VCCA Flint Michigan 2011 Meet Preview 1934 Chevrolet Cabriolet

The 50th Anniversary of the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America will be celebrated along with the 100th Anniversary of Chevrolet, this July 2011, in Flint, Michigan. The celebration begins on the 17th and concludes on the 22nd with the presentation of awards.

Most of the activities will be reserved for the members of the VCCA, although a large number of vintage Chevrolets will be on display, on the 21st at Saginaw St. in Flint. The general public may be able to view the cars there.

We have just completed a complete restoration of a 1934 Chevrolet Cabriolet, which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful production cars built in the USA, and will be part of the celebration. This one has been quite a project, reviving it to it's former glory. Actually in it's day, it wasn't considered that special, but to bring the car back to the level of perfection that this car is at now, requires extreme patience and unwavering dedication. Not to mention the financial aspect of it.

This project has been a team effort over the last few years. Dan started with the initial assembly of the wood kit. Dennis and I worked together refining the fit and and final assembly of the wood. I did the sheet metal restoration, paint and assembly of the body. We recast the windshield frame in bronze to replace the original pot metal frame. Dennis restored all the mechanical components and assembled the chassis. Dan then took care of the upholstery and top, using the Hampton kits.

One of the biggest obstacles you encounter when doing restoration work, is outside sub work, such as chrome plating etc. After we made some replacement top irons, the local chrome shop destroyed all the top irons by polishing the metal away and losing the crisp detail, as well as the flat bearing surfaces. Dennis then remade all the irons and fortunately has a very close friend who does master machine work, ending up with an extremely nice top assembly.

I gotta say, it is always a pleasure working with Dennis, as he is the gentleman of gentlemen and his talent and skill are equally rated, in my book.


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