The Intervention

19. Freiburger wasn't digging the slick '80s-vintage aftermarket steering wheel, nor was anyone else for that matter. I took the hint and the opportunity to order a repro version of the factory sport steering wheel I'd lusted after for years.

Year One offers the wheel in kit form, including the mounting hub, hardware, horn contact, and horn cap. I'm still clinging to the Sun tach, though.

20. The crowning jewels of the project were the new wheels, one of the areas we felt shouldn't be compromised. Vintage Wheel Works produces classically styled wheels in traditional and contemporary sizes; we selected a set of Vintage 45s in 17x8 and 17x9.5. To wrap the rims we went to Toyo to try out its new Proxes T1S high-performance street rubber (P255/45R17 and P275/40R17). The guys at Flip's Tire took their usual care while mounting our gems.

FIN: The end result is far better than the goals we'd set of being merely presentable. There are still plenty of improvements that need to happen (like lowering), but now getting to the "real" paint job doesn't seem like such a priority, and even Camaro-haters are taking notice. Best of all, we're driving it instead of just hoarding it