THE FESLER BLOG

Vintage Chevrolet Chevelle in the Phoenix desert at sunrise
big block

The rarest Chevelles are not the LS6: COPO 9562, Z16, L78 and more

The 1969 COPO 9562 Chevelle, the 1965 Z16, the 1967 L78, the 402 Heavy Chevy and the NASCAR Laguna S-3 are all rarer than the LS6. Sourced production numbers, what the codes mean, and how to check ...

big block1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 hardtop with cowl induction hood and SS stripes

Real 1970 Chevelle LS6 or tribute: what the VIN and cowl tag will not say

Chevrolet built 4,475 Chevelles with the LS6 in 1970 and none in 1971. The VIN and cowl tag do not encode LS6, so here is what the number counts, why the 1971 car was cancelled, and which documents...

Build TipsFesler pro-touring Chevelle build, the modern day two car

Day two muscle cars: what the term means and why pro-touring is its heir

Almost nobody left a muscle car stock in 1969. Here is what a day two car actually is, the verified history behind Cragar, Hurst, Hooker and Sun, the MCACN judging rules, how to spot period mods on...

Build TipsPro-touring classic muscle cars in high-impact colors at a Phoenix car meet

1969 to 1971 high-impact colors: who went first and who actually bought them

Chrysler's High Impact colors get the credit, but GM and AMC had loud paint on 1969 order sheets first, and the take rates show real buyers. The verified color lists, dates, prices, and how to chec...

Build TipsChevrolet El Camino with Fesler flush-mount glass and dirt bikes in the bed

Is the El Camino a car or a truck? The 1959 to 1987 record, settled

The El Camino was engineered from a passenger car every year it was built, yet federal rules and most states classify it as a pickup. Here is the Ranchero-first timeline, the 1959 to 1987 generatio...

Build TipsRed 1970 Chevelle SS and blue 1969 Pontiac GTO parked nose to nose on an empty desert highway at golden hour

Chevelle SS vs GTO: the GTO started the war, but it did not win it

The GTO started the muscle car era in 1964, but the story that the Chevelle SS just copied it does not survive the production numbers. Year by year sales, the 1965 Z16, and the 450 hp LS6 settle th...

BuildsMatte blue 1967 Chevelle SS Fesler build with the hood up on the Desert Diamond rooftop at sunset

Maliblu: Inside Our 805 HP 1967 Chevelle SS Build

Maliblu is a 1967 Chevelle SS that got a full Fesler build from the body down: custom matte blue paint, flush-mount glass front and rear, a Whipple-supercharged LS making 805 hp at the rear wheels,...

Build TipsBlack pro touring 1966 Chevelle with flush mount glass parked in a restoration shop at dusk

Smokey Yunick's 7/8 scale Chevelle myth, measured against the record

Everybody repeats the story that Smokey Yunick shrank a Chevelle to 7/8 scale and fooled NASCAR. The tape measure, and Yunick himself, say otherwise. Here is what he actually changed, including the...

Build TipsHugger Orange 1969 Camaro with flush mount glass on an Arizona desert road at golden hour

Hugger Orange code 72: how to prove it on your own trim tag

Hugger Orange was code 72 on the 1969 Camaro and code 990 Monaco Orange on the 1969 Corvette, the same PPG 2084 paint under two names. Where the name came from, the Carousel Red argument, and how t...

3961972 Camaro pro touring build with Fesler flush mount glass in Phoenix Arizona

The 1970 to 72 Chevy 396 was really a 402: how to tell what you have

For 1970 Chevrolet bored the 396 out to about 402 cubic inches and, in the Camaro, left the 396 badge alone through 1972. Here is which cars really kept the badge, why nobody knows the reason, and ...

60/40 splitA 60/40 split bench seat frame in raw steel on a welding table in the Fesler shop in Phoenix, Arizona

How Fesler Builds Custom Seats by Hand in Phoenix: Bench, 60/40, 50/50, Bucket and Rear Seats

Fesler fabricates the steel frame, cuts and shapes the foam, and wraps the cover for every custom seat in its Phoenix, Arizona shop. Bench seats, 60/40 and 50/50 splits, bucket seats and matching r...

Build TipsSilver pro-touring muscle car in a shop shot through the flush-mount windshield showing the dash and cowl area

Dash Overlay vs. Full Dash Restoration: Which One Your Build Actually Needs

A cracked dash pad has three fixes: a drop-in fiberglass overlay, a gauge-area insert, or a full strip-and-restore. Here is what each one actually costs, what it hides, what it does not, and how to...

Build TipsBlack classic muscle car at dusk with the driver door glass halfway down showing one-piece frameless glass and no vent window

Power Windows in a Classic: What It Takes, What It Costs, and the Mistake That Doubles the Bill

A complete four-window power window conversion runs about $580 to $1,300 depending on the platform. Here is what belongs in a real kit, where the switches should go, what goes wrong on the install,...

427A freshly rebuilt Chevrolet big block V8 painted Chevrolet engine orange on a rolling engine stand in a working machine shop

The Chevrolet 427 Big Block: Every Version, and How to Identify One

Between 1966 and 1969 Chevrolet sold six meaningfully different 427 cubic inch big blocks, and the gap between the cheapest and the most valuable is now roughly two and a half million dollars. Ever...

454A cast iron Chevrolet big block V8 painted Chevrolet engine orange sits on an engine stand beside a modern LS style V8, showing the size difference between the two engines

Chevy 454 vs. LSX454: The Same 454 Cubic Inches, 56 Years Apart

The original Mark IV 454 was rated 450 horsepower on a scale that no longer exists. Chevrolet Performance will sell you a 454 today that makes 627 and bolts up like an LS. Same number, same displac...

Build TipsLineup of pro-touring Camaro, C10 truck, and Chevelle with flush-mount glass in the Arizona desert at sunrise

The Best Pro-Touring Platforms for 2026, Ranked by the People Who Build Them

Eight platforms ranked for aftermarket depth, buy-in cost, build difficulty, and finished value. A working shop's honest 2026 list, from the C10 to the sleeper picks.

ChevelleRed pro-touring 1970 Chevelle SS with flush-mount glass on a desert highway near Phoenix at golden hour

The Chevelle Story: How GM's Mid-Size Gamble Became the Definitive Muscle Car (1964-72)

From a defensive answer to the Ford Fairlane to the LS6 454, the strongest factory rating of the muscle car era. The full 1964-72 Chevelle story and why builders still start here.

ChevellePro-touring 1970 Chevelle with flush-mount glass on a desert road outside Phoenix at golden hour

Chevelle flush-mount glass: the complete 1968 to 1972 builder's guide

What flush-mount glass changes on a 1968 to 1972 Chevelle, and the part most owners do not know yet: the DOT kits are on the shelf for both 1968-72 and 1966-67 cars. Plus the full A-body interior c...

1969 CamaroA 1969 Chevrolet Camaro finished in the style of a Yenko COPO 427 car, photographed outside a shop at golden hour

GM Banned Their Own Engines. A Chevy Dealer Used the Taxicab Ordering System to Build the Fastest Camaros Ever Made.

In the late 1960s, GM had a rule: no engine over 400 cubic inches in anything smaller than a full size car. Don Yenko and Fred Gibb used Chevrolet's own special order system to get 427s into Camaro...