Although January 2015 finds much of the nation still covered in freezing temps and snow, the inclement weather will soon give way to the warmer months of spring and summer and many of the classic cars that have been in hibernation over the winter will start hitting the roads again. The warmer months are also prime time for car shows around the country. In some areas the car show season will be upon us in just a few months, as…
As the oldest active American brand, Buick has been around since the turn of the twentieth century, but the true heyday for Buick cars on American roads has passed. Classic car collectors know that the best-selling Buicks’ were the big, broad-shouldered cars’ of the 60’s and 70’s. Times and tastes change, and over the last four decades Buick has had its share of ups and downs, but the brand still survives and sales in the U.S. have been trending up…
Celebrating 32 years of manufacturing and retailing GM restoration parts and accessories, Original Parts Group, Inc. hosted its annual free Classic Car Show at the OPGI headquarters in Seal Beach, California on Saturday, April 5th. The perfect early April weather combined with great cars, a variety of restoration and aftermarket accessory vendor displays along with some very good food, to create the perfect backdrop for a Southern California auto enthusiast’s ultimate day of fun in the sun. This is one…
Upgrading the seating inside your classic car is a critical part of an interior restoration job. Here at Original Parts Group, Inc. (OPGI) we know that your seats not only need to look clean and factory accurate, they also need to be comfortable and durable too. Although most interior restoration jobs involve recovering the old seats with new upholstery, if the existing seats have lost their original shape, even new upholstery will not make up for the presence of old,…
Although most people are very familiar with classic cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s, classic cars from the 80s have not seen a lot of interest. Yet. That situation may be changing though, as certain vehicles from the 80s are now beginning to be seen as collectible items of pop culture and history. Some of them are pretty decent cars too. Prices have been climbing on many of the 1980s performance cars over the last three years and now…
The overall exterior appearance of a classic 60’s era Buick Riviera can be significantly degraded if the original factory Riviera fender emblems are missing, broken or just in bad shape from exposure to the elements. Although preserving vintage badges and emblems can be important to the originality of a restoration, new old stock emblems are scarce these days and for Buick Riviera’s from the years 1963 to 1967, they are practically unobtanium. If you do have damaged original fender emblems,…
Classic car fans know that summer is always a good time to take a road trip. Although the primary purpose of a road trip is to enjoy the journey itself and not focus so much on a destination, every good road trip needs a basic itinerary and some sort of eventual goal or destination unless you just want to drive around in circles for a few days. A better use of your time out on the open road would be…
General Motor’s latest version of what the Buick Riviera of the future might look like was unveiled at the recent Shanghai Auto Show in China, where GM executives told the press in attendance that the innovative new concept car "offers a preview of Buick's future design language." The Riviera Concept definitely looks futuristic on the outside with its dramatic “waterfall” grille and gull-wing doors. The entire exterior is sleek and visually very striking, but the powertrain inside the Riviera Concept…
Celebrating 31 years of manufacturing and retailing GM restoration parts and accessories, the recent annual Original Parts Group Car Show held at the OPGI headquarters in Seal Beach, California on Sunday, April 7th turned out to be a record breaking event with over 1,000 spectators showing up to enjoy the great weather and check out the 200 beautifully restored classic General Motors cars on display. The OPGI Car Show also received national exposure thanks to a film crew from Hot…