WHAT can warm my motor more than a father-son classic car story?

A father-daughter classic car story, of course.

Jen Keffeler's father, Captain Stephen Richards, was a Marine Top Gun pilot when he purchased this 1962 Corvette in 1971, the same year Jen was born.

Having rescued it from the drag strip, her father drove them around in it everywhere and while she can barely remember those very early times, the smell of the car itself puts her back in the moment immediately.

The car was in an accident in 1974, which left it parked in the family garage for many years. As a child, Keffeler would dust off the Vette and promise it that some day she would fix it up like it deserved.

Years turned into decades, and as fate would have it, a natural disaster would have to happen to bring that restoration to fruition. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola, Fla., with record-breaking waves and force, and Jen's parents' home on Santa Rosa Sound, directly behind Pensacola Bay, was submerged in 12 feet of saltwater.

Instead of conceding that Ivan's surge had turned the Corvette into scrap, Jen and her husband Steve decided to bring a modern update to their classic car. From there the restoration began, and, as Jen said, “We just made her fun to drive while keeping that classic look.”

The “Fuelie” fuel-injection version with 360 horsepower was the 1962 Vette's — last of the C1 series — original engine, and her father had installed a '70 LT1 engine after purchasing the car. Once Jen and Steve brought the Vette back to Texas after the hurricane to begin the rebuild, they started with a custom frame from Corvette Correction that utilizes Corvette C-4 hardware, capable of housing GM's 6.0-liter LS-2 fuel-injected engine.

Custom Upholstery was done by Ron Mangus' Custom Auto Interiors and the complete paint work was done by Randy Borcherding of PaintHouseTexas.com, giving it this custom “Dark Pearl Maroondy” shade.

Two other modernized classic Chevy beauties I'm showing off are both owned by Glenn Bennett. Bennett's 1951 Chevy five-window pickup is a dependable old truck with new technology and the rebuild was done by Bennett himself, taking four years to complete and finishing just one week before 9-11.

It has a custom frame, and is running a 1991 TPI 350. Even eight years after the restoration, Bennett said it runs great and gets attention everywhere it goes.

Bennett also owns a 1965 Chevrolet El Camino. He wanted one of these since he was 16 years old, so it's no surprise it was among the rebuilds he set out to do for himself. This one taking three years to complete, it also has new technology and a modern update to the vintage ride. Under the hood it has a 2002 Corvette LS1, inside it sports leather interior, and outside is an all-new clean black paint job.

This one he describes simply, “fast and fun.”