At face value, the term "parts hauler" sounds like a negative description for a vehicle. When you hear about a shop's parts hauler truck, you'd likely imagine a beat-up, dented old workhorse—a vehicle made for running errands, nothing more. If you're anything like us, you certainly wouldn't imagine something as clean and tastefully modified as this 1987 Chevy Silverado could be an ordinary parts hauler. Then again, once you hear the identity of the shop that built it, you'll understand why it looks as good as it does.

At Classic Industries, we love a good resto-mod build, and this mean 1968 Dodge Dart certainly ticks all the boxes. Owner David Fritz, of Irvine, California, knew from day one that he wanted to build an aggressive machine that could do double-duty on the street and drag strip, and he executed his plan over the course of 7 years. When he bought the Dart, it was a humble inline-6 in rough shape, and he tore it all apart to rebuild it with a different purpose entirely. This A-body Mopar car is made to turn heads and win races.

This week's featured customer car story is a little different. We received the following letter from Steve Martinson, of Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Martinson family (Robert, Steve, and Darcie) owns the stunning blue 1968 C10 restoration project seen here, and Steve described the build so perfectly, we decided to share his words verbatim. Enjoy!

For a car enthusiast, there's no worse feeling than having your car stolen. In an instant, the vehicle you put so much time and effort into is gone, and you're left empty-handed. This is exactly what happened to Ismael Castillo, the owner of this 1991 Camaro Z28, on New Year's Eve last year. After spending the evening with his friends celebrating, he went outside to find his Camaro was missing. It was recovered by police a few days later, but by then it had been stripped of many of its parts and abandoned. Fortunately, Ismael refused to give up on his project, so he began rebuilding it.

What's the most famous Trans Am of all time? How about the most famous Pontiac of all time? There's a good chance that the answer to both these questions is a single car: the second-gen Trans Am Special Edition. This black and gold icon of the 1970s became instantly recognizable for its role in the film Smokey and the Bandit, in which Burt Reynolds drove the car from Texas to Georgia as part of a bootlegging operation. In fact, in the two years following the first film, Trans Am sales nearly doubled! Thanks to the lasting impact of this movie and its sequels, as well as the car's undeniable cool factor, the Special Edition T/A remains world-famous to this day.

There seems to be a bit of a stigma about owning a convertible these days -- some people just don't consider them to be as cool as a hardtop coupe. However, we'd like to take a moment to defend the merits of the convertible. There's really nothing quite like putting the top down on a beautiful day, feeling the wind in your hair, and hearing the burble of the exhaust behind you as you blast down the highway. It's a visceral experience, and something that everyone should try. And there are few better places to own a classic convertible than sunny southern California.

Outside the Classic Industries showroom, we see all different styles of car projects, from barely-streetable drag machines to meticulous factory restorations. Although we enjoy checking out both of these extremes, it's nice to see something that's squarely in the middle ground: a clean, simple street car with a few tasteful modifications. John Vargas's 1973 Camaro fits the bill, and is a great example of a clean second-gen with plenty of style.

Today, new truck buyers choose from a limited selection of paint options, typically including variations of black, white, silver, and occasionally a subdued metallic champagne, burgundy or navy blue. However, this wasn't always the case. Back in 1969, even utilitarian pickup trucks were available in a wide range of vibrant hues such as bright red, orange, yellow, olive green and turquoise. They may not be available anymore, but these exciting colors proved that even if you needed a work truck, it certainly didn't have to be boring.