Member: Gerry Schafer

Car: 1967 Chevelle

Looking forward to another season of cruising in my newly rebuilt 67 Chevelle. This is my second 67 and I went all out on this one. Bought it in Peachland in fall of 2003 and started the rebuild in Feb /04. I got at local neighborhood muscle car type shop to do the whole deal.

This one was sound and strait, so a good start. Rust holes were replaced with new metal. When you get everything apart, we found lots of work but it is expected. All new brake & fuel lines, new bushings and body mounts. New SS suspension and air bags; just in case. Frame out, must have put 50 bags of sandblasting it seemed to clean off frame totally and then painted it. New rear 1/4s, all new rubbers, the glass was good and never did the bumpers. A learning on glass, when you pay so much to have front and rear windows professionally removed, well. I might as well just bought new for the price of saving originals.

But a lot of decisions come from the attitude of doing some things to avoid going back in for something after the job is done (one year project). In this way, I avoided (hopefully) of risking the finished product for any minor regrets. So far, so good! An aluminum custom build rad was installed to cool a cool 454. New Hooker Competition headers with custom California rumble custom pipes.

This car came with a newly replaced black leather original style interior. Also had the old style steel grey rally rims and dog dish & beauty rings. The young guy (Mike) had a good intention but just didn’t want to bite the bullet on a total rebuild so we made a deal and I got to get my 67 just the way I like it. So my two car garage keeps my babies warm and dry and my heart warm all winter. I go in there often and turn them over to re-align the valves and such.

Belonging to this club put me in touch of other enthusiasts like Chris Fluter in Ft. St. John and got lots of help from Chris because he rebuilt his 66 Beaumont that he got from Mark Stubbington at Sherwood Park. It’s really a good feeling to be associated with such fine people sharing a hobby and keeping alive and well the love and experience that have such a beautiful lot of cars The Spirit lives on – alive and well. Every time I see a classic, I know all about it and it really warms my heart and enlivens my spirit. I have a hunch some others may have similar experiences. I got introduced to the classic car club by Al Gouge, a long time member. We worked together on the railroad for over 35 years. He started with a 67 Chevelle and added his 69 Beaumont.

So, with much appreciation for your magazine and club news, thanks for everything, good luck cruising.

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