automotive Repair in Deland Florida; Chris Cruz @ Chris Cruz Artistry in Deland Florida; Dittmore Painting in Tampa Florida; Justin @ VMP Tuning in Deltona Florida; Richie @ Richie’s Custom Detailing; and, finally, Ronaele because without them, the car would have never been finished.

TECH SPECS:
2007 Ford Ronaele

Photos: Joe Greeves