Thursday, October 3, 2013

12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Show. Shimmering Chevelles in Shawnee

The 12th-Annual Mid-America Chevelle Club Regional Show was held last Friday and Saturday in Shawnee, Kan.  If you like Chevy’s popular intermediate, this is the place to go.  Unfortunately, everyone knew ahead of time that Saturday was going to be rainy.  I don’t really like trudging around in the rain, so I swung by the show on Friday afternoon.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the turnout was very respectable in the lot behind the Westglen Movie Theatre.  There were several of them there that tripped my trigger.  Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Feast your eyes on Craig and Rhonda Garrett’s ’66 Chevelle SS from Ozark, Mo.  This color was called Aztec Bronze, and it carried over beautifully to the dog dish-covered steel wheels.  This car was all-business, with a 396 big block under the hood, a four-speed under the hump, and few needless options.  Add a set of biased-ply redline Firestones, and this car just epitomizes mid-‘60s muscle.  No stripes; no cartoon characters; this is what the grown-ups drive.  Well, sort of.  This car is too nice for anyone to drive.

If there was one year that dominated the field, it was 1970.  If you go to a show like this, you may be under the impression that 99-percent of every Chevelle that was ever sold was a 1970 big-block SS.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that—especially when you see one like this.  I absolutely love the color here; Misty Turquoise Metallic with black vinyl top, stripes, and seats.  It was so different, and so perfect, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it.  This 396-equipped car belongs to Kyle Booth of Fair Grove, Mo.

Perhaps you’re more into El Caminos.  Luckily for you, there were some of those here too.  This Marina Blue ’67 was among the prettiest.  The tires and wheels draw you in, but the details keep you looking.  This one had a 327-c.i. “L79” small block with a four-on-the-floor.  It also had a wood steering wheel and floor-mounted clock.  Bill Went brought this one all the way down from Waterloo, Iowa.  I don’t blame him.  If I had this car, I’d want to show it off to everyone I could find.

There is a time when I would have wanted to ditch these wheel covers as fast as possible, but anymore they seem pretty good to me.  This is a ’68 Chevelle SS with a 396 under the hood.  The color is Seafrost Green.  They had so many pretty colors that it would be hard to imagine one blander than this.  But there are so many red ones out there now, this emerges as understated and classy.  ’68 was the first of this two-year body style.  And I think the old car looks great.

I will always have a soft spot for these mid-‘70s Chevelles, and this example from 1975 was the sole example at this event. This is a modified car, with a Laguna nose, high spoiler, and later-model Chevy small block.  Someone did some really nice work on it, though.  I know when I had my ’74 Buick Century like this in high school, I dreamed of fixing it up this way.  I never had the imagination, talent, or money to pull it off, though.  But this car here nails it.  I don’t think you could make one of these look any better.

Here comes the slideshow.  175 pictures belowOr click this link for a nicer version.

5 comments:

  1. The 68 SS396 isn't "Silver Beige Mist Metallic." This color was not available on U.S.-built 1968 Chevelles. Color is Seafrost Green (paint code P). Check a REAL Chevelle source - http://chevellestuff.net/1968/paint.htm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You got me there I guess. Thanks for the insight.

      Delete
  2. Well, on my monitor at least, that 68 doesnt look Seafrost green - Craig, your original assertion looks closer. So I got out my PPG book just out of curiosity, and lo and behold it appears extremely close to Silver Beige Mist metallic. Now , do we know that this car is its original colour? Do we know its NOT a Canadian car? Do we even know its an OE hue? Is it THAT important?
    Methinks Mr Admin might do well to check a REAL website on manners...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yeah... almost forgot [where are MY manners?!? ;) ] Thanx for the photos, especially of that green 72. Thats only the third car I've seen in that hue [all with white interiors] and it is rapidly becoming my favourite paint on that bodystyle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I know the owner of the car and, yes, it's Seafrost Green and it was built at the KC plant. Very, very hard color to photograph. No disrespect intended, just offering correct information. See photograph of trim tag at http://chevellestuff.net/1968/chevelle/tags/kan/kan_10c_13837_p2.jpg.

    We all know that many colors don't show up well on computer monitors but trim tags don't make that mistake.

    ReplyDelete