66 Chevelle - basket case

[wyattroa]

Well I went out and bought a 1966 Chevelle. The car is a rolling shell as of right now, but Ill update the pictures of what has been done so far.

My goals for this car are pro-touring, street, and cruising. I plan to yank a LS motor from a junk yard and throw it in there. I am not sure yet on a transmission. Really leaning towards a t-56, but I know the wife would probably want to drive the car too since she will be helping me wrench on it. So it might end up with a 4L80e in it. I am going to be buying parts a little at a time and building this car. I know I won't be finishing this car in a year, or even 2 for that matter, but it will be mine and something I hope my kids, wife, and myself will enjoy.

My plan for suspension is to do coil overs all the way around, upgrade the steering box to a jeep grand cherokee, and to fit 295's on the ass end of it. I was thinking of doing the mini tub, but 335 tires are more expensive and I have a feeling I would be going through them fast. I know 335's look amazing from the back. Maybe that will change, who knows.. It currently has a 10 bolt in it, but unfortunately it the weak 8.2". So I will be on the hunt for a used 12bolt or ford 9".

I had planned on buying a car to do a ton of work on, but everything in my area, Chicago, is just horrible. The cars around here are literally falling apart from rust and their prices are too high. I went to see a 66 chevelle that had the suspension collapsed on it, no trunk floor, no floors inside, rust everywhere and they wanted $4,500 for it. No thanks.

I also plan on doing the body work and paint. It will be a big job as I have never done this before, either way, I plan on doing everything I can.

I found this on the west coast, all original body panels on it. The frame had been taken to a shop and it was confirmed to be straight and true. I had it shipped back to me.

There are so many nice 66 chevelles on here. I have read through there threads and am blown away. They are the reason I have started this. I feel there is a wealth of knowledge on this site and from what I have seen the other chevelle build threads do, I think I will be in good hands for help.

Going to have some posts in a row updating everything I have done, which isn't much.

Here are some pictures to get started. The first car is a mustang I built when I was 18, I am now 32. That car is long gone, but damn it was fun. It had a 347 stroker with a BDS 8-71 blower on it. It turned a few heads..lol

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/4418020043_large.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/IMG_1183.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/IMG_7703.jpg

Here is how it sat when I got it.
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/20160513_155425.jpg

[wyattroa]

Picked up a front since I was missing one.


http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/00505_65MpZYzofH5_1200x900.jpg
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[wyattroa]

I ordered the ABC Smoothie kits yesterday around noon. I had it in hand in under 24 hours..That is awesome. Want to smooth it out.


http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20160917_113725.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20160917_135518.jpg

[wyattroa]

We took the body off the frame last night, a bigger job then I had anticipated. One jack could go high enough, no engine hoist, pretty sure my rafters wouldn't support the body either. Took some time but we got there. Still working on the firewall..Slow but sure, been sick a bunch.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20161202_080137.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20161202_080122.jpg

[wyattroa]

Well, picked up the hellwig frame FX kit. I started taking down all suspension components. We were able to get them all off yesterday. This way when I finish putting the kit on I can send it off to be powder coated. My welder is 110/220v welder, I don't have 220 in my garage so I will be borrowing my neighbors portable generator to do the welding with 220v. My youngest son who is 3 asks me to work on the chevelle with him all the time. Here are some pictures from yesterday, he even has his own tool box. I have to check it every time we leave the garage since I know he will put my tools in his tool box.

Not sure I will get much done as its currently feels like -8 outside. I need to live where its warmer.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/IMG_5633.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/IMG_5636.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/IMG_5638.jpg

[wyattroa]

Side note, this thing must have been blasted through a field or something. The amount of crap I found inside the front crossmember is insane. I had to use a hammer and chisel to knock it all out, also used my drill with a foot long bit on it. Here is a picture of the crap that fell out, not even all of it.

Beer can for reference.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170214_155226.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170214_145857.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170211_123905.jpg

[wyattroa]

This is also my first time doing any welding. Please don't judge...

Its around 70 degrees here in Chicago, which is absolutely crazy for February. Figured I would give the garage a little clean too. I made an adapter for my welder, this way I can plug my 3 prong into the 4 prong generator I am running for the 220V.

The driver side ABC frame boxing kit was too long towards the front. I cut a bit off the front and welded it onto the rear of the piece. I then was able to get some tack welds down to hold the piece in place. Mind you, I just started welding this past fall, so they are not the greatest looking welds.

Also got some new parts in the mail. My wife ended up getting me Ridetech upper and lower control arms for my birthday and Christmas.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170218_212411.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170219_133218.jpg

[wyattroa]

Well, this is a big update for me. When I got my chevelle, it was just a shell with no interior, pretty much nothing. Back on October 19th a member contacted me regarding some parts he had. This member was on the chevelle forum. For the past 5 months we have been in contact and often talked about our build and anything else on our minds. He informed me he had a great deal of parts he no longer had use for and was willing to let me have them. My first thought was, whats the catch, this has to be too good to be true, does the guy want to kill me or something? Turns out there was no catch and he didn't want to kill me..lol...

This past weekend my wife and I made the drive down to his town, which is about a 6.5 hour drive from our house. Turns out he is every bit as great as I had anticipated from talking with him online. He showed me courtesy while I was there and gave me a personal tour of his Chevelle, which I must say is amazing.

I am still in shock that I was able to come across such a good guy, not to mention a guy who was willing to let me just have his old parts. These parts range from, front bucket seats, rear seat, center console, front grille, glass, window assemblies, UMI suspension parts new in the box, new g-force crossmember, and much more. I haven't had a chance to inventory all the parts yet. Either way, it puts me in a much better position for my chevelle. Here are some pictures from when I arrived back home. We were too tired from driving so we parked the car in our backyard and went to bed. Also, forgot to mention, he is letting me use his rotisserie which will make things much easier for me.


http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170312_085319.jpg
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[wyattroa]

A small, very small update, but an update none the less. I have been crazy busy with school and kids. I only get out to the garage every blue moon right now. I finish school this coming WED so I hope to have some more time. I just need to find a powder coater near me that won't bend me over on price. I have finished boxing in the frame rails front and back. I also replaced the body mounts on the front of the frame as you could tell they were thin. Figured I have access to it, I might as well do it. Here are some pictures of how its going.


http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170413_204538.jpg
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[wyattroa]

finished all the welding on the frame for now, will just have to weld the new trans crossmember in next spring. Frame is off being blasted and then it will be put in epoxy primer.

This gave me sometime to start prepping to get other stuff in order for the suspension to start going on when it comes back. I had three great helpers today. Felt good working with new parts.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170522_142053.jpg
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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170522_205958.jpg

[wyattroa]

Well, not an update, but thought I would share. We had to put our 10.5 year old, old english sheepdog down this past Thursday. She was in perfect health up to this point, no arthritis, nothing. Sunday morning she stopped eating and was lethargic and did not want to do anything. We took her to the vet and all X-rays came back clear. They think her red blood cells started attacking one another as her red blood cell count was so low. they wanted to do blood transfusions, but even then they said it probably would not work.

She has been a fantastic dog. I bought her for my wife as a wedding present. My wife was going to be moving into our home prior to me and I wanted her to have company with her. I also knew with my job I would be gone for 24-72 hours at a time. She was been there when we brought home each of our kids and would always protect them if needed. She never caused us a single problem. Just wanted to share, my wife has been an absolute wreck about this.

My son went to feed our other dog yesterday morning and told us our other dog would not eat. Turns out, that he put the bowl in the sheepdogs bowl. She wouldn't touch that bowl as thats how she was trained.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/Mobile%20Uploads/20151008_094554.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/Mobile%20Uploads/20160322_104912.jpg

[wyattroa]

The frame was blasted and epoxy coated. Brought it back to the house and put another layer of epoxy on it and have it top coated. The frame didn't fit all the way in the bed of my truck, but I managed to make it 40 minutes home..lol

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170524_175749.jpg
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[wyattroa]

Alright, so I have heard the ridetech spindles have a tendency to rust after some time. The last thing I want to see when having new parts on a car is rust, even after driving it. So I painted them last night before I went to bed. I think they turned out pretty decent. I ended up getting the wrong spring rates for the front coilovers, but Josh at Ridetech is taking care of me. Should have the new springs in a week or two, and then the assembly of the front suspension will start. Should be fun starting to put things together.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170528_090818.jpg
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[wyattroa]

Well, that brings me up to date. I was planning on running an LS motor, but there is something about having a big block under the hood. I picked up a 454BBC and plan to stroke it out to either a 468 or 496. I know, a BBC is not ideal for a pro-touring car, but I have always wanted one. There is a guy on here that built a 540BBC chevelle that helped to inspire me to go that route. I know its heavy, but I hope to have some of that weight taken off with aluminum heads and such.

[Jimbo1367]

Great start !!! '66 Chevelles SS (2dsc) are my favorite car. You got reaaaaaal lucky with hooking up with that guy. Looking forward to your updates !!!

[out2kayak]

Looks like you and the family have a very nice, fun project! Looking forward for more updates.

:cheers:

[Boss 5.0]

Great project, looking forward to following.

[WSSix]

Nice ride! If I ever build a 66 Chevelle, I was planning a big block as well just from the cool factor.

Good luck with the build!

[wyattroa]

Great start !!! '66 Chevelles SS (2dsc) are my favorite car. You got reaaaaaal lucky with hooking up with that guy. Looking forward to your updates !!!
I did, great guy and it helped me out a ton as I was missing all those parts. The bucket seats are in great condition and nothing needs to be done to them.
Looks like you and the family have a very nice, fun project! Looking forward for more updates.

:cheers:
Thanks! My 3 year old wants to do nothing else but work on the chevelle with me. I love it. He has been annoyed I have kept him out of the garage as I have been either welding or grinding.

Great project, looking forward to following.
Thanks!

Nice ride! If I ever build a 66 Chevelle, I was planning a big block as well just from the cool factor.

Good luck with the build!
Yep, I was all set on a LS turbo engine, but I just love the sound of a big block, not to mention I knew it would always be in the back of my mind if I went LS.

[wyattroa]

I have to say, those steering bolts were the hardest bolts I have ever had to take out in my entire life. Heat, impact gun, and PB blaster did not touch it. I had to use a sledge hammer to knock the bolts out. Lots of swearing, but they came out. Here are some pictures of before and after paint. Will get them on the new spindles tomorrow. Also, here are some pictures of the ridetech setup in front. The coilovers are not installed yet as I am waiting on different springs. I have to also find a new bolt for one of the lower control arms as the bolt came with some crushed threads. I am also missing all the hardware for the rear coilover setup. I have all the brackets, just no bolts, nuts, or washers. I am happy with how the color of the spindles turned out.

Also, I have small block motor mounts, the ones that attached to the frame. I have read mixed opinions on if these can be used with a big block or not. Any opinions? I would like to get these installed soon as I feel they will be a pain to do later on.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170530_122439.jpg
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[wyattroa]

Holy **** my wife loves me. As a fathers day gift and graduation gift my wife bought me these! I just recently finished getting my bachelors degree and my wife wanted to celebrate it. I was a paramedic/fireman who had a career ending back injury and it always was on the back of my mind that I should have finished college. Well I decided to do so and have been doing classes, which turns out to be pretty difficult when you are a stay at home dad with three boys who are 6, 5, and 4. I had initially planned to gift myself a new rear end, but this is perfect. I love the color!

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170601_173834.jpg
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[Ron in SoCal]

Nice looking family and a great project! Enjoy every minute of it :)

[waynieZ]

Can you have your Wife call my wife and see if she get me a set of those my birthday it's Monday. Sweet gift!

[wyattroa]

Alright, motor mounts are mounted back on the frame after a good clean and paint. Next up was the front suspension. I got the new springs in from ridetech to handle the big block. Man was putting that front sway bar in a pain in the ass. Here are some pictures, nothing special. Tomorrow I will put the front brakes on, I have to run to the store for some new bolts. The ones provided are way too long for the bracket mounting to the spindle.

Also, does anyone know how to tighten the top lock nut on the coilovers, when I go to tighten it, it just spins the shaft in the coilover.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170605_171457.jpg
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[wyattroa]

Made some progress today. I got the front suspension buttoned up, brakes done, and steering linkage on. Was a fun day to work on the car. Won't have many updates coming as I want to pay off some of these bills. My hope is to have it has a rolling chassis come winter. Its fun putting stuff back on the car, especially new shiny stuff.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145129.jpg
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[jarhead]

great story to follow, you are a blessed man, great family.

sorry to hear about your dog, i am nuts about mine...

Joe

[wyattroa]

great story to follow, you are a blessed man, great family.

sorry to hear about your dog, i am nuts about mine...

Joe

Thanks for the kind words. I have to say I am lucky to have the family I have. My wife is still having a hard time with losing the dog. It was her best friend.

Side note, it appears you have served this country. Thank you very much for your service.

[wyattroa]

Not much to update here. It was a cool moment for me, I put all the seats in the car just to see what it would be like. I sat in the drivers seat which was a great feeling, nowhere even close to that point, but it was great to do. Also let my wife and kids sit in the car. My kids didn't understand where they would sit. Pretty fun stuff.

Can't thank you enough Rodney for those seats.

I was also able to get the body on the rotisserie yesterday. It just amazes me that 4 bolts hold that entire body up. On a side note, my wifes Honda Pilot had a close call yesterday. I was pretty windy here in town and her car was parked on the street. The neighbors tree across the street decided to come down and came within a foot of her car, it could not have come any closer without it hitting it.

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http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170611_175604.jpg

[pro66tour]

Made some progress today. I got the front suspension buttoned up, brakes done, and steering linkage on. Was a fun day to work on the car. Won't have many updates coming as I want to pay off some of these bills. My hope is to have it has a rolling chassis come winter. Its fun putting stuff back on the car, especially new shiny stuff.

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145129.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145147.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145206.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145347.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_160410.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm98/wyattroa/1966%20Chevelle/20170607_145623.jpg


Looking very good indeed Pal! Great beginnings, awesome family time :thumbsup:

[wyattroa]

Been a while since I last posted an update. I have done some work and ran into some problems and fixed those problems. I ordered a ford 9" rear that was shortened by an inch on both sides. First time it came in, the housing was missing the fill and drain plug. Second time they sent the replacement the ears were bent on the top of the housing causing all kinds of issues. Fourth time they sent it the brackets were wrong. Finally I was able to get the housing back without issues and installed, they did powder coat the rear for me for free though. All these issues took from November to May to get taken care of, so incredibly frustrating. I also picked up a center section with an trutrack posi with 3.89 rear gears.

I got the matching rear brakes from Baer which came with their own issues. First, they sent me the rear brake kit for a 10/12 bolt even though the paperwork said for a ford 9" after waiting for them for close to 2 months. Then it took another month for them to send out the new stuff only to find out the left out the caliper brackets. Took another 2 weeks to get those. The rear brakes are 4 piston 13" rotors. I ran into some real-estate issues. Since the rear was narrowed by an inch on each side some bolts were fighting each other for room. I ended up making a T-bolt to bolt the ridetech rear bracket to the rear end.

For Christmas I got each of my kids something for the chevelle. This way they could each have their own time working on it with me. They loved this. I also got the riverside floor pan for Christmas. The floor wasn't bad, but I figured I have easy access while its on the rotisserie and might as well replace it. The kids helped install the rear sway bar, the rear shock tower brace from UMI, and spherical bushings on the rear end.

I have decided to go the LS route for the car. I was going to do a BBC, but its just not in the cards. I picked up a gen V 454, but it would need a ton of work. The guy previous to me left coolant sitting in the cylinders. It would need to be bored out a bit with new pistons. It would be dumb to re-use the rods then and would get new rods. Have to be balanced, new intake, water pump, distributer, oil pan, headers, serpentine drive, carb or EFI, cam, roller rockers/ lifters, and heads. After calculating everything it comes out cheaper to go the LS route for me. As I have to buy all the cooling and Fuel system anyways since the car came with none. With this I purchased the hooker 1" forward motor mounts and replaced the bushings in the clamshell mounts I picked up used.

I also bought all the brake line fittings and decided to try my hand at running brake lines. I used nicopp 3/16 brake lines and think they turned out damn good for my first time bending and flaring. This stuff is great to work with. This is pretty much where I am at now. Wheels are on order and should arrive at the end of August.

[wyattroa]

Some more

[Musclerodz]

Disc brake prop valves have seperate front lines. They was only tied together in a 4 wheel drum setup

[wyattroa]

Disc brake prop valves have seperate front lines. They was only tied together in a 4 wheel drum setup

Is this correct? I plan to use the baer remaster with their prop valve and everything I have seen and looked at. It has one line going to the front and one brake line going to the rear. Ill be running manual brakes on the car.

[Musclerodz]

Is this correct? I plan to use the baer remaster with their prop valve and everything I have seen and looked at. It has one line going to the front and one brake line going to the rear. Ill be running manual brakes on the car.

The remaster prop valve has 3 ports. the standard prop valve only has an in and out for the rear line only

[WSSix]

The bolt head you cut down, what is it used for? I wouldn't use it honestlly. Can you find a button or pan head allen bolt that will fit in there?

[waynieZ]

I agree with WSSix.

[wyattroa]

The bolt head you cut down, what is it used for? I wouldn't use it honestlly. Can you find a button or pan head allen bolt that will fit in there?

Ill look into this!

[wyattroa]

Alright, got the floor on the drivers side all patched in and good. I am now going to knock out the trans tunnel. I am still unsure if I will go with a tko600 or t56. So I am going to cut the tunnel big enough for the t56 just incase. I really don't think I have a need for the 2 overdrive gears where I live. Here is how it looks as of now. I made a template and will transfer this over to metal. Hope to have this finished up this weekend. This way I can shoot some bed liner on the bottom of the car.

[mfain]

You are making great progress! Sometimes these projects can get a little out of hand. LOL

Pappy

66422

[wyattroa]

Alright, cut out a template to replace the trans tunnel. Still not sure what I am going to put in here, either the t56 or the tko600. Picked up a piece of 20G steel and Cut the template I made out. Tomorrow I plan on cutting the tunnel.

[wyattroa]

Got some more work done. Finished up the firewall and the trans tunnel. Was a bit more work then I thought, but its done. I brought the trans tunnel up and back. Brought it all the way back to the floor brace. Should look nice once I make a center console for it, but thats a ways off. Got some epoxy primer on it for the time being.

[wyattroa]

Front wheels came in Wednesday. Just got the tracking for the rear and they should be here Monday. I'll make an appointment for them to get mounted on Tuesday. Fronts are 18x9 and will have a 255/35r18 on it. The rear wheel is a 18x10 with a 295/40r18 on it. This will be a big step for me as the frame will be able to roll on its own and not be stuck on jack stands.

[jarhead]

Love that the kids are involved. My daughter is 23 in a few months and she has been woking in the garage since 9 years old.

BTW I have been thinking about the same wheels, how do you like them?

Thanks, Joe

[WSSix]

The weld wheels will look great on the car.

[waynieZ]

I agree with Trey, going to look sweet.

[1965_SS]

Car is looking good! :thumbsup:

If you ever decide to narrow your rear frame rails, let me know. I've got the ABC mini tub kit brand new in the box that I'm not going to use. I also have a brand new DSE steering box with joints...................

[wyattroa]

Big milestone for me today, I rolled the frame out of the garage. I know its not a big deal for some, but for me this is a big step forward. Here are some pictures.

[1965_SS]

Very cool!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:
Looks great.

What is your overall width of your rearend with rotor hats on?

[wyattroa]

For the past 3 months, my boys ages 7, 6, and 5 have all been telling my wife she is getting an engine for her birthday. So to make the joke complete, I picked up a 6.0LS with 119k miles on it. Mind you, I will be getting her more for her birthday, but this is going to be great giving it to her..lol I took the valve covers off and I got to say, this thing looks pretty damn clean!

[WSSix]

Honestly, pull the pan and see if it's clean. If it is, put it in the car and run it as is. Do not get caught up in buying mods for the engine before the car is done and running. I'll bet that engine is fine as is and will be a blast to drive. 119k on it is nothing if it was cared for even minimally. If your goal is more power than that engine offers, build another engine after the car is done and you're driving it. Then, swap engines. My .02. Congrats on the engine score.

[warhawkchevelle]

Awesome build, very cool that your family is a part of it also!

I am also building a 66 but Im located in Sweden.
Do you care t share the specs of your front rims? :)