If you are in the process of restoring a car in this day and age, you have surely realized that it is a relatively easy task. Parts are readily available, and if you are not sure that you can handle the job yourself, there seems to be at least one restoration shop at least near or in just about every small town in America. But, if we jump into Mr. Peabody’s way back machine and program the year to 1976, we would be able to take a trip back in time, and see just how hard it used to be to accomplish the task. If we got lucky while we were there, we would also get the opportunity to meet a couple of die-hard “Chevy guys” that were dealing with that very situation.

Back then, old cars were just that, old cars, and the process of restoring a car had yet to be commercialized like it is now. Our previously mentioned duo had first-hand knowledge of this, because they were having a hard time locating many of the parts that they needed to restore the classic Chevys that were languishing in their garages. Luckily, that didn’t deter the guys. For the next several years, they spent a lot of time scouring parts’ counters at different dealerships, in hopes of finding at least a few NOS pieces still loitering in the attics of these seasoned automotive dealerships.

Check out this weld-in replacement firewall for your ’55 and ’56 Chevy. It only has the holes punched for mounting the fenders, hood hinges, and dimmer switch

While scouring the globe—maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea, they began to notice that many of these parts’ departments actually still had quite a varied assortment of “old parts” stashed away in the shadows of their basements and overhead in the rafters. As they were finding these parts, they realized the potential of gathering them together and making them available to other enthusiasts. So, they scrounged as much money together as they could, and began buying as many of those old parts as they could find and afford. Maybe unofficially, but this is when Cars Inc. was born. Not being content with simply buying and selling old parts, the duo finally decided that they needed a bigger and better way to help more enthusiasts.

Their replacement carpeting is fashioned directly from original patterns, and is factory appearing. If original, the perimeter areas are hemmed, and factory Jute backing is attached.

Since they were in agreement, the duo decided that it was time to take a leap of faith in regards to “the business”, so Cars Inc. jumped head first into the deep-end of the pool. By that we mean, that the guys hatched a solid business plan that would have them not only selling parts like they had been for years, but now they would actually start manufacturing them. This was not going to be an easy task. Think about it, when was the last time anyone made a part for–at the time, a Tri-Five Chevy? They would need to find tooling, machines to utilize the tooling, and people to operate the machines. Oh yeah, and where do you put these machines? Initially, their passion was focused mainly around Tri-Five Chevy’s as the starting point to begin reproducing commonly rusted, worn, or torn parts. Very soon, though, product lines were added for classic Chevys, ranging from 1958 – 1987. They even have a line of truck parts to help those enthusiasts.

If you are building something other than a stock restoration, and need custom interior parts for your Chevy, Cars Inc. can help you with that as well. They have a huge selection of factory upholstery patterns that they can utilize to design your one-off custom interior panels. If a stock interior isn’t in the cards for your classic Chevy,  just imagine your Tri-five with a houndstooth material on the seats.

Speaking of interior options, over the years, Cars Inc. has assembled what you might call a huge collection of not only all-new cloth and vinyl materials, but they also have thousands of yards of new-old stock (NOS) materials at their disposal. With these materials, they can create a perfectly restored or custom interior for your Chevy. In addition to their vast selection of cloths and vinyl, they also stock synthetic leather materials and they will even use customer-supplied genuine leather.

So, if you’re looking for parts ranging from bumper bolts to clips, or interiors and/or sheet metal for your classic Chevy, you can follow them on Facebook, or check out Cars Inc. to get your parts for your car.