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After purchasing a new carpet kit, remove the pieces from the box and lay them out flat. This will help take the folds and creases of packaging out of the rug before it goes into the car. If the weather permits, lay the carpet outside in the direct sun with the plastic backing facing up- allowing the sun’s heat to soften the mold and ease in the installation.

(continued from Project Car: '55 Bel Air, 2 Door Hardtop)

Project '55 Bel Air: April 2014 Update

Project '55 Bel Air: June 2014 Update

Project '55 Bel Air: July 2014 Update

I'm using POR-15 products here. POR-15 is a system that thoroughly cleans, preps, and finishes your steel floor pans. You can find all the products I used here:

The mid-sixties saw Camaro competing against Mustang for street and track bragging rights; while at the same time GM and Ford were competing for showroom sales. This era has been etched in history as the “Pony Car” Wars. This being a special Camaro issue; we thought it might be fun to run down the timeline for the Camaro. We’ll also be taking a look at things that were happening in the World of Camaro at that time. Along the way we’ll throw in a few weird or rare Camaro options, just for fun.

The Lonestar XXXI Classic Chevy Convention was held in San Angelo, TX on June 25, 2013. We expected about 70 cars, but unfortunately the weather was threatening and some folks stayed home – giving us 49 registered vehicles.

Even though this was a smaller show, we were pleased to see cars come from Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Waco in Texas and from as far away as San Diego, CA, and even Western Australia. Thanks to all who attended!

In case you’ve been out of touch with the Corvette world for the past few decades and weren’t aware of this show (highly unlikely!), each August the Corvette faithful swarm the Carlisle, PA fairgrounds. This event is by far the largest Corvette gathering in the world, boasting more than 5000 examples of America’s Sports Car each and every year.

Not only is there the massive 82 acre field of cars to peruse, there’s also owner participation in autocross, dyno testing, burnout contests and a full-on parade through historic downtown Carlisle. And let’s not forget the Corvette giveaway, a huge swap meet, an all-Corvette car corral, a Manufacturer’s Midway and Installation Alley.

For most auto enthusiasts, pulling the tarp off an old unseen car is a rare delicacy, but for Dan Stafford, it’s a way of life. Stafford runs Dan’s Garage in Kennewick, Washington, which specializes in GM performance cars from the ‘40s all the way up to the ‘80s. He got a call recently from a family in Las Vegas looking to offload some of their father’s old rides. The father, from Wapato, Washington, passed away several months earlier and left behind a pair of ’68 and ’69 Camaros, a ’56 Bel Air sedan, ’61 Ford Econoline Pickup, and a burly ’77 Dodge Ramcharger with a 440ci engine.

But instead of finding the old wheels cooped up in a barn or left high and dry on blocks in the yard; these were carefully cared for and stored underneath tarps behind the family’s orchard. Stafford said it’s the kind of phone call that you dream about if you’re in the business. After the family located the original paperwork, he made the deal and the cars have found a new home in Kennewick.

Instead of trying to wedge a tissue or a rag between those interior vents, try using a paintbrush. It gets into the tight spots. A cotton swab also works well. The paint brush can also be used for cleaning dust and debris out of other tight interior areas, such as where the corners of the dash meet up with the windshield pillars.

More uses for the everyday paint brush: Cleaning excessive dust or even dried wax out of those spots where emblems and body meet. The bristles work wonders at getting into the tight seems and removing gunk you never even knew was there.

You may have heard about General Motors engineer Mark Stielow’s 1969 Camaro “Red Devil” before. It’s a fully custom Pro Touring Camaro packing a 7.0-liter LS7 under its hood which is garnished with the cylinder heads, valvetrain and supercharger from a Corvette ZR1. Underneath, it’s equipped with a 3.25:1 nine-inch axle, a limited-slip differential and a full Detroit Speed suspension system. He’s since sold the car, but back in 2012 when it was still around, him and Hot Rod magazine pitted it against a brand new Camaro ZL1 in a time-attack style race.

Chevrolet announced today that it will make the Corvette Atlantic and Pacific concepts from last year’s SEMA show available as special design packages for the 2015 Corvette Stingray.

The two design packages will be available from the launch date of the 2015 Corvette, which is slated to go on sale later this year. Chevrolet says a strong a response from enthusiasts helped influence the decision to put both the Atlantic convertible and Pacific coupe into production.

“One of the design goals for the Corvette Stingray was to provide customers with the flexibility to tailor the car to their personality,” said Kirk Bennion, Corvette exterior design manager. “The Atlantic and Pacific Design Packages were originally designed to showcase how the Stingray could be configured as a luxury sport GT car or as a high-performance motorsport car.”

Restored or original areas of the vehicle

Cars are classified based on the number of modifications in given sections of the car. These modified sections are marked on the dash card. Any sections that are unmarked are to be technically correct and subject to point loss for wrong parts, fit, finish, and cleanliness. There are a variety of printed materials available to document the proper parts and installation and the Chevy Classics Club offers technical support for club members. The technically correct portion is based on restoration standards, and there are differences based on assembly plants. We do realize there were some assembly anomalies, but be prepared to support these to avoid point loss. Our best suggestion is to restore the car to accepted standards.