Introducing my '69 Chevelle (and myself)

[gmorris]

Thought I would post this over here and introduce myself since I have just lurked on lat-g for a while now. I'm another Canuck locked in an endless winter and dieing to drive his recently finished (for now) Chevelle. I've learned a lot from the forum and it helped me solve some of the issues I ran into during the build.

I held off on creating a project post as I ran into a lot of major setbacks and issues that dragged this out longer than planned (just like every project car). It started 2 1/2 years ago when I mistakenly purchased somebody else's project that they didn't have time to finish. The car had been fully disassembled and the frame, suspension and miscellaneous parts powdercoated. It came with a th400 and a fairly fresh small block. Everything was there and while I knew it needed new rear quarters the body seemed decent. I got a decent price for around here and took my prize home in 2 trips with a trailer and about a thousand boxes. The plan was to assemble what I had and to get it on the road and then make the changes I wanted later.

This is what it looked like then:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3377218361_c7f0abc396_o.jpg (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15642230@N06/3377218361/" title="1 (Medium) by garymtb, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3377218361_c7f0abc396_o.jpg" width="800" height="604" alt="1 (Medium)" /></a>)

The problems started right away when I decided I wanted to get rid of the 350 and auto go big block/5speed right away. I sold the small block and most of the stock suspension and tranny right away. That freed up some room in the garage and some cash which was great. I then went ahead and ordered a fresh moser 12 bolt with trutrack and ford axle ends from Frank at GP superstore. I also ordered a 540 from Wolfplace to power the beast. The next major problem came up then. When I installed the dif and started measuring for the backspacing I discovered the frame seemed out of whack in the rear. I had measured the diamond when I bought the car and it was square so I was baffled. I took it to a frame shop and asked him to check/square the rear and correct the fame sag in the front. He measured the same stuff I did and thought it was good enough to fix. After 2 days he called me and told me he was giving up. His best guess was that it had been hit right on the rear wheel at some point and repaired poorly. When he started pulling the frame back welds started breaking all over and all kinds of ugliness was covered up with the powdercoat. It might have been salvageable but I didn't want to have a suspect frame under this thing and decided to scrap it. This was a major setback as new frames are very hard to find up here in any kind of condition. It took me about 6 months to find another one and it looked like this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3378025638_a89ce43921_o.jpg (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15642230@N06/3378025638/" title="2 (Medium) by garymtb, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3378025638_a89ce43921_o.jpg" width="800" height="533" alt="2 (Medium)" /></a>)

I spent 2 moths grinding, welding, gusseting and painting with por15. I reinforced all the week points - front LCA mounts, rear LCA mounts, rear crossmember etc. I decided not to box the full frame rails as I do not believe the benefit is worth the hassle of changing the tranny crossmember mounts and brake and fuel line routing. Once the frame was done I installed twin 1/2" SS fuel lines (supply and return) and new ss brake lines from inline tube, sc&c stage 2+ front suspension plus SPC lca's, edelbrock adjustable uppers and UMI adjustable lowers in the rear.

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For now I'm running bilstein shocks with circle track springs with adjusters in the front. Next winter I may go coilover or at least varishocks depending on how it performs this summer. I also ordered up some c5 Z06 front brakes from Kore3 along with their al hubs. I found some LS1 rear brakes for the back .

Next to arrive were some more driveline goodies:

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Followed by some pretty forgelines (18/9.5 front, 18X11 rear)

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The real excitement arrived in a really big crate from northern California:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3584/3378027292_30c8b17e92_o.jpg (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15642230@N06/3378027292/" title="8 (Medium) by garymtb, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3584/3378027292_30c8b17e92_o.jpg" width="800" height="533" alt="8 (Medium)" /></a>)

It's a dart block 540 from Lewis Racing Engines. It made 746HP and 680ft-lbs on his dyno.

To be continued...

[gmorris]

That allowed me to finish the chassis with the help of a 3.5/3" torque tech exhaust which I added some extra flanges for easy removal into and later removed to have fully ceramic coated. I also got a set of beautiful lemons 2 1/8" X 3.5" pro touring inside the frame headers. Those things are a work of art! Finishing the front end off is an alumatech rad with twin spal fans.

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I had stashed the body with a guy from my home town that has a great reputation for paint and body. He had recently quit the shop he had worked at for years to start doing his own thing on his farm. He was a little backed up but I finally got to the front of the line last fall. Once he started digging into it he found a "few" more issues that resulted in more metal being ordered. Basically all that's left is the roof, firewall and floor. New full rear quarters, tail pan, door skins, fenders, hood, front filler, inner and outer wheelhouses, trunk lid and rear filler beneath rear window. Since his shop is 5 hours away from where I live now I trailered the chassis out to him to fit the shell onto.

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Once it arrived at the body shop he tore into it like a madman.

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Seeing that was almost enough to change my mind to flat black...but into primer it went:

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Then I got some teaser pics from him

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[gmorris]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3377214091_a317b7e1da_o.jpg (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15642230@N06/3377214091/" title="20 (Medium) by garymtb, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3377214091_a317b7e1da_o.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="20 (Medium)" /></a>)

I went and picked it up the weekend before Christmas...what a present. I was ecstatic with the quality of the body work, especially since he did it in 2 months. You can also see that he managed to flush mount the front and rear windows with modern rubber seals and eliminate the majority of the trim on the car. The color is of course prowler orange from the 2001 Plymouth prowler. The last thing I wanted to do was use a color that somebody else has uses so successfully but the car was always going to be orange. Originally I planned on gm atomic or sunset orange but after seeing pics of Penny I just couldn’t get the color out of my mind. Then I saw a prowler on the street and fell completely in love with the color.

I then moved on to the sound deadening. I covered the entire car with second skin damplifier pro. It took 2 bulk packs but I did from the top of the firewall all the way to the tail pan plus the inside and outside of the doors, entire roof and as far into the 1/4 panels as I could reach. What a difference! The thing sounds like solid lead when you knock on a panel and the doors close like a Mercedes. Then I put a layer of luxury liner pro on the entire floor and firewall, including the trunk. That stuff is thick and is supposed to block noise plus absorb heat.

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I then continued with the interior install, exterior trim and stereo. I managed to get 6.5' separates into the stock kick panels by removing a bit of kick panel structure and surface mounting the tweeters on the cable pull area. The seats are Arizen with perforated suede on the seating surface for grip and a bit of cooling. The are ridiculously comfortable and good quality for the price.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3378034188_4a0d1a83c3_o.jpg (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15642230@N06/3378034188/" title="32 (Medium) by garymtb, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/3378034188_4a0d1a83c3_o.jpg" width="800" height="533" alt="32 (Medium)" /></a>)

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And here she is after it's first washing on Friday. Now I just need to get an appraisal so I can insure and license it and actually drive it!

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[gmorris]

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There you have it...the complete story in high speed. It has turned out to be a bit of an oddball car. Pro-touring with a carbed big block. I always wanted a car with too much power and when I started almost 3 years ago not many people were making big power with LS transplants yet, especially up here. For more details on the 540 check out this post on the chevelle forum:

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224314

[jbutlr]

Bad Ass!! Dont worry, there are a few of us PT guys running around with big blocks. :thumbsup:

[street3285]

My buddy and I are building a Nova with a Big Block. It is nice to see something other than a LS engine... something a little different.

Nice car, I really like the color and wheels/tires.

[tobenk]

Man that just looks down rite nasty. Love the wheels and tires.:thumbsup:

[Swain]

Love that color.. Your car looks great.

[XcYZ]

Awesome! :thumbsup:

[rich-allen]

That's one sweet Chevelle!

I love the color wheel combo :cheers:

[chr2002ca]

That's a sick ride. Gorgeous color and wheel combo. Three cheers for the carbureted big block(I'm a bit biased:) ). Congratulations! :thumbsup:

[tones2SS]

That is a KILLER car.
Looks awesome & I bet it goes just as well.:lateral: :cheers:

[eqt555]

WOW! My best freinds dad had a 69 chevelle when we were kids, always thought it was the most wicked car around. This makes that look like a steamin pile! Helluva job, and definately get that insurance. Wouldnt want some chump on his cell phone changing the radio at the same time bumping into this beauty while its uninsured. What size meats are those in the back?:thumbsup:

[SS1156]

That Chevelle is beautiful to say the least. I saw the completed car and was speechless. You have great taste.

[GHOSTDANCER]

Great job :thumbsup: Looks perfect :cheers:


Welcome 2 :lateral:

[98ssnova]

I really like the car. But I have a question why did you run the wiring down the middle of the seats it looks like it shows through the carpet. Not trying to bash just a ?

[TonyG]

Beautiful car! great choices on everything!

[70TWO NOVA]

Sick Chevelle man!! we just started our 69 Chevelle project. Just hope it turns out half as nice as yours did! Great work!! :thumbsup:

[Tiger]

Cool, If only my 68 turns out half as nice I'll be happy:thumbsup:

[Alex396ss]

Awesome, you should be really proud!

:cheers:

Alex

[CodeRed]

love it

[gmorris]

I really like the car. But I have a question why did you run the wiring down the middle of the seats it looks like it shows through the carpet. Not trying to bash just a ?

They don't actually show through the carpet but the carpet isn't fitting worth a crap right now. The hand built tranny tunnel does not match the moulded shape of the carpet at all so it's a bit loose right now. Before I spend a bunch more time fitting it I want to drive it for a while and get it really hot in the hopes it will lay down a bit better...then I can trim some more.

The main harness runs under the driver's seat to make use of the factory channel that's in the floor pan. The audio signal wiring runs right beside the tunel on the passenger's side to come up behind the head unit and the fuel pump and amp power cables run down the passenger side tight to the door to stay away from the signal cables. Then they come up at the kick panel where I ran it through the vent and into the engine bay behind the fender through the factory fan motor cutout.

Thank's for the coments everyone. It's nice to finally have something that is somewhat comparable to the projects on here.

[jonny51]

Very nice:captain:

[67Sally]

the car looks great!
W

[postino]

Gorgeous car! Just love it.

I have a '69 Chevelle with carbed big block as well. You are my inspiration!

Question for you, how does that Torque Tech exhaust fit? How is the ground clearance? What mufflers did you go with and mostly importantly, how does it sound?

Thanks!

[gmorris]

The exhaust fit really well. I'm running 3.5" into the x and 3" out all the way to the tails with dynomax ultrafo mufflers. It sounds really good at idle but I haven't driven it yet to see about cruise and wot sound. I assembled and fit everything and then welded it all except for the muffler in/out where I used stainless band clamps. I also added a set of flanges just before the mufflers to allow the x section to drop out. Once everything was fit I had the whole thing ceramic coated and it looks great.

Clearance is good with the lemons pro touring headers and g force x-member. Don't have a great picture buut here's a couple that give you the idea...excuse the dirty chassis...that will be cleaned up when it's warm enough to crawl around on a wet driveway.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3383212233_c67854f36d_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3454/3384026824_df4a7e2389_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3383213561_19e52e5092_o.jpg

[postino]

Thanks for the quick reply. That picture from the front says it all....nothing hanging below the front crossmember. Those lemons look like they fit awesome.

I already tried one set of headers and they hung about 3 inches below the crossmember and oil pan....no good. The lemons are pricey but look to be worth it.

You'll have to let us know when you get the Chevelle out on the road how you like the sound.

Again, awesome car! Congrats! :bow:

[almcbri]

beautiful car! :thumbsup:

[Z06Joe]

Beautiful car!!!!!!!!!!

[silver63c10]

Awesome work, love pretty much everything about the car, the stance and wheels, man, it is absolutely perfect.

I really like the color scheme (though I'm a little biased :lol:), we went through the same process of debating between Sunset or Atomic. Finally landed on Salsa Red since the mix was much more favorable, covered using half as much paint. Wish we could have kept that much ground clearance.. Again, amazing car!

[gmorris]

Thanks for the quick reply. That picture from the front says it all....nothing hanging below the front crossmember. Those lemons look like they fit awesome.

I already tried one set of headers and they hung about 3 inches below the crossmember and oil pan....no good. The lemons are pricey but look to be worth it.

You'll have to let us know when you get the Chevelle out on the road how you like the sound.

Again, awesome car! Congrats! :bow:

Yeah, I debated for a long time over the lemons headers. It's a huge price tag but when you install them and they fit perfectly and you have clear access to all the plugs and the filter I think they're worth it. Plus Dan Lemons is a great guy to deal with. Tell him your exact combination of parts and they show up on time and they fit...can't ask for much more. Plus they are just a work of art! They also let you add options like 02 sensor bungs and different flanges so you get exactly what you want without having to hack them up later.

[ROKN69]

A very beautiful car! I'm impressed you did so much of the work yourself. That's a huge plus when you are able to do that. :thumbsup: I'm looking forward to hearing how the first drive goes.

[gearheads78]

very sweet car. I love your tire, wheel / paint / combo

[awr68]

I love it!! :thumbsup:

[tony byram]

Thats one sweet Chevelle! Love the Prowler orange, looks great on the car. What tires are you running? Those Forgelines look great too! :thumbsup:

[ElkyZO6]

Thats one sweet Chevelle! Love the Prowler orange, looks great on the car. What tires are you running? Those Forgelines look great too! :thumbsup:


+1^^^^:drool:

[gmorris]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! The tires are Toyo R888's in 275/35/18 and 315/30/18. The best news is that I'm now holding the license plate and insurance card in my hand and may be able to have my first short shakedown drive tonight. Hopefull ready for a real drive this weekend if our nice weather holds!

[Tom.A]

Very nice. I have not seen many 69's with this treatment. You did a killer job.

[tony byram]

Well, how did the test drive go? Im running a carbed big-block and its always fun going for cruise.(1972 Z28 Camaro) That had to sound great and give you a real feeling of accomplishment! Great job! :thumbsup: Love the looks of those Toyos, may just have to get a set, that tread pattern looks killer on those Forgelines!

[ProTouring442]

Sweet! I never would have picked that color, and I would have been wrong not to. The color looks awesome on your Chevelle!!!

Oh, I picked up this quote earlier in your thread, "The thing sounds like solid lead when you knock on a panel and the doors close like a Mercedes." Well, my wife has a '99 SLK230, and you don't want the doors to close like hers does! Until I went through and re-glued all the panel attachment points to the recycled cardboard door panels Mercedes uses, if you had slammed the doors too hard the damned door panels practically fell off! :eek:

Again, damned sweet lookin' ride!!!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[gmorris]

The first drive went pretty well all things considered. Just a few issues to deal with this weekend:

Stalls under hard braking...likely need to drop the rear float level a bit
I want to install my 10º bushing in the distributor so I can bump my initial a bit more and re-tune my idle mixture
The bilstein shocks are even worset than I thought tehy would be. Not nearly enough damping for the spring rates I'm running...unfortunately they were purchased prior to some changes in my suspension plan. I hoped they would be good enough for this summer and then replace next winter but it was pretty bouncy and rolly last night. May have to step up to proper dampers sooner than I hoped.

Otherwise I was happy with it. I took it pretty easy since it was the first drive and I wanted to verify the brakes and steering were good plus break in the clutch a bit. Maybe this weekend I'll be able to open her up a little more.

[Flash68]

Wow that is a stunning Chevelle. Great project!

[7TSS]

Awesome job! :thumbsup: :bow: :hail:

Now you get to enjoy it. Have fun.

[jhiphopjunky]

NICE RIDE!:thumbsup:

[Kendall Burleson]

Good Job love it.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[monza]

Super nice! :thumbsup: How's it running now?

Great to see another PT car hitting the Cowtown streets in style. We'll have to exchange contact info and go play cars.

[Rybar]

Congrats that is a Kick-Ass Chevelle. :thumbsup:

[CamaroPat]

Amazing! Great choices on everything, turned out AWESOME!!! I know what you mean about endless winters. There is a silver lining though, it gives you half of the year to dream up and implement changes to make that sweet ride even better. Hope you get the ride sorted out. I'm sure once you do it'll be amazingly quick. :thumbsup:

[Vegas69]

Nice looking car...that 540 has got to kick some major ass with those r888's. I bet it pulls hard!

[1badchevelle]

I LOVE YOUR CAR:thumbsup:

Now I need to work on my. Sorry I copied your pics and added to my list of screen savers.

[Bakaruda]

Sweet car. Love the color as well.

[gmorris]

I guess it is time for an update. I actually can't believe how well the R888's hold on. I kept hearing horror stories about 540's on the chevelle forum and how if you're not careful she'll turn sideways at 60mph...maybe with stock 14" tires I guess. With these things it just grabs and goes. Basically it is fast as hell considering it probably weighs almost 4000lbs. It's loud, attracts a lot of attention and gets terrible gas mileage....pretty much exactly what I wanted. It was entertaining a couple weekends ago when I blasted by a smart car on the highway in it. I kinda wanted to stop and thank him for offsetting my carbon footprint for me:lol:

I've gotten 600 miles on it so far between snowstorms and "tweaking". It turned out that the stock bilsteins were terrible with the 800lb front 200lb rear springs. Nowhere near enough damping made for floaty and unpredictable handling. The original setup was the result of multiple direction changes during the build and not wanting to re-buy things before even driving it. I worked with Mark at SC&C to put together a proper package:

I already had SPC upper and lower control arms with tall balljoints.

I added SPC 535/135 springs - huge drop from where I was obviously. These allowed me to get rid of the hidden threaded spring adjusters in the front.

Spohn PT adjustable rear sway bar - bit of an install since the link mounts have to be welded to the annoyingly irregular rear crossmember but not that bad.

Spohn 1 5/16 front swaybar - the proper frame mounted rear bar allows a much heavier front bar to be used without upsetting the handling

Varishock double adjustable front/single adjustable rear dampers.

My first drive was yesterday and I have some dialing in to do but it is already drastically better. The ride is softer and yet it rolls less in the corners and turns in way better. Feels much more planted and is much easier/fun to push harder through the corners. The real test will be this wednesday when I get it out on the race city road course.

[tones2SS]

Thanks for the update.
That is a nice car you have there.
Love the color and the stance.:thumbsup: :cheers: