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Autoweek – September 4, 2000

It's true the Corvette community will buy anything related to its favorite car (Corvette Cologne is the most outlandiish example we can think of), but really-one man's tale of restoring his 1967 Roadster? Who cares?

Well, this one happens to be $29.95 well spent. For one thing, Don Sherman is a good writer. An occasional AutoWeek contributor, Sherman's book is more anecdotal stories than boring "slide Tab A into Slot B." There's a little of that-there has to be-but mostly the book is full of good advice if you're thinking of trying your own restoration, told in as entertaining a way as possible given the subject matter.

The book opens with 10 common mistakes restorers make (well worth the thirty bucks alone), then gets into why he chose a '67-he figured GM had the bugs worked out by then and the Lincoln convertible he considered too similar to the Cadillac he'd already finished. The book moves on to the car's disassembly and stripping, and the long, arduous reassembly and re-finish process. Sometimes Sherman's story is funny, and there are some good lines here. "Car restorers are grownups denied their fair share of the scavenger hunt during adolescence" is one. "For a long time the UPS man stopped daily with $200 boxes" is another. Those are just two examples, and anybody who has tried a restoration can surely relate.

Sherman did some smart things during the restoration. Farming out the engine to John Lingenfelter wasn't a bad idea, for example. Lingenfelter is one of the most respected engine tuners in the business, and he built a terrific 427 for the car (imagine-when Sherman originally plunked down his $12,000, the '67 had a Chevelle engine in it).

There are black-and-white photographs on every page detailing the whole process step-by-step, with captions explaining what's happening.

If you're thinking about a restoration project, no matter the year or model of car, Sherman's book offers enough good "what works and what doesn't" advice to make it worth the read.

-Wes Raynal