The Family Hauler – 1966 Chevelle [Archive]

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pokey64

08-17-2015, 02:39 PM

Hey Guys!

I’m reemerging from lurker status to post some exciting news! We brought our second son into the world back in May. Between a new baby at home and a busy year for our business we’ve not had much time left over for our Camaro. We’ve only had it out on a couple 10-15 mile cruises this year. We would like to use it more but it’s just not a baby friendly car at this time. Our three year old loves the Camaro but we have him wear ear protection and mount his car seat in the center for more leg room. The exhaust is way too loud and the back seat is a bit cramped for 2 car seats…

We’ve often talked about our next car being a 66 Chevelle. So a couple weeks ago I’m perusing the net just seeing what was out there on Chevelles for sale. There were a few black, blue, and silver cars that caught my eye so I asked Beth “If we were to buy a 66 Chevelle, what color would you like it to be?”. She hits me with gunmetal gray…. I was like “come on, at least pick something I have a chance finding!”…. Well, this past week I stumbled across pretty much exactly what she described within driving distance. It took a bit of logistical gymnastics and one loooong day trip but we picked up a gunmetal gray 1966 Chevelle.

It has nice paint/body and a redone factory interior. There’s a few blemishes but they don’t bother us too much since we will be driving it. The engine is a 496 mated to a Muncie 4 speed with a 12 bolt out back and Wilwoods all around. The car has some get up and go but seems to be very streetable and the exhaust is 50% quieter than the Camaro. Between that and a larger back seat I think it will work well for our family hauler.

We plan to add a Vintage Air system and possibly a Dakota Digital gauge cluster. A winter project will be updating to a coilover suspension setup. We may also do a 5 or 6 speed swap but we’ll enjoy the car the rest of this season and see what it needs before tearing into it much.

We had hoped to get it outside yesterday afternoon to snap a few pics but the weather is not cooperating. For now some crappy cell phone pics will have to do.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163150147.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163150147.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163140204.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163140204.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150812_200246925.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150812_200246925.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163222156.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163222156.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163414222.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163414222.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163515444.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150816_163515444.jpg.html)

Thanks for looking :lateral:

Sonar Chief

08-17-2015, 04:03 PM

That's a nice find right there! The paint looks to be in good shape, gunmetal grey is cool.

Nice driver fer sure!

Che70velle

08-17-2015, 05:32 PM

Nice car! I'd LOVE to build a 66'!
Perfect color too!

awr68

08-17-2015, 06:52 PM

Very nice! Sounds perfect for your family! Are you keeping the Camaro?

pokey64

08-17-2015, 08:37 PM

Thanks guys! We are really excited to get out and start driving this car.

We are definitely keeping the Camaro. No way Beth will let that one go!

This weekend I need to reorganize our detached garage to make room for the Chevelle. Currently it's parked in our attached and my truck is outside. For now it's kind of fun to see it every time we come and go from the house.

pro66tour

08-18-2015, 07:14 AM

Justin@EntropyRad

08-18-2015, 02:30 PM

Killer looking Chevelle...needs 2 Recaro kid seats in it

PBarkley

08-18-2015, 06:35 PM

Gorgeous looking '66! I love the color.

waynieZ

08-18-2015, 09:54 PM

I love the 66's nice looking car Ed.

Ron in SoCal

08-19-2015, 12:07 AM

That is one sweet ride! Congrats :cheers:

Z06Joe

08-19-2015, 05:13 AM

Nice look'n ride!!! This body style is my favorite!

pokey64

08-19-2015, 04:36 PM

Great looking car, but then again...I'm a little biased.
CONGRATS!

Gorgeous looking '66! I love the color.

I love the 66's nice looking car Ed.

That is one sweet ride! Congrats :cheers:

Nice look'n ride!!! This body style is my favorite!

Thanks Guys! :thumbsup:

It's been raining here since Sunday (not complaining) and we have yet to take our maiden voyage with the boys. But tonight I sat in it with our 3 year old and made vroom vroooom noises! :headspin:

Killer looking Chevelle...needs 2 Recaro kid seats in it

We almost bought the Recaros! A couple reviews said they were a physically larger than alternatives in the price range and had a lower safety rating so we went another route.

pro66tour

08-19-2015, 06:58 PM

Ed, I wish I was a 'rain away' from taking my kids out on a drive - haha. It will be sweet! Enjoy:thumbsup:

syborg tt

08-21-2015, 05:18 AM

Nice car! I'd LOVE to build a 66'!

Perfect color too!

Heck with building it I want to find one like this.

Marty-MJ
www.garagescene.net

pokey64

08-21-2015, 07:36 AM

Ed, I wish I was a 'rain away' from taking my kids out on a drive - haha. It will be sweet! Enjoy:thumbsup:

The weekend is almost here! :dance:

pro66tour

08-23-2015, 07:37 AM

The weekend is almost here! :dance:

Let us know how the family cruise went this weekend...:relax:

pokey64

08-24-2015, 05:00 PM

Let us know how the family cruise went this weekend...:relax:

We had absolutely beautiful weather yesterday for our maiden voyage. The sun was shining and it was 70 degrees. We got the car seats swapped over, loaded up the boys, and headed for the gas station. After filling up we spun around town for a few minutes and then hit the road to the next town where Beth’s mom lives. It’s about a 15 minute drive and both boys were out cold by the time we arrived at her house. (Who knew the 2500rpm drone of Flowmasters was the perfect nap time melody?) We visited for a while and she offered to watch our youngest while we took our 3 year old for a cruise. We drove around town for a while and got a lot of thumbs ups and smiles. One guy rolled his window down at a stop light to compliment us on the car. I figure if he liked the way it looked then we should let him hear it as well. So I got on it a bit and passed him on the way out of town. Now our 3 year old thinks the Chevelle is faster than mommy's Camaro! We then stopped at Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat. After that Beth took the wheel to get a feel for the car. We both had a blast driving it. We put 63 miles on it in total. There are things that we will work on to improve the car but we are extremely happy that we found it.

First impressions of the car:
It’s got a lot of torque which is a lot of fun for blasting around town.
We need overdrive. I kind of figured we’d eventually want to do a 5 or 6 speed swap from our previous experience with the Camrao. The hi-way miles yesterday confirmed it.
The suspension is pretty much stock so it floats down the road nice but there is a bit too much body roll for going around corners. I’m researching coilover setups. Feel free to post opinions if anyone has experience with the various brands.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_125653095.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_125653095.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_125659761_HDR.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_125659761_HDR.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_142907517%202.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20150823_142907517%202.jpg.html)

waynieZ

08-24-2015, 05:51 PM

(Who knew the 2500rpm drone of Flowmasters was the perfect nap time melody?)

As long as it doesn't work on the driver too!
At least you can enjoy it while you decide what to do to it later.

pokey64

08-24-2015, 08:21 PM

(Who knew the 2500rpm drone of Flowmasters was the perfect nap time melody?)

As long as it doesn't work on the driver too!

Well yes, that'd be a bad day!!

At least you can enjoy it while you decide what to do to it later.

That was definitely our hopes when searching for this one. We'll try to drive it a bunch before winter then start the updates.

pro66tour

08-25-2015, 04:41 AM

Thanks for sharing Ed. The Velle looks fantastic out in the sun bud...
Can't think of a better family outing than that! As for suspension - like I mentioned in my last reply, Speed Tech ….
http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=322/category_id=9/mode=prod/prd322.htm

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=347/category_id=8/mode=prod/prd347.htm

1transam

08-25-2015, 10:16 AM

Running ride tech coil overs and very happy with them so far. Car is looking killer, cant wait to see what mods you do to it.

pokey64

08-25-2015, 06:58 PM

pokey64

08-25-2015, 08:08 PM

Running ride tech coil overs and very happy with them so far. Car is looking killer, cant wait to see what mods you do to it.

Thank you, I'm trying to keep the list of potential mods reasonable but everytime I think thru changing one item I start to see the "while we're at it" snowball effect happening.

I appreciate the suspension feedback. Ridetech and Speed Tech are the main companies I'm leaning towards.

Your 67 is looking pretty insane. I glanced thru your thread and now need to go back and read it from the beginning.

pokey64

03-30-2016, 08:23 PM

Hmmm.....

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/8a93fefd-296b-404b-974e-3f34875e7f24.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/8a93fefd-296b-404b-974e-3f34875e7f24.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/56e23c9a-32bd-49ab-9495-ef3208f4a2b3.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/56e23c9a-32bd-49ab-9495-ef3208f4a2b3.jpg.html)

gofastwclass

03-30-2016, 10:13 PM

Let's see... Quick time, Tremec... and the third box looks like a clutch. Quality parts. :)
How many gears, five or six? I prefer six myself, but it's your baby.... :burnout:

pro66tour

03-31-2016, 07:08 AM

98ssnova

03-31-2016, 07:17 AM

So cool you got a Tremec.........But what was on the other 8 pallets in the back round??.......That's what I want to know..:confused59: :mock:

chopperrob

03-31-2016, 04:49 PM

In your opening you said the 66 has 4 wheel disc? I noticed you have manual brakes with wildwood master. How do they feel? how stiff is the pedal? does it take a lot of leg to stop it? ive recently installed new 4 wheel wilwoods on mine and am preparing to buy a master but am hung up on power or manual.

chopperrob

03-31-2016, 04:50 PM

pokey64

03-31-2016, 08:01 PM

Let's see... Quick time, Tremec... and the third box looks like a clutch. Quality parts. :)
How many gears, five or six? I prefer six myself, but it's your baby.... :burnout:

Presents...how exciting:drool:

Yes! Definitely an exciting delivery! We went with a T56 Magnum. We have the TKO 600 in our Camaro. It's fine but we really wanted to try a six speed this time.

But what was on the other 8 pallets in the back round??.......That's what I want to know..:confused59: :mock:

Ha! I had the pallet dropped at my business since we have a loading dock. You could say those other pallets had stuff on them that helped pay for these goodies.

We do have some more fun stuff on the way. Just got shipping confirmation on our Ridetech level 2 coilover setup. There's a Vintage Air system and a serpentine drive ordered as well. I think the flood gates have opened up on this one! :headspin:

pokey64

03-31-2016, 08:31 PM

In your opening you said the 66 has 4 wheel disc? I noticed you have manual brakes with wilwood master. How do they feel? how stiff is the pedal? does it take a lot of leg to stop it? ive recently installed new 4 wheel wilwoods on mine and am preparing to buy a master but am hung up on power or manual.

I like the manual brakes. We haven't put many miles on the Chevelle but have basically the same setup on my wife's Camaro. She gets along with it just fine. We haven't done any autocross or track events. It's mostly been highway cruising and some occasional spirited moments. I just talked with Beth about it and we both decided there's not much noteworthy about the brakes. I think that's a good thing and means they just work. The pedal is firm if you stomp on it but doesn't feel like a work-out. It's not touchy so you can ease into a stop. YMMV

chopperrob

04-01-2016, 10:40 AM

I like the manual brakes. We haven't put many miles on the Chevelle but have basically the same setup on my wife's Camaro. She gets along with it just fine. We haven't done any autocross or track events. It's mostly been highway cruising and some occasional spirited moments. I just talked with Beth about it and we both decided there's not much noteworthy about the brakes. I think that's a good thing and means they just work. The pedal is firm if you stomp on it but doesn't feel like a work-out. It's not touchy so you can ease into a stop. YMMV

Great thanks!

Centerforce

04-01-2016, 11:10 AM

We're curious to see what clutch you decided to go with!

gofastwclass

04-01-2016, 04:10 PM

Yes! Definitely an exciting delivery! We went with a T56 Magnum. We have the TKO 600 in our Camaro. It's fine but we really wanted to try a six speed this time.

I think you'll like the T56 Magnum. I have a T56 and a TR6060 (OEM Magnum) and love the way the revised synchros work in the 6060 / Magnum.

pokey64

04-04-2016, 07:11 PM

Great thanks!

No problem :lateral:

We're curious to see what clutch you decided to go with!

A McLeod unit. :mock:

I think you'll like the T56 Magnum. I have a T56 and a TR6060 (OEM Magnum) and love the way the revised synchros work in the 6060 / Magnum.

Sounds good. Can't wait to row the gears!

pokey64

04-04-2016, 07:38 PM

:ups:

Literally brought a truckload of parts home today!

Only waiting on the serpentine drive now but I won't be able to tear into anything for a while. I've got a work trip this week and a family trip this weekend.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160404_133712434.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160404_133712434.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160404_133723751.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160404_133723751.jpg.html)

waynieZ

04-04-2016, 10:17 PM

It looks like you'll have a bunch of goodies to install when you get back.

pro66tour

04-05-2016, 07:25 AM

All very good reasons Ed, but MAN will time move sloooooowly til then...:D

grendel

04-05-2016, 08:16 AM

I think you'll be busy for a while. :)

Yelcamino

04-05-2016, 08:43 AM

Man time is going to crawl knowing all those parts are at home waiting for you!

pokey64

04-17-2016, 10:30 PM

Earlier this week I spent some time rearranging our detached garage to make room for working on the Chevelle. It was a nice day so I snapped a few pics while both rides were out.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_161103586_HDR.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_161103586_HDR.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_161055675_HDR.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_161055675_HDR.jpg.html)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_160958271.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160414_160958271.jpg.html)

Haven’t had time to get started working on the car yet. First order of business is to catalog the new parts and verify all is here. I had a little time this evening and got through a 1/3 of the boxes.

The Concept One pulley kit looks real good. (I missed the power steering pump in this pic)

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_185352984_HDR.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_185352984_HDR.jpg.html)

The area between the grille and core support on these Chevelles is funky so I bought a close-out to clean it up.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_190801908.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_190801908.jpg.html)

Some of the Ridetech goodies.

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_190344551.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_190344551.jpg.html)
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_191643649.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_191643649.jpg.html)
http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_191257785.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_191257785.jpg.html)

As a note, whatever glue Ridetech uses to seal their boxes is crazy strong. It gave me a good reason to break out my FUBAR!

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad79/edspokey64/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_192431511.jpg (http://s923.photobucket.com/user/edspokey64/media/Chevelle/IMG_20160417_192431511.jpg.html)

Yelcamino

04-18-2016, 07:27 AM

Looking good out on the driveway! :thumbsup:

pro66tour

04-21-2016, 12:30 PM

A lovely combination Ed :relax: