Jonathan Pompey, of Compton, California, vividly remembers the first time he laid eyes on this 1964 Impala. It was November of 2004, and he was walking his dog down the street when he spotted it. The Impala was in rough shape, and parked at the curb in front of a house. Right then and there, Jonathan approached the owner and asked to buy it. Unfortunately, it wasn't for sale.

Take a good look at this 1955 Chevy Bel Air. This pristine ride belongs to Joel Sellers, of Garden Grove, California, and it's a beautiful example of a first-year Tri Five.

Of all the details to be found on Joel's '55, the thing that stands out the most is undoubtedly its Candy Apple Red paint. The hue is deep and rich, and the gloss looks so wet you might think it was painted yesterday. However, that's not the case. Far from it, in fact. Joel tells us that this paint was applied in 2000 — it sure doesn't look like a nearly 17-year-old paint job.

To many vehicle buyers, trucks are designed for utility. They're used to tow trailers, haul heavy loads, and traverse rough trails. As a result, they often get dented, scratched, used up and disposed of at the end of their service lives. This is why it's exciting to see a classic pickup truck in beautiful condition, especially when it has been kept that way by the same owner for several decades.

When starting a new classic car project, there are a number of choices to make. Some owners choose to restore every nut and bolt to factory spec, ending up with a vehicle that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Jeromey Campbell, of Huntington Beach, California, was looking for something more distinctive when he started work on this 1991 Camaro Z28 convertible.

The '57 Chevy Bel Air is a timeless piece of Americana. It's one of the few vehicles that's identifiable to even those who wouldn't consider themselves automotive enthusiasts. It has been featured in countless songs, TV shows, and movies. Even if you're not a die-hard classic car fan, the '57 Chevy is simply cool.

This 57 Bel Air convertible belongs to Steven Miller, of Hawthorne, California. Steven tells us he's part of the Rollerz Only car club, and picked up the Chevy as a restoration project after finding it for sale in Texas. Rather than gradually replacing bits and pieces, he dove in headfirst, and completed a full frame-off restoration of this classic convertible.

Here at Classic Industries, we often get to see our customers' completed restoration projects in the parking lot of our Retail Showroom. It always brings a smile to our faces, and we do our best to document each vehicle and share it here on the Classic Industries blog. However, on certain occasions, we get a glimpse into these vehicles' origins, and have the opportunity to see how far they've come. These cases are especially interesting, since we get to see a "before and after" transformation take place as restoration occurs.

"It's aliiive!" We can almost hear the cracks of thunder and see the flashes of lightning coursing through the sky as we gaze upon this vehicular beast. Like Frankenstein's monster, it's a maniacal amalgamation of parts that were never joined at birth, but the result is truly astonishing. Simply put, it's a 1968 Camaro with a massive 6.6L Duramax turbodiesel engine bulging from beneath where the hood once was.

Each November, many of the world's finest classic and custom cars gather at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the SEMA Show, and this year continued the tradition. Since the SEMA Show is industry-only and not open to the general public, we walked the halls and snapped photos of the incredible vehicles we found inside. For those of you who weren't able to make it to this year's show, we'll be posting some of the most interesting cars we spotted.

Back in the late '50s and early '60s, cars didn't necessarily have "generational" styling like they do today. These days, designers often create a model that stays cosmetically the same for 3 to 5 years, and eventually release small tweaks, or refresh the design with new lights, bumpers, and wheels. Back in the 1950s and '60s, there were many cases where every model year was unique, with huge stylistic changes every 12 months.

Gold isn't a color you see too often on cars these days, with the possible exception of the champagne color used on some luxury sedans. However, back in the early '70s, gold was a much more popular choice—even for muscle cars. This resto-modded 1971 Camaro serves as a reminder of how much gold paint can complement a classic car.