Okay, hear me out. With the passing of Eddie Van Halen recently, I’ve been roaming around my usual haunts playing all sorts of Van Halen music. Which has led me to music channels that tend to feature hair metal kinds of music. You know the stuff. You go from “Panama” to “Mama’s Fallen Angel” to “Same Old Situation” and the next thing you know, your jeans are acid-washed, your shirt is missing it’s sleeves, your sunglasses are Oakleys and the hair is flowing gracefully over the back of your neck. Except, none of that is the case. Any sleeveless shirts I own stay on the property unless I’m out at a lake somewhere, the only way I have anything with the words “acid” and “jeans” in my house is from an incident that burned a couple of holes through a good pair, thanks to the Cadillac Limo (rust in peace) and the last time I grew my hair out long I looked like a white Homie D. Clown from In Living Color, and my hair has never been long enough for a mullet.
Matters not. I’ve had a T-top GM car from the 1980s before, and I rocked the hell out of that car. And I’d do it again, unapologetically. What’s the worst that can happen? Oh, no, the coils are shot! Time to upgrade. Oh, damn, another set of tires? Eh, par for the course. Aw, man, the 305 is a dog! Hey, you know what’ll fix that problem? NITROUS! The truth is, you can crack the jokes all you want but the potential is lying in wait. This 1985 Z28 Camaro is ideal: it’s worn, it’s whooped, and it’s still kicking. Rock it as-is while you get the restoration parts together. Cruise it while you build a TPI 350 that will have the guts that body should’ve had from the start. You’ve got a five-speed stick, you’ve got T-tops and you’ve got a car that’s begging to go under the paint gun. Just please…leave the Cragars alone. You spent three grand to get the car, spend the other two on a badass party. Then start saving up to get the car right!
