|
Team Chevelle Member #52 GoldHello fellow Team Chevelle Members
My story starts back in February of 1999 when a good friend up in N.J. found out about an all original '70 LS6 Chevelle that was in dry storage for over 20 years. He knew that I was looking for an LS6 for some time and called me up. A week later I was the proud owner of a numbers matching, rust free LS6 Chevelle with only 39,000 original miles!
The previous owner bought the car in 1978 and put less than 800 miles on it in over 20 years. He said the car was too fast and gave him away to the police. He jacked the car and stored it away only later to sell it to me.
A time machine! It sports its original 31 year old Autumn Gold Lacquer and all original interior. The original build sheet was found under the back seat to document all the neat factory options such as: bucket seats, console, gauges, M22 tranny, 4:10 positraction, AM radio and cowl induction hood.
The really neat part about my Chevelle is the cool history it had. I don't know the original owner but I have a first name and town where the second owner bought it in 1978. He was sure the guy bought the car for heavy duty use. In that regard how many Joe's do you think lived in Maplewood N.J. from 1970-78? This is all I have for the first owner. The second owner is who I bought the car from and he acquired some speeding tickets when he first had the Chevelle. He ran headers, Mickey Thompson drag tires, and a Hurst Shifter to low 12's at Atco Dragway in 1978. The car was unbeatable during that time as well. Twenty years later he still had the exhaust manifolds, air pump, shifter (Muncie) and even the spiral shocks after he installed drag units!
When I bought the car I was torn on either a frame-off restoration or a "survivor car". I have held off on a restoration because of this. As time goes on I lean towards a complete restoration - being a perfectionist.
Then there's the old saying, "A car can be restored over and over, but it can only be original once".
