The Farrington's take their '66 Chevelle through Tech Inspection at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Image courtesy TheMuscleCarPlace.com.

This week’s episode of The MuscleCar Place Podcast is out and features an interview with Tom Farrington. Tom, his wife, and his kids all participate in restoring and racing their Chevelles!

Click the Play button below to listen to the show here, or click here to listen in iTunes!

[audio:http://www.themusclecarplace.com/podpress_trac/web/2405/0/the_musclecar_place_podcast_episode62_11162010.mp3]

Tom Farrington and his family take their Chevelles seriously, and the ’66 that they brought to the 2010 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational was a complete family affair. Tom,  his wife Deb, son Sam, and daughter Kaytlin all have a stake in the car and each one of them has contributed to it’s success. All 4 of them came to the Optima Event as well!

This ’66 is not the first Chevelle ever in the Farrington household, though. Tom and his wife had a Chevelle’s previously and decided to get another one when they jumped back in to the classic car hobby. This particular car started out as a complete shell and was an 8 year build project. It’s a great example of a family build done over time as funds allow. Once Tom got a taste of autocrossing it was no question as to the direction the build was going to take; pro-touring!

Tom at full speed on the Road Course at the Optima Invitational.

The suspension setup has been a work in progress. Tom has stated that it’s a hodgepodge of multiple different parts from different vendors, and he’s sold just as many speed parts as he’s purchased in trying to dial in the right combination. He runs an aggressive wheel/tire combo, big brakes, and Corbeau racing seats. His ’66 has a mild 454 big block, 3.73 gears, and a 6-speed, and is just as comfortable on the track as it is on the street. Future plans include beefing up the big block in the short term, and an LS motor in the long term.

The Farrington’s love the 64-67 model years of Chevelle and have over 20 of them in the field at their home outside of Indianapolis. Deb drives a ’64 wagon, and Sam is building a 4-door ’67. In their “spare” time both Tom and Deb are firefighters, and Tom serves in the National Guard. They go to race events together, help their fellow competitors, and give free rides to podcast show hosts who shall remain nameless. If that’s not a family that epitomizes what good old American muscle cars are all about, I don’t know what is!