Mini Tub 65 Chevelle station wagon

[tgvettes]

Of course we see a lot of Camaro's and Nova's being mini tubed all the time

I just bought a 65 Chevelle Stationwagon that is going to get a pro touring style make over. I have not seen anyone make minitubs for it like for the Camaros'

Would love to see if someone has any pictures of a mini tub job done on an early Chevelle, I guess the newer Chevelles have much bigger wheel housings from the Factory then the 64-65. at a minimum i would like to get 295 in but would prefer 335. I have heard that the stock wheel wells are good for maybe 275 at the most. I have worked on plenty of Camaro's and Nova's but this is my first Chevelle. My first full frame car except for a couple of Corvettes that I have built.

Tonny

[CRCRFT78]

Jeff Schwartz was building a 65 wagon at one time, check out his website. He had pics up that may be able to help you out. BTW I love those early Chevelle wagons.

[JayR]

Look up Mark Stielow's 64 Chevelle build in Popular Hot Rodding some years back. I'm guessing 6-8 years ago and he shows a step by step.

Keep in mind that 64-65 A-Bodies have the wheelwell up against the frame rail so to gain anything, you'll need to narrow the frame rail the same amount so it's way more work than most cars. If you nail the fitment, you can get a 275 in a stock wheelwell but to gain another fraction of an inch will require some surgery.

[HRBS]

Jason is correct. Anything wider than a 275 will require frame rail modification. We ran into this situation on this 65 Wagon. After some little thought I convinced the owner that if he is going to move the rails 1 inch, why not move them 2. And if you're gonna move them 2 why not.... well you get it. We wound up building a new rear half and ran 29x18.50's on a 20x14 rim. It may not be for everyone but you'll get the idea.

[okyankee]

Originally Posted by HRBS

Jason is correct. Anything wider than a 275 will require frame rail modification. We ran into this situation on this 65 Wagon. After some little thought I convinced the owner that if he is going to move the rails 1 inch, why not move them 2. And if you're gonna move them 2 why not.... well you get it. We wound up building a new rear half and ran 29x18.50's on a 20x14 rim. It may not be for everyone but you'll get the idea.

what kind of motor ended up in this car? i got a 65 chevelle coupe and like this look alot. but i assume there would not be much of a backseat. oh well.

[HRBS]

Definetly no back seat when you do "this" (^^^) to a coupe.
This project never made it past fabrication. It was going to run a Big Block with a custom intake and EFI.

[MnHotRod]

You can find humerous pics of "Devistation" wagon on Newrarewagon.COM. That wagon was mini-tubed. Jeff Schwartz would be a great contact for doing that mod on your wagon.

Steve - Would have liked to see that wagon finished. If memory serves, you had some renderings of that car with wood side panels which I loved. Not sure those were public? They should be. Somebody needs to do one of these WITH the glass AND wood grain sides. Like that black Ford that crossed Barrett few years back.

UPDATE: Linky - Should be able to see ALL photos via links near the end of that thread.