Mike from HEIDTS Automotive Group gives us the rundown on this 1978 Pontiac Trans Am pro-touring restomod build at the 2017 SEMA Show. This car features major front and rear handling upgrades thanks to HEIDTS suspension components.
There is no shortage of shops building resto-mod muscle cars, but Chris Holstrom Concepts from Puyallup, Washington has distinguished themselves from the crowd. They captured a GM Design Award for “Best Chevrolet Exterior” in 2015, and they were back at it in 2017 with a fresh new 1969 Camaro build. We caught up with Rick from CHC as he walks us through some of the features that make this car so awesome.
The words “pro-touring” and “resto-mod” are thrown around a lot these days, but I don’t think that either of those terms adequately describe the amount of work that has gone into this car. “Re-engineered” might be a better way to describe it.
I first spotted this car at the 2012 SEMA Cruise. I didn’t see it on the show floor and I had no idea who had built this incredible car. Imagine my surprise when 3 months and 300 miles later, I found myself standing in front of the same car once again at Barrett-Jackson 2013! Now that I’ve identified it, let me tell you a little more about the car.
While I was wandering around at Barrett-Jackson 2013, I happened upon this matte black beauty of a car. This 1969 Chevelle Malibu 454 is the ultimate street/strip machine: a fusion of metal and testosterone so manly that hair sprouted from my knuckles as I walked past.
Everything about this car awakens the senses, from the smooth black exterior to the deep rumble of the big-block V8 that you can feel in the soles of your shoes. This is a car that makes stock Corvettes and Mustangs slink back into the shadows. It makes junkyard dogs cower with fear and street thugs look the other way when they see it roll through their ‘hood. It rides on a set of Weld racing wheels and massive rear tires that don’t just grip the pavement, they pin it down and make it say ‘Uncle!’ This is one Chevelle you really don’t want to mess with.
One of the cars that caught my eye at Barrett-Jackson 2013 was this gleaming red 1961 Corvette Convertible. Like a bald eagle or a baseball game, the sight of a first-generation Corvette is one of those symbols that should fill any red-blooded American with a sense of pride. It certainly caught my attention, and I went in for a closer look.
This car is built in the “Pro-Touring” style, which means it is an older car (roughly from the 50s to the 70s) that has been upgraded with today’s technology. I have a fondness for pro-touring cars, and this one was absolutely perfect.
1963 was a very special year for the Corvette. It was the debut year for the C2 Corvette which featured a new interior, an upgraded chassis, and an all-new exterior look. The critically acclaimed design was available as both a coupe and a convertible. Coupes had a futuristic fastback-style rear window, which was split for 1963 only.
With that in mind, we can agree that the 1963 split-window Corvette is a pretty special car that is desireable today. But there’s something about this particular ’63 Vette that makes it extra special: under the hood is a supercharged LS9 V8 engine from the sixth-generation Corvette ZR1!
