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The Chevrolet models that came out of Don Yenko's shop were all spectacular. This '68 Camaro may be a little more so...

In the late 1960s, General Motors had a corporate edict which barred any engine larger than 400 cubic inches from finding its way under the hood of their recently released Ford Mustang fighter, the Camaro. To bypass this minor hurdle, the now famous Don Yenko ordered SS Camaros equipped with the L-78 Big Block engine to his father’s dealership and swapped it out with the 7.0-liter L-72 from the Corvette. The result was the now very rare and sought after Yenko Camaro.  Only 64 Yenko’s were built in 1968, one of which will cross the auction block at Mecum’s Original Spring Classic auction next month.

Imagine awakening to find that it’s 1959! Wow, what would it be like to open your eyes to such a sight? Though such a discovery may conjure up many thoughts, the minds of most of us reading a publication like Chevy Classics drift quickly to our favorite topic…old cars. Well, I recently had just such an experience.

A near absolute ban on travel from America to Cuba has existed since 1959 and the Kennedy administration. In an attempt to ease relations, in 1999 President Clinton implemented “People-to-People,” an initiative designed to allow Americans to travel to Cuba as part of an educational exchange. Under special license, agents would be allowed to offer a fully-scheduled cultural exchange program to a limited number of travelers. However, due to various roadblocks, licenses were seldom issued and the initiative went nowhere.Recently that closed door was opened, if only just a crack. In October of 2009, an amendment to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations eased the Cuban travel requirements paving the way for license issuance, and the race to Cuba was on.

This 22 minute video is a lot of fun, plus you get to see more of the famous Sinkhole at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY! Watch it when you have some time, and really need some good laughs!

The sinkhole that opened up underneath the National Corvette Museum in February has turned into an attraction of its own for the facility. Corvette fans from all over want to check out the massive hole and the eight cars that were sucked into middle earth as a result of its opening, including Roadkill hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan.

When working on your carburetor…

Transfer the carburetor from the engine to a clean, open workbench. If you don’t have a carb stand, simply slide four bolts of your choice through the mounting holes in the bottom plate, and “nut” them up at the top. All you need is enough clearance for the levers and protruding linkage.

I was twelve years old when my oldest brother Walter "Speedy" bought a new black ’57 Chevy Sports Coupe. It had a 283 c.i. engine and 3-speed transmission with overdrive. I learned to drive using this car. I didn't know at that time that I would become addicted, but I couldn't escape the influence of Tri-5 Chevys. At seventeen, and a senior in high school, I bought my first ’57 Chevy. It was a four-door Bel Air sedan, painted Tropical Turquoise with a 265 engine and 3-speed transmission. It had 58,000 miles showing on the odometer. I dated my wife in that car and we traded it in on a ’64 Chevelle in 1965. In 1972 I bought my dad's black ’57 Bel Air four-door sedan and kept it a few years. In the mid ’70s, I had a craving for another ’57. I found a two-door Sports Coupe from a club member in Warner Robins, GA. It needed paint, interior and a transmission. I had this Chevy repainted Tropical Turquoise and the transmission rebuilt, and installed some ’66 Chevelle bucket seats. As a side note, the seller gave me a Classic Chevy World magazine. This was my first knowledge of the club.

All love stories have a beginning, and this one is no different. As is the case with most ladies, she belonged to another man. And for sixteen years, George Hedrick of Lyles, TN made many offers to make her his, promising to restore and love only (not to sell). In early 2000, George’s friend (who had made the purchase from the original owner) passed away and the car went to auction where George was able to purchase her for the high bid of $1200.

The first thing George did after making her his was to properly store her, where she remained until 2009. During those 9 years, George finished his career as an independent contractor, the whole time never forgetting his love that waited. The plans were to restore her to original specs, but as the pictures show, many things changed– and as Elvis said, “I did it my way”. With a little help from friends Richard Dunn and Rod Lyonhurst, they restored a lot of metal and changed the original color from Deepwater Blue to 2008 Corvette Atomic Orange.

We recently had the opportunity to visit Bill Tower in Plant City, FL. Bill has one unique and fascinating collection of early Corvettes! For those of you who may not be familiar with Bill, let us introduce you...

Bill Tower is a man of many talents. He’s done just about everything, from racing the American Bandstand-sponsored Top Fuel “Rat Trap” digger in the late ’60s to working on the Space Shuttle launch program. Bill is a GMI trained engineer, and worked for Chevrolet from 1965 through the mid ’80s. He is still involved with GM today, working with them on various engineering projects.

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

Project '55 Bel Air: May 2014 Update

Project '55 Bel Air: June 2014 Update

Project '55 Bel Air: July 2014 Update

Seems all of a sudden, but this has been slowly creeping up on us all. We shouldn't be surprised!

With the addition of the 2015 Corvette Z06 Convertible to its stable, the Chevrolet Performance lineup grows to include 14 vehicles. These include nine variations of the Camaro, the Australian-made SS sedan and four Corvette models, with engine output ranging from a respectable 323 horsepower to the Z06’s stratospheric 625 horsepower.

The drop-top Z06 showed its face a bit early...

It was supposed to wait until the New York Auto Show this week, but, as is usually the case for vehicles this exciting, the secret can’t be kept for long, and photos have leaked online early.

But that blue, though!

Being that this C7 drop-top is still a Z06, we can suspect a metric ass load of horsepower and torque from its supercharged LT4 V8, insane brakes, equally insane suspension, and even more mental aerodynamics. All of this coupled with either the choice of a precise seven-speed manual or a super-quick eight-speed automatic transmission. This would also make the Z06 Convertible the only vehicle of its kind with this much power, and two choices of transmissions. Best of all, it will probably come in under the $100,000 mark, although that remains to be official. Historians may also enjoy the fact that there hasn’t been a Z06 convertible since 1963 (the 427 doesn’t count).