Hemmings Muscle Machines September 2022

"Today, correcting the ravages of rust is more approachable for the average hobbyist." Yesterday’s Scrap I found myself trying to justify (yet another) old car purchase not long ago when a friend asked my opinion about a project he was considering. As is so often the case, the car in question wasn’t a late-model commuter, but a decades-old relic from Detroit’s golden era of performance. This specimen was definitely a project — nothing my friend would be driving home. This is the part where we enthusiasts separate sharply from most people. The car my friend and I went to see looked like something a majority of the population would have sent to the scrapyard long ago. Yet here the two of us were, anxiously anticipating the inspection process and conjuring…

2025 CORVETTE E-RAY: CHEVY’S CROWN JOULE ALL-ELECTRIC CORVETTE IS COMING. DO NOT RESIST. In the interest of keeping up with current events, we thought you’d get a charge out of this news: Chevy’s legendary Corvette will not only be “electrified” (suggesting a hybrid gas-and-electric driveline) as early as next year, but the company signaled that an all-electric Corvette is also en route. GM president Mark Reuss slipped this bombshell into an interview that aired on cable channel CNBC in April. Don’t act shocked. The C8’s chassis architecture was designed so that a module (consisting of electric motors, control hardware, and other components) could mount in the front; this was likely one of myriad reasons for moving the engine back behind the driver. This will give next year’s “electrified” and the…

Letter of the Month: Nova, Renewed Little did I know that my life would be changed in July of 1972, when my friend, Don Carter, and I were on our way to the local swimming hole to celebrate his birthday. Another driver ran a stop sign and totaled the 1965 Chevy Biscayne that my parents had handed down to me. I was 19 years old and had graduated from high school a year prior, in 1971. I had wanted to buy a pickup, but they were more expensive than a car. Worse, my mom insisted on a car due to my enrollment in tech school. The search began. I went to the local Chevrolet dealership, and they guided me to a car that had just debuted — a 1973 Honda…

MODIFIED AS THE 2022 DETROIT AUTORAMA was winding down, someone told Craig Cushing he ought to stick around for the awards ceremony. His restomod 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 had drawn more than a little attention from the judges and they rewarded it with a first-in-class trophy. “It was a moment of great satisfaction,” Craig says. “I’d always wanted an Autorama-worthy car and for the car to win its class during its first time there was absolutely the thrill of a lifetime.” Craig is quick to credit the work of Jim Chatas, who built the car at his Detroit-area shop Motorcity Grind, which specializes in vintage Ford restorations and restomods. The two wouldn’t even have come together for the project, either, if Craig hadn’t been eavesdropping at a restaurant. “I…

There are some cars that just have ‘the look,’ and for me it’s the 1969 Mustang Mach 1. It has the four headlamps and rear quarter scoops, which the ’70 models didn’t have. It’s the vintage Mustang that really calls to me — it looks fast while it’s sitting still. I plan to drive the wheels off of it, and my young children love it. They think it’s loud, but the smile on the face of my son when we take it out is priceless. The bottom line is that it’s the car I wanted to build for a long, long time, and I think it’s going to be in our family forever.…

SPOTLIGHT: Restoration STUMBLING ACROSS A BARN FIND IS ALWAYS exciting — the aura of mystery around the vehicle allows for all kinds of mental gymnastics. You’ll find yourself hoping for the best and half-way expecting the worst. We considered ourselves lucky to find this 1970 Camaro Z28 that had been “restored” eight years prior, then unceremoniously deported to the nether regions of a horse barn. The previous owner was more interested in working on his ’68 Torino GT than maintaining the Camaro, and we were the beneficiaries of its neglect. Prior to arriving for our inspection, an attempt was made to get the engine running, but all that seemed to accomplish was a carburetor full of stinking gas and mangled wiring from someone trying to find the one that would…