Text and Rendering by Tavis Highlander

ometimes deciding on the details is incredibly difficult with a big project. The owner of this Chevelle had some major bits already picked out, like the main paint color and wheels. What goes along with those items to finish it all off though? Some of the answers were decided by first jumping inside the car and coming up with an interior design. We started off by coming up with one-off door panels, seat inserts, and a console. A saddle/brown color was used in combination with a light tan to break up the interior and add interest. Since this is a convertible, it was paramount that the interior colors play well with the minty metallic paint on the exterior.

On the outside a set of Schott wheels were treated to a dirty bronze accent, which could play off of the dark interior color. A custom front valance was designed to work along with the rest of the bodywork. The convertible top matches the light interior color while white SS stripes pop off the metallic mint paint.

eing surrounded by horsepower, regardless of the application, it’s the thunder exuded by a monstrous V-8 that pulls you in like an addictive drug—one that’s impossible to kick. Such was the case with Ken Johnson of Wildomar, California. Dude was subjected to the muscle car scene pretty much his entire life. It started with his uncle Pete who had a bright red Pro Street ’67 Camaro. “That thing was a complete badass,” Ken recalls. “I was pretty young at the time, and I’m not even sure what engine it had. All I know is it sounded and looked mean as hell.”

n the not-too-distant past, automotive print magazines were arguably the biggest sources for new information and inspiration, and in a number of ways the shapers and promoters of different trends. Editors were responsible for educating their audience with the finite number of pages available each month with content that was informative and well researched. Nick Licata, the captain at the helm of ACP magazine in a previous life was at the wheel of Camaro Performers (CP) magazine. It was that curation of content at CP, and his own personal ride, that inspired Chris Shallcross to build a Pro Touring–flavored ’70 Camaro RS back in 2009. He points out, “Nick inspired me when he was the editor of CP magazine by featuring so many Pro Touring second-gen Camaros. When he built his ’71 Camaro, there was continuous coverage of the progress in the magazine.” He further adds, “The second major influence was Kyle Tucker, the founder of Detroit Speed.”

very car enthusiast has a bit of nostalgia flowing through their veins. It has taken a while, but we’re starting to see a great deal of ’80s cars coming onto the Pro Touring scene. Part of the reason is that they’re still somewhat affordable compared to cars from the muscle car era. And the most encouraging part is that people are investing money in these cars to make them handle and perform better than they could’ve ever imagined. If you remember when these cars hit the showroom floor, there were very few American cars that could outperform the coveted IROC-Z. Even the base model third-generation Camaros were a drastic jump in suspension technology, compared to the tried-and-true second-generation cars. Strut front suspension and torque arm rear suspension made for quite the combination when the appropriate spring rates were achieved, and the IROC-Z really hit the sweet spot. No matter your experience with these cars back in the day, the Wolf Gray example shown here is an entirely different animal.

ohnny Cash’s iconic song “One Piece At A Time” is about a Cadillac built from parts he smuggled out in his lunch box from a Detroit GM assembly line until one day he’d have his $100,000 dream car. Though the final version wasn’t quite what the man in black envisioned, it meant so much more because he assembled it himself. While Memphis, Tennessee’s Shawn Brereton didn’t steal the parts for his dream car, he’s managed to build his ’55 Chevrolet 150 sedan one piece at a time over the 36 years he has owned it. There were mistakes along the way but those make up the car’s history, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

ow many hot rodders can say they still have the keys to their past, owning the one sacred vehicle that sparked a magneto buried deep in their souls, causing a lifelong infatuation with Chevy muscle? For Dave Gagnon of Bristol, Connecticut, the journey started with his dad regularly reading from the book of Bowtie, letting him know that there was nothing finer than big-block Chevrolet power and that every other manufacturer followed their lead. The wicked ’69 Chevelle laid out across our pages showcases the latest iteration of a car that he’s owned since he was 14 years old. To say that it’s had a journey over the decades is an understatement and, rest assured, we’ll let the history speak for itself.

As early as he can remember, Dave fondly recalls spending long days in the family driveway helping his dad, Darrell, with engine and transmission swaps to the family daily drivers, helping him build an interest in everything mechanical. At the same time, his path to school led him by a local garage where a 9-second Camaro would regularly be seen getting prepped for drag racing. This easily fueled inspiration on what could be accomplished with aftermarket parts and custom fabrication. Then a turning point came in 1979 when his dad paid $50 for a used ’69 Chevelle two-door hardtop packing a 307ci V-8 and Powerglide trans. The car proceeded to be family transportation until mechanical problems sidelined it after a couple of years. This led Dave to constantly inquire into its fate. Well, the 14-year-old’s persistence finally won him the keys and a chance to begin its first resurrection, starting with pulling the driveline for his first backyard rebuild. A quickie paintjob soon followed with the car serving as the seat for his driver’s test and gateway to high school.