Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 3, Issue 31 - July 2023 i All Chevy Performance

Prior to writing a car feature, one of the questions we ask the owner is why they built the car. Jim Senke, owner of this gorgeous ’68 Camaro, got right to the point: “Because I wanted to.” Fair enough. We’d have to say there is no better reason. He goes on to say that he just loves cool cars. We dig a little deeper to find out this “cool car” was assembled on the fourth week in December 1967 at GM’s Van Nuys plant and was purchased brand new at Washburn Chevrolet in Santa Barbara, California, by a local couple. Jim’s family became the second owners of the car in May 1970 when his mom received the car as a Mother’s Day gift; it’s been in the family ever since.…

Pulling up the carpet on a vintage Chevy often comes with a sense of dread about the revelations below it. Rust, as it is said, never sleeps and floor repairs are almost a guarantee when it comes to restoration work, especially with early Camaros—whether it’s a comparatively small, localized issue or a more invasive spread of tin worm. Surprisingly, rust wasn’t the issue with the floor in this story’s project car. It’s the latest ’69 Camaro build for Pro Touring pioneer Mark Stielow and Detroit-area Sled Alley was tasked with prepping the body and chassis for some Detroit Speed upgrades. After tearing down the car, they were pleasantly surprised to find essentially no rust in the body shell or floor but determined a floorpan replacement was still required. That’s because,…

The old car obsession starts with a spark, and it could hit at any time. For some, the spark may only last a season of life, but for others it never goes away, even when life’s obstacles seem to get in the way. For James Wiley of Fairburn, Georgia, the spark happened early on, thanks to his father’s love for muscle cars, which transformed into his own project car ideas spawned by the machines he saw in his favorite Chevy magazines. During one of his many trips to the store to get the latest issue, he told his father, “One day, my car’s going to be in the book.” At that point, James didn’t know what car that would be, or when it would happen, but he distinctly remembers making…

It’s no secret that the second-gen Camaro (1970-1981) typically plays second fiddle to the more popular first-gen Camaros (1967-1969), although the second-gen’s first three production years are still very desirable for many Camaro enthusiasts. Just like every other muscle car from the late ’60s and early ’70s, prices for these gems continue to climb year after year. Rick Van Unen has owned many hot rods and muscle cars over the years, but he just couldn’t stop thinking about a ’72 Camaro he owned over 20 years ago. “I really miss that split-bumper RS car. It had a built 400ci small-block and a five-speed Doug Nash transmission,” Rick recalls. “Thinking about that car so much over the years, it had me keeping my eyes open for another one.” Rick’s friend and…

When Bruce Valley originally dropped off his '57 Chevy Handyman wagon to the Clampdown Competition headquarters, he had a short list of upgrades in mind—power steering, air conditioning, and an overdrive transmission. As these projects often do, three things led to another and another and another. Pretty soon, that short list took up much of the workshop’s whiteboard. The addition of an A/C compressor and power steering pump meant that a pulley swap and some bracketry was needed at the least. The transmission swap would be simple enough but as the build plan progressed, it became clear that what Bruce really wanted wasn’t simply a couple creature comforts, he wanted a turnkey hot rod that would be reliable and capable of pulling some serious highway miles around the Phoenix area…

When it comes to rebuilding a classic Chevrolet, there are certain models that pose more of a challenge than others; parts availability can play a huge role in the difficulty of a restoration. If you’re working on a first-generation Camaro, nearly every component is reproduced at large scale. Things get a little tricky for early Chevelles and Novas, but the king of difficult restorations is the Monte Carlo, at least in the muscle car era. Brent Davidson and his two sons, Andrew and Austin, can attest to that, as they recently finished the restoration of this ’71 Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo was Chevrolet’s take on the Pontiac Grand Prix, which came out a year earlier and featured GM’s A-body frame design with 4 inches added between the firewall and…

@TavisHighlander TavisHighlander.com Vehicle Builder: MetalWorks • Eugene, Oregon Some color combinations just click on certain vehicles. Bright red and silver on a Tri-Five Chevy is one of those for sure. Although restrained in terms of body mods, this ’56 will be sure to draw attention with its vibrant colors. Most of the factory trim is there minus the hood ornament, nose badge, and a few other bits. This keeps the classic looks intact but cleans things up just a touch. Getting the right handling, stance, and stopping performance comes from an Art Morrison chassis. Sitting just right looks that much better when it’s done with the right set of wheels. With all the polished trim and bright work, the choice was made to roll with some fully polished Budnik Vapor…

Life. It’s a funny thing. You cruise through it doing what you do, you might stay on top of small projects around the house and keep the yard looking good, and when you least expect it, your wife buys you a ’70 Nova for your 40th birthday. A rare story, indeed, but a true one for Shawn Loos of Raymond, Nebraska. This all came about from Shawn telling stories and reminiscing to his wife, Heather, about the Nova he had in high school and how much he missed that cool old car. Well, it seems Heather was paying attention and wanted to help Shawn relive those days of owning a Nova, similar to the one he had back in the day. This falls under “thoughtful wife, happy life.” Yeah, we’ll…

There is no such thing as a quick paintjob on a classic car—it always escalates into a big project. Our original intention with this ’66 Nova was a driver-quality paintjob, but as things progressed, we couldn’t just settle for a subpar job. Although not exactly show quality, the bodywork and paint turned out nicely, but we can see how projects stall out at this stage. Some folks give up all together, so it’s common to find cars on the market that are painted but not reassembled. If you’ve ever bought a project that’s disassembled, you know the struggles of finding the right clips, hardware, and brackets to put it all together. Thankfully, Classic Industries has an extensive catalog of parts and pieces for our ’66 Nova, so we made a…

Established in 1977, the Corvette Expo started as a great way to bring Corvette enthusiasts and parts vendors together. Like most successful meets, the Corvette Expo started small and has moved to several locations through the years to accommodate the growth. Now, nearly 50 years later, the event has settled into a wonderful home at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The facility offers plenty of room inside the convention center and a massive parking lot for the outdoor portion of the show. The location is in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, providing a beautiful backdrop to the hundreds of Corvettes in attendance. Through the years, show organizers have tweaked the format, which has continually brought new faces into the event. A few years ago, Chevelles were…