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Time: 2 hours (approximately)

Tools: standard socket set, standard wrenches, brake bleeder (optional)

Cost: $250 and up

Tinware: master cylinder/power booster

Tip: Always bleed the brakes repeatedly anytime changes are made in the brake system.

Performance gains: A new, dual circuit master cylinder and power booster will enhance the ease and safe operation of your brake system.

Time: 2 hours

Tools: standard wrench set, flat-blade and/or Phillips screwdriver, wire strippers/crimpers

Cost: varies by manufacturer- approximately $175-$400

Tinware: HEI distributor (new, rebuilt, or used), HEI ignition lead connector, HEI style plug wires

Tip: Label or mark the location of your spark plug wires on the distributor cap for fast, easy reference.

Tip: When you have installed your HEI distributor, its best to widen the plug gap as well.

Tip: You should run a new power wire that is getting a full 12 volts. Simply splicing into the existing lead is not getting maximum power to the ignition, as that is a resistance wire. If you measure the juice at idle on that wire, you will find it to be only around 9 volts. The car will run and operate using this wire under normal driving conditions, but the power loss will be noticeable at full throttle.

Performance gains: increased coil saturation, higher spark output, more reliable performance

I purchased the car as a retirement project for $3500. It was missing all the woodgrain, and the moldings were broken and faded with half of the chrome buttons missing. Interior was not bad, but the seats were split and the vinyl was brittle. The car was originally sold from Parkside Ford in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 21, 1966.

Understanding rear gear ratios

Applicable years: all

Cost: $250-$300

Tinware: ring and pinion set, differential fluid

Tip: It’s best to seek out the help of an experienced professional when changing the rearend gears.

Performance gains: quicker off-the-line acceleration

The first car I owned was a 1962 Bel Air 2-door sedan 6-cylinder, 3-speed. I don’t remember exactly when I saw a ’62 Bel Air Sport Coupe for the first time, but I do remember thinking that it was one of the best looking cars Chevrolet ever built.

Many years later, while serving in the military, I began looking all over the United States for a ’62 that I could afford. I eventually found the car I wanted, a 1962 Bel Air Sport Coupe, in Burley, Idaho in 1994. One of the local kids had just inherited the car from his grandmother, who was the original owner. It took two years of contact with him before I was able to buy the car and drive it home.