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My wife Jane, my family and many of my friends were sure I had lost my mind when I bought my ’57 Chevrolet restoration project car. Every one admires these beautiful old cars, but who in their right mind would spend years, three in my case, restoring one just to drive? The answer to that question is, “Many people would.”
Five-time Brickyard 400 winner and four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon will pace this year’s Indianapolis 500 on May 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
You’ve probably already guessed what he’ll pilot: A Corvette Z06 with a seven-speed manual. Not bad.
I purchased my Chevelle Malibu SS new from Chase Chevrolet in Stockton, California, in 1964. This was my daily driver for seven years and I put about 60,000 miles on it before selling it. Unfortunately, I had to sell my favorite car once our family began to grow in favor of a station wagon. I would not see my Chevelle again for 26 years.
I’ve been a muscle car lover since I can remember. When I was little, I would buy Hot Wheels cars and the racing tracks to race them. I would dream that one day I would own one. As I grew up I would drool over Camaros and Corvettes. After high school I joined the work force ever so slowly working my way to one day owning the car of my dreams.
Time: Approximately 2 hours
Tools: standard socket set, standard wrenches, floor jack and jackstands
Cost: $200-$250
Tinware: one pair of rear lowering springs, one pair of matching shock absorbers
Tip: When working underneath a car supported by jackstands, always do so on a flat level surface. Chock the remaining wheels on the ground for added safety.
Performance gains: a more positive, responsive rear suspension with improved handling and a smoother ride
If you’re content with a clean looking daily driver, or if you display your car at shows but leave the hood shut, there’s probably no need for you to tackle this project. After all, who sees the underside of your hood? However, if you’re proud of all that effort you’ve put into detailing out your engine bay, you’ll want to pay attention to this.
The underside of this car’s hood was super nasty, never having been touched in over 4 decades. With the hood removed, now was the time to get down and dirty, and restore the underside to its factory fresh appearance.
“I own 3 Cougars: a 1969 CJ Eliminator, 1969 CJ convertible, and a 1970 Eliminator (standard 351C-4V). It is not because I am a rich collector. I am just frugal. I bought the CJ Eliminator new in June 1969 and just held on to it. I bought the 1970 Eliminator in 1972 when the two-year lease ran out (it has been my daily driver for a lot of years), and the ‘69 Convertible I bought as a retirement present to myself in 1994.
Time: 2 hours
Tools: standard socket set, standard wrenches, gasket scraper, long screwdriver or pry bar
Cost: approximately $50-$150 for the pump, $25-$50 for the pulley
Tinware: new performance water pump and gaskets (supplied), deep-groove water pump pulley (optional).
Tip: never reuse old coolant. Over time it can chemically breakdown and actually harm and attack the internals of your cooling system.
Performance gains: a lighter (aluminum), more reliable, higher-flowing cooling system
Well, the 2nd annual Atlanta Motorama has come and gone. There were plenty of awesome cars for all to see, unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. On and off again rain showers most of the day Saturday (April 18th), and a full-on downpour on Sunday really put a damper on things.
We managed to snap a few pics however. Here's a sampling of some of the wonderful Tri-5 Chevys we saw– in between the drops. Fortunately, a few of these beauties were indoors, out of the inclement weather.
This 1969 Chevelle Malibu has certainly seen better days. With the 350 cube, 2-bbl. V8, this car originally came with a single exhaust system. Passable (but just barely) performance wasn’t good enough, so we elected to install a full dual exhaust system. This would not only help the engine breath easier, it would give us a nice, mellow muscle car sound.
