Turnkey Cars
Buying parts out of a catalog usually means that you get to do the assembly, but Year One also offers complete turnkey cars. After deciding to build a first-gen Camaro to beat on at the track, Year One started with a reproduction '69 Camaro body that had gotten damaged during shipping. "In order to tackle a challenging track like Road Atlanta, we went a little overboard with the car by putting a 572 big-block, six-piston brakes, and race seats in it," Kevin recalls. Not surprisingly, the Camaro turned out to be the most popular car in the Year One stable wherever it went. "A few customers expressed an interest in a similar type car, and the track car program was born," Kevin says. "We offer the cars ranging anywhere from a basic rolling chassis all the way up to a turnkey ride. Each is built to order-with as much or as little done to it as the customer wants-and anyone interested in learning more about them can visit our Web site."
Muscle car Prices
"The muscle car market has been very strong the last few years, to be sure," Kevin says. "We expect the really rare cars to continue to rise in value. We probably won't see the more common cars escalating the way they have, but that's not all bad. The health of the muscle car hobby depends on a reasonable cost of admission, so to speak, and if everything continues to appreciate the way it has been over the last few years, a lot of enthusiasts will be priced out of the market. Fortunately, the bulk of the market remains in enthusiasts' hands. High-end collectors and speculators will probably continue to dominate in such areas as COPO cars, mid-year 427 Vettes, and the like, but we want cars like SS 396 Chevelles and SS 350 Camaros to stay in enthusiasts' hands. That way they are enjoyed, not just put on a pedestal and looked at from time to time. As for future trends, we see strong interest in second-generation Camaros in particular. The early '70-73 Z28s and SS cars have been popular for a while, but later second-gen cars are coming on strong."
ORSCA
As big fans of Outlaw-style street car racing, Year One has teamed up with the Outlaw Racing Street Car Association. "It's heads-up, which we like, and the performance those guys get from relatively small tires is simply amazing," says Kevin. "The ORSCA management was local, and we contacted them about just sponsoring a race initially, which eventually led to the sponsorship of the Outlaw 10.5 class. We're not really involved in the hardcore drag race parts business, but we really enjoy the racing, the cars, and the grassroots element of the scene. We want to see it succeed, so we decided to help and we expect it to continue to grow and prosper. Besides, how can any gearhead not be impressed when a door-slammer runs in the 6s at over 200 mph with headlights and turn signals!"