I cleaned the XJS up and hit the monthly show for August at The Varsity in Athens, Georgia.

The XJS now has 45k miles on the odometer. You don't realize just how dirty your car is until you start cleaning it up for a show. In my case, I spent forever trying to get the bugs off of the front end !

1987 Chevrolet Camaro Iroc-Z. This is an 11k original mile car that was loaded with just about everything available that year.

Modified Chevrolet Malibu. In addition to the small-block V8 under the hood, this car featured custom chameleon paint. I always liked this type of paint that changed colors as you walk by.

The paint appears to change color with application of light.

2005 Ford Mustang.

This is a V6/5-speed car that was for sale for $8,995.

The green accent paint scheme was a custom job.

The halo lighting that matches the custom paint looks great.

1991 Chevrolet Camaro Z28.

This car had the optional 5.7L V8. I loved this car ! I had a '91 Z28 with the 5.7L V8 in Arrest-Me Red many years ago that would run 14.3s. I won a trophy with that car. Great memories !

1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS396 with the 325 hp 396 CID big-block V8, (RPO L35).

1963 Chevrolet Impala.

1965 Pontiac GTO.

This is a well documented car that has been beautifully restored.

The car was displayed with a copy of the original window sticker. The options shown on the sticker should match what is shown on the cowl tag.

Factory 4-speed car.

The window sticker says the car orignally came with the 4bbl 335 hp 389 CID V8. An upgrade to the 360 hp Tri-Power setup was made at some point.

The car's cowl tag. Starting at the top . . .
1C = build date: Third week of January 1965. I'm not sure what the "2" stands for. The use of additional characters on the tag varied between assembly plants, the meanings of which have been lost to time.
ST 65-23727 = style code: 65 = 1965, 2 = Pontiac, 37 = LeMans, 27 = 2-door sport coupe.
PON = assembly plant: Pontiac, Michigan.
1850 BODY = Fisher Body sequence number.
TR 213-B = interior trim: Black bucket seats.
A-A PAINT = exterior paint codes: Starlight Black upper and lower.
E = Group 1 accessories: E = Tinted glass, all windows.
2LPR = Group 2 accessories: L = 4-speed floor shift transmission, P = radio, R = rear seat speaker.
5NW = Group 5 accessories: N = GTO option package, (identifies the car as a legit GTO), W = retractable seat belts.
8-1 = More of those "additional characters" mentioned above for which no information exists.

1965 Pontiac GTO, 389 Tri-Power/4-speed.

1971 Volkswagen Super Beetle.

Lots of original documentation was displayed with the car.

1971 VW Super Beetle.

The 1.6L air cooled Flat-4 makes 60 hp.

1963 Ford Falcon Sprint. Technically, this is a 1963 1/2 model. The Sprint was introduced mid-year and was the only way a V8 could be ordered in a Falcon.

The 260 CID V8 makes 164 hp.

1963 Ford Falcon Sprint.

1961 Chevrolet Impala.

This car featured the 348 CID "Tri-Power" V8. I don't know for sure which 348 this is. The Tri-Power setup was available in 280 hp trim and 350 hp trim.

Four speed car.

I believe this is a 1985 Suzuki Samurai.

At some point in this car's history, the car's original 1.3L inline 4-cylinder engine was replaced with a small-block Chevrolet V8.

1956 Chevrolet 210.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. The Z28 was created to qualify the Camaro for Trans Am Series racing where engine size was limited to 5.0L.

The 302 CID V8 found only in the Z28 was rated for 290 hp. But tests from back in the day seem to indicate the engine's actual output was over 400 hp.

All Z28s came with a 4-speed manual transmission.

1951 Ford. The side trim seems to suggest a mid-level Custom Sedan, (as opposed to an entry level Deluxe or top of the line Crestliner or Victoria).

The 239 CID Flathead V8 made 100 hp.

1951 Ford.

1966 Dodge Charger. I photographed this car at last month's show, although quite poorly. These pics are much less blurry !

The Charger was a true 4-seater.

Several V8s were available in 1966, including the mighty Hemi. This car has the 230 hp 318 CID V8.

The car's fender tag. Chrysler was always a little different when it came to fender tag decoding, starting with the fact that the tag on a Mopar is read from the bottom up.

The bottom row is reserved for the basic information about the car:
SO NUMBER - This is the car's build date and Shipping Order Number: C30 = December 30, 1965, 09444 = Shipping Order Number.
BDY - body code: X = Dodge Charger, P = premium price class, 29 = 2-door sports hardtop, (all Chargers are XP29).
TRM - Interior trim code: P = premium trim, 4 = vinyl bucket seat, X = black.
PAINT - exterior paint code: QQ = dark red metallic upper and lower, 1 = monotone paint, B = black accent roof stripe, B = black upper interior door paint color, (in cases where the car does not have a full door trim panel, the exposed metal is painted a matching color).

The middle row of all capital letters shows several corresponding numbers various places. These relate to options installed on the car. The "A" and "B" numbers are combined for the engine code:
AB41 = engine code: 230 hp 318 CID V8.
C5 = Torqueflite automatic transmission.
R1 = Music Master AM radio.

The top row of lower case letters and the corresponding numbers below them also relate to installed options:
a6 = center console.
b4 = bucket seats.

1966 Chevy II Nova.

I don't know the displacement of the modified big-block under the hood. But whatever it is sounds great !

More Mopar: 1964 Plymouth Barracuda (L), and 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II (R).