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CHP: Record Keeping 101

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148 0401 Book 01 Z

For the Record

Keeping Track of Your Chevys' Parts Information

By Bob Mehlhoff
Photography by Bob Mehlhoff

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We can't have just one cool musclecar. Our garages and driveways tell the story of our obsession. Inside the garage we may have a 12-second Chevelle parked next to a really cool two-door '66 Nova. Then the parts hauler might be a flawless '71 El Camino with a very torquey 406. Of course the family car just happens to have some sort of Chevy V-8 lurking under the hood. This is all fun until the day arrives that something breaks down and we wonder, Exactly what performance parts did I install on that car?

With so many projects and modifications, it should be obvious that remembering how each car is modified is probably next to impossible. But there is a simple solution to this dilemma. With easy-to-do recordkeeping, you can quickly organize a book that will keep all that detailed information for each car in one location.

To demonstrate, we've put together an example to help you get started. When you're done, you'll have all this information at your fingertips and a system that's a big timesaver.

Make Book on It

Here's how we formatted a book to keep track of one of our cars. For simplicity, we divided the information into general categories and wrote the specifics in a small book that fits in our glovebox. Don't forget to include a page for maintenance records, too.

'72 Nova Chassis

Description; MFG; PN

Brake Pads; Perf. Friction; 052Z
Rotors; Raybestos; Slotted RB101W Steel Brake
Hoses; Goodridge; 12244

Under Hood

Spark Plugs; ACCEL; 276S
Header Gasket; Fel-Pro; 1404
Intake Gasket; Fel-Pro; 1205
Collector Gasket; Fel-Pro; 2001
Head Gasket; Fel-Pro; 1003
Oil Filter; ACDelco; PF35
Belts/Fan; Gates; 15455
Belts/Power Strg.; Gates; 15350

Drivetrain

Trans Filter; Purolator; P239

Tuning

Ignition Timing; 12 BTC
Total; 36 BTC @ 3,000 rpm
Holley Jet #; 72 P 78 S

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