Car Feature: Cathy Fig’s Final Ride In Her 1971 Chevelle Convertible

1971 marked the beginning of the end for the muscle car era, but the 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle was still King Of The Hill. 191 saw slight changes from the 1970 Chevelle model, such as the dual headlights instead of the quad headlights that had adorned Chevelles since 1964. The taillights were also changed from dual rectangular lights to quad circular lights. 

For the last few months we have been covering the story of Cathy Figuracion and the restoration of her 1971 Chevelle convertible. Cathy, known to many as “Momma Fig,” had a big heart. For months she was battling brain cancer, trying treatment after treatment. Finally the doctors told her that she was terminal, with only months to live. She let her friends and family know that her last wish was to take a ride in her drop top once more. While some people would mope around and be sad, her family and close friends did the exact opposite; Everybody focused all their energy towards restoring her 1971 Chevelle convertible as quickly as possible. 

All photos courtesy of Tom Rightler

Fig Family Tree

Cathy’s love for cars started many years ago when she met her soon to be husband John, in high school. He was always a car guy and loved to drag race. When he started dating Cathy, naturally she tagged along with him to races as well. At the track you could either find her rooting for John or literally sitting under the hood detailing his engine. She loved cars and had a real passion for detailing cars. She even detailed some high end cars in her time as well.  

More than her love for cars, Cathy had a heart of gold. She never hesitated to help somebody out, whether that was detailing their car or helping them to get into the hobby. She was even Vice President of the Maryland Chevelle Club for many years, helping club members along the way. This mentality of helping others was exuded throughout her entire family, as the Figs lend a hand every chance they can. But when the time came for the Figs to need a hand, there was a crowd of people ready to help. 

Acquiring The Drop Top

The Fig family originally picked up the drop top for a measly few hundred dollars back in 1994. The car was resting deep in the woods, rusting away and making a slow return back to mother earth. The Figs rescued the ’71 and started restoring the car. They originally bought the Chevelle for their daughter, but upon seeing the rusted pile she said she didn’t want the ‘vert. That’s when Momma Fig stepped up and proclaimed the Chevelle as hers. By 1999, the car was restored and started racking up miles. 

After years of use and thousands of miles, the Chevelle was in poor shape, needing some attention to the body. John had taken the car off the road and was in the middle of fixing some major issues when Momma Fig was found to be terminal. A crew of volunteers jumped at the opportunity to help the Fig’s and went to work on the ‘Vert. 

The Restoration Begins

The entire car was disassembled until there was only a body sitting on a rolling chassis. With the paint stripped they saw that the car had more rust than they originally thought, which required all new floorpans and a trunk floor. With a new floor installed, the decision was made to make this a body-off restoration. The team wanted to do everything right and for one final time. 

The body was sent off to John Truman of Truman Muscle Cars, who handled all the sheet metal and body work on the car. Since he completed the replacement of the floors, he tackled the rest of the body as well. While he was priming and sanding, Tom Rightler took the frame to the sandblasters. Rightler completely restored the frame along with all the suspension and brake components on the car.

From there, the frame was slid back under the body so they could get the body gaps right. After the body was straighter than a ruler, the car was sent to John Coyle at Cornell Auto Body. While at Cornells, Ed Pienta sourced the PPG Deltron base and clear, and shot the beautiful blue on the car. The color is Royal Blue, which comes from a 1997-2003 Chevy truck.  While the paint was being shot, the 402 big-block was being freshened up with new rings, bearings, and bright orange paint.

Reassembling The Cool Blue Cruiser

With the suspension finished and the paint shot, the time came to reassemble the rest of the ‘vert. The crew placed a call to Ground Up for all the required restoration parts they needed for the car. Just about every piece of the car was replaced with parts from Ground Up to bring this car to show car quality. 

With all new parts from Ground Up on the car such as lenses, weatherstripping, bumpers, and everything else needed, the outside of the car started to take shape. They started turning their efforts towards the inside. The car was completely rewired and the dash was restored to new condition. With all new wiring in place, Tom Rightler installed the freshened up Big-Block and transmission. Working late nights, he was able to get the motor fired back up and running like a top. 

The last few details to finish up were the soft trim on the car: door panels, upholstery and the convertible top. Instead of fighting the top they had a shop professionally install a brand new white drop top.  The last step was to install a set of TMI Products’ Sport Seats. The Sport Seats look factory with stock colors and patterns, but have increased bolstering for better handling and comfort, perfect for racking up miles. 

Momma Fig’s plans with the car were to drive all over the United States. She had friends in Florida and Texas she had plans of visiting to show off this cool blue cruiser. Unfortunately that dream won’t come true as Momma Fig passed before the ‘vert was completed. “We are going to fulfill her wishes and take the car to all the places she wanted to go,” said her son JJ Figuracion. They have a portion of her ashes in an urn which will stay with the car so she can still enjoy going to car shows. The car started restoration in February of 2014 and was finished by June 2014, just in time for the annual Maryland Chevelle Club show. 

Owner: Cathy Fig and her family

Hometown: Brandywine, MD

Car: 1971 Chevelle Convertible

Paint: PPG Deltron Royal Blue

Interior: Stock with TMI Products Sport Seats 

Engine and Transmission: Stock 402 ci Big-Block with Comp Xtreme Energy camshaft, Pypes exhaust, 700R4 transmission

Suspension and Brakes: Stock F41 suspension with air shocks in the rear, Stock front disc brakes

Rims and Tires: Stock 15-inch SS wheels, BF Goodrich Radial TA’s

Special Thanks To: John Truman, Ed Pienta, Rick Nelson, Steve Gregori, John Coyle, Fred Gillis, Evelyn Gillis,Terry & Dottie Bolyard, Ray Griffin, Donnie Gates, Dennis Barnett, Ground Up, TMI Products, Maryland Chevelle Club, Northern Ohio Chevelle Club, Bob Gillespie

 

About the author

Tim King

Tim grew up in the garage with his Father. From those early years grew a passion for anything with a motor. Helping his Dad and brother restore a '67 Nova is what fueled Tim’s passion for cars. At the age of 15 he bought his first car, a 1966 Chevelle which he still owns to this day. That car started his journey into the automotive world where he’s done just about everything, from being an auto mechanic to an aftermarket Sales Manager. Not only is he a gear head, but he also holds two Bachelors degrees from Cal State San Bernardino.
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