f you drive an old car enough, you’ll run into some regular maintenance issues that can be quite a pain. Such is the case with our ’64 Chevelle daily driver. This is a relatively low-mileage car, just recently turning over the 100,000-mile mark. Even with low mileage and a very easy life, compared to most cars from the muscle car era, this cruiser needed some attention. We’ve logged approximately 40,000 miles in this car, and it’s always been faithful with its 283 and Powerglide. The original 10-bolt rearend is still in place as well.

Despite the car’s dependability, we noticed an issue on a recent road trip that fast-tracked this long-forgotten maintenance item to the top of our to-do list. The axle seal on the passenger side was slinging gear oil all over the inside of the tire, wheel, and drum brake assembly. Unfortunately, it looked like it had been leaking for quite some time, but it was an “out of sight, out of mind” situation. We didn’t run the rearend dry on gear oil, but once these seals start leaking, it’ll only get worse.

We went to Summit Racing to see what kind of parts were available. Lucky for us, Summit had the seals in stock for less than $5 per piece. Replacing the axle seals is a relatively extensive job, considering that the parts to fix it come in at less than $10. However, there are a few other expenses involved. Since we had the rearend pulled apart we wanted to replace the bearings. We used high-quality Timken seals and bearings and a Fel-Pro rearend cover gasket, and then grabbed 2 quarts of 80W-90 gear oil.

hen it comes to bad actor cars, most gearheads are all about making power and going quicker and faster. That places major emphasis on horsepower and torque but this also leads to the more challenging question of how to manage all that power and convert it into traction. This story will outline a basic understanding of the various rear suspension designs. Many enthusiasts gloss over these systems or merely follow whichever system seems to be currently popular.

As a true enthusiast, it’s important to understand how each of these systems function, what makes them different, and which one offers the best approach based on the performance goal. An optimal drag race rear suspension would be a crippling disadvantage trying to find bite coming off an autocross turn or on a road course.

We will look at the popular rear suspension designs with a simple overview of each. Because we must cram all these systems into a single story, this means we are forced to leave out a mountain of details. Think of this story as a smorgasbord or an ice cream taste test where you can quickly sample all the different flavors and then decide which offers the best one that suits your particular taste. You can then launch into a more detailed search into the system that best meets your goals.

BY “Rotten” Rodney Bauman Photography by The Author

ike so many others my age, I tend to resist change. As an automotive painter I was among the last to relinquish the lacquer. That was in my own original hometown of Riverside, California.

There, in the ’70s (toward the tail end of the van craze), McPeak Painting & Pinstriping was cranking out the custom paintwork. To help maintain the flow, McPeak employed a varying number of full-time painters—and for a period I was one of them.

Looking back, our custom paint pioneers didn’t have so much to work with. As late as the ’70s, we used lacquer for multicolor basecoat applications. For urethane clearcoats, Ditzler offered DAU75, and that was pretty much what we used.

he Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) serves up a healthy plate of muscle car goodness at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Usually held on the third weekend of November, the MCACN show has become more than that–it’s now an annual event–one that increasingly showcases rare muscle car unveilings from some of the top restoration shops.

Every year the organizers keep the show fresh by creating invitational displays that highlight a specific milestone in the muscle car era. The show is brand agnostic and uniquely American in flavor with some of the finest and rarest muscle cars that are still with us.

For the GM faithful, as you entered the show, greeting you was one such example. On display was the No. 3 1960 Cunningham Le Mans Corvette class winner currently owned by Irwin Kroiz. As you walk deeper into the hall, on display was a ’67 Chevelle SS still wearing its original paint, vinyl top, and interior–and only 48.2 miles on the odometer–all logged in quarter-mile increments. Other race-prepped cars, some with Yenko pedigree, could be found on display as well.