Emily Chen
Bay Area engineer with a deep focus on vintage Japanese and European performance cars. Approaches classic car research and restoration with an analytical eye.
Emily Chen spent over a decade in technical roles in the Bay Area before her passion for vintage import cars took over an increasingly large part of her life. She brings an engineer's discipline to everything she does with classic cars — documenting restorations methodically, researching period specifications, and understanding the mechanical logic behind decades-old engineering decisions.
Her main interests are first-generation Datsun Z cars, early air-cooled Porsche 911s, the BMW E30, and the Toyota 2000GT. She's spent years embedded in the communities around these cars — learning from marque specialists, sourcing rare components, and developing the kind of hands-on knowledge that only comes from time with the cars themselves. Her writing reflects that same analytical approach: focused on what the data and the hardware actually tell you, rather than received wisdom.
Her current garage holds a 1972 Datsun 240Z in active restoration and a 1989 BMW M3 that she drives daily.
Magazine Articles by Emily Chen
The 427 in the 1965 Galaxie: Muscle in a Luxury Suit
The 454 in the Colonnade Era: Muscle Meets Malaise
1962 Galaxie 406 vs Impala 409
The First European Sports Cars Imported Post-War
The 406 Galaxie on the 1962 Superspeedways
The 406: The Engine That Warmed Up the 427 Legend
The Knife-Edge Look That Launched the 1963 Riviera
The 1972 El Camino SS 454 Swan Song
The 428 That Made the 1966 Galaxie Effortless
The 427 in 1964: Ford Keeps Swinging
The GS 455: Buick's Quiet Muscle in a Luxury Suit
1970 SS 454 Showdown: Monte Carlo vs Chevelle
1963 Galaxie 427 vs Impala 409: Big-Block Showdown
The 455 Under the Boat-Tail's Long Hood
Targa Freedom: The 914's Removable Roof
The T/A Engine and the Race Version It Homologated
The Engines of the 1967 to 1969 Barracuda
The 390 in the Flair Bird
The 1961 Impala SS 409: The First Hot Impala
914 vs 912: The Sibling Rivalry
The 340 Six Pack: The T/A's Special Small-Block
The 1968 Barracuda 340: The Sweet Spot
The Tri-Power 348: The 1958 Impala's Big Gun
