The Blue Devil ZR1 is the first Corvette to emerge from the National Corvette Museum sinkhole - and it started! Encouraging news from Bowling Green, KY.

March 3, 2014 at 1:09 pm by Car and Driver. Photography by National Corvette Musesum 

Whether you are installing your new exhaust system yourself or having a pro handle the job (our recommendation), it’s important to loosely fit all the sections before you attempt cutting, clamping or welding the system together. This will save lots of time and frustration, not to mention a better fitting exhaust system!

If you're unlucky enough to have your car stolen, there's roughly an 80 percent chance that your car will be found. Those numbers paid off for a retired northern California mechanic when his stolen 1957 Chevy Bel Air was recovered by law enforcement — 30 years after it went missing, and in far better condition than when it was snatched.

As first reported by the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, Ian "Skip" Wilson got a call three weeks ago from the California Highway Patrol asking after the Bel Air he reported stolen in 1984. Wilson told Yahoo Autos he had paid $375 for the car back in the '70s on the East Coast, and had driven it daily for years before someone swiped it in 1982. Wilson had gotten the car back that time without an engine, and was working on it when it was stolen again.

Bring on the T-Tops! The all-new C3 was a resounding success, offering plenty of new “standard” features (such as those T-Tops), hidden headlights, concealed wipers and a rear deck spoiler. The base 327 cube V8 put out 300 hp. Engine options consisted of a high output 327 (350 hp), and several 427s, ranging in horsepower from 390 to 435.

A few things you should know about show judging: Every Tri-5’s exterior, regardless of class, is judged for panel alignment, sheetmetal condition, fit of moving components, and finish quality on the entire exterior to include glass, wheels & tires. All these items need to be addressed as the car is being restored, as trying to gain point loss on a completed car is costly and sometimes difficult. Cleanliness of these areas should be addressed prior to the event, but is one of the few things that can be maintained at the show.

Building the first Corvette. The American auto enthusiast didn’t even know they wanted a sports car; that is until they were introduced to the new Corvette at the GM 1953 Motorama. One look at the new Chevrolet two-seater Corvette was all it took. The Corvette line was here to stay.

After its introduction, Chevrolet faced the fact that they needed a place to assemble their newest model. A temporary assembly line was set up in Flint, Michigan. A total of 300 Corvettes were built that first year in Flint. All 300 were painted Polo White and featured red interiors. The standard engine was the Blue Flame six-cylinder engine, backed by a Powerglide automatic transmission.

While reading a local newspaper in July 2005, my wife noticed a ’57 Chevy for sale. She mentioned it to me, asking if I thought her brother Bobby might be interested in it for parts. I decided to go and take a look. What could it hurt?

The car was sitting in a rural area about thirty minutes north of our home. It had been sitting, all but forgotten, among the rice fields. I found a rodent-infested 210 with rotted tires, rusted rims, no carburetor, and a trailer hitch that was attached to a frame made of heavy-duty iron. The color was an awful faded shade of red.

A massive sinkhole that opened up under a Kentucky museum Wednesday morning swallowed several vintage and rare Corvettes.

The National Corvette Museum said the Bowling Green Fire Department estimates the sinkhole to be around 25-30 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

"This is going to be an interesting situation," Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode told the Bowling Green Daily News, noting that a structural engineer is at the Bowling Green facility to evaluate the damage inside its Sky Dome section.

Six of the cars in the sinkhole are owned by the museum; two others are owned by General Motors.

Barber Motorsports Park is providing the backdrop this week as Chevrolet introduces its new Camaro Z/28 to journalists from top auto enthusiast magazines.

About 100 people are visiting Birmingham and the park over a 10-day span, including Chevrolet engineers, as well as writers, photographers and videographers for Motor Trend, Road & Track, Car and Driver, Hot Rod and others.

A simple and inexpensive way to tighten and seal up your Camaro is to replace the weatherstripping. This cowl and roof rail weather stripping will give a tight seal that cuts down on wind noise.

Parts Needed:

• WS-4: 68-69 Roof rail weather strip with molded ends

• WS-100: 67-69 Hood to cowl seal