1968 Chevelle * Tim Fitz Maurice * Brick, NJ
"Sometimes I think I've landed in project hell. I've got two '68 Chevelles at my house, a '66 El Camino at my friend's chicken coup, and enough parts to fill a barn," Tim Fitz Maurice gripes in his letter. We think three projects are better than none. Tim found his latest '68 Chevelle project though eBay. The car was driveable, but Tim took it off the road because of the manual drum brakes. Since he put it away, he's rebuilt the 12-bolt, beefed up the small-block 350, and rebuilt the Turbo 350 trans. The final touch will be a coat of LeMans Blue, or House of Kolor's Candy Blue, depending on his funding at the time
| By The Numbers |
| Engine: | 350ci small-block Chevy |
| Transmission: | Turbo 350 with a high-stall converter |
| Suspension: | Hotchkis springs and sway bar, UMI lower control arms |
| Brakes: | 12-inch disc |
| Rear: | GM 12-bolt with 3.55 gears |
| Wheels: | GM ralleys (15-inch) |
| Interior: | bucket seats, Autometer gauges |
1973 Duster * Brian Judkins * Silverdale, WA
While parking his '29 Ford at a tire shop, a couple of ladies came over and asked Brian Judkins about his hot rod. Through the conversation, one of the gals mentioned she had a Duster she wanted to get rid of because it had a broken connecting rod. Brian asked her how much she wanted for it, and she answered, "if you fix it up like your '29 here, you can have it for free." Brian was over the next weekend to pick up the '73 Duster. Brian teamed up with Keith Russel, a 10-year veteran fabricator at Boyd Coddington's shop, now owner of KR Customs. They collected a 440 to replace the straight-six, and recoated the body in the factory blue with a satin black hood.
| By The Numbers |
| Engine: | 440 big-block Chrysler |
| Transmission: | 727 Torqueflite |
| Suspension: | Speedway coilover |
| Rear: | 8.75-inch with Sure Grip posi |
| Body: | Year One double-snorkel hood |
| Wheels: | American Racing Hopsters |
| Purchase Price: | $0 |
1971 Camaro * Ralph Fields * Laurinburg, NC
When Ralph Fields was 16, two awesome things happened: he bought a red '72 Camaro brand new, and met his wife, Kay, to whom he has been married for 33 years. While they were dating, Kay would patiently and curiously watch Ralph work on the car. They enjoyed the muscle car life together, but had to sell the car as the kids started coming. Now the kids are on their own, and Ralph and Kay set out to get another red second-gen Camaro. Ralph worked a ton of overtime to fund this build, and has a healthy pump-gas 468 big-block just waiting to go in.
| By The Numbers |
| Engine: | 468ci big-block Chevy |
| Transmission: | Muncie four-speed |
| Suspension: | boxed control arms |
| Rear: | GM 12-bolt with posi |
| Paint: | red like their first Camaro |
| Body: | GM reproduction panels |
| Years owned: | two years |