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
Which CJ Engine to Want: The Enthusiast's Reckoning
Gearboxes and Their Engines: The CJ Drivetrain Story
Carter, Carburetors and Cold Mornings: The CJ Fuel Story
The 304 V8: The Wildest Engine the CJ Ever Wore
What Powered the Camper-Laden Blazer Chalet
The Forgotten Diesel: Perkins Power in the CJ
The AMC 232: The Six That Bridged Two Eras
The Dauntless V6: The Buick Cast-Off That Saved the CJ
The Hurricane F-Head: Breathing New Life Into the Four
When the Model T Got an Electric Starter
Interchangeable Parts and the Model T
Sourcing Parts for European and Japanese Classics
The 400 Small-Block in the Squarebody Blazer
Vanadium Steel: The Metal That Made the Model T Tough
The Engines Behind the First Squarebody K5
Reviving a Stale Listing: New Photos, Headline, Boost
Thermosiphon Cooling: Why Most Model Ts Had No Water Pump
Classic Car Value by VIN: What It Can and Can't Tell You
What a Classic Car Pre-Purchase Inspection Report Covers
What Powered the Very First K5 Blazers
The 304 V8 Years: The CJ-7 at Full Throttle
Shiftless in the Wild: The CJ-7 Automatic Story
The Engines That Powered the 1972 K5 Blazer
