Steel Stovebolt

One of the hot new products at SEMA this year was a reproduction 1955 Chevrolet convertible body from a company called Experi-Metal Inc. (EMI). The company's Website is www.Experi-Metal.com and it is definitely worth a visit.

This bare-metal beauty (technically known as a "complete body in white") was parked directly across from our booth and had a crowd around it all week long. It sure brought back memories -- sort of. My first car was a '55 Chevy Del Ray coupe. It wasn't quite a convertible, but I was only 18 and I loved that little green-and-white two-door sedan.

EMI really nailed it with their '55 Chevy. It is a virtually exact copy of the classic original, but it's brand new and ready to be built up stock, custom or Resto-Mod style.

Last year EMI replicated the '57 convertible. That one is nice, too. But, as everyone knows, '57s turn up at every car show and cruise. Now '55s -- that's a totally different story (especially if you owned one years ago).