Well, first off this should be a side project so I dont have to worry about having a running car day to day. Right now I have a 2001 Caviler, soon to have a 97 loaded z-28 Camaro if the deal doesnt fall through.

My dad had a 1970 SS 396 when he was in highschool and he loved it to death. The chevelle has always been my dream car aside from the Camaro Z-28's.

I dont have a Chevelle at the moment but I've been scouring the auto trader and local adds for one to pop up. All I really want is the body/chassis. I'd rather have an engineless Chevelle so I can drop my own in, doesn't even have to be an SS either as I'm not doing this for a show car.

I'm looking for a pretty straight body, engine/trannyless Chevelle for under a grand. Surface rust is ok within reason, but it cant have the cancerous death rust as I can't do body work myself. I hope this doesn't sound too out of perspective for you, but bear with me... here's why I posted in this section.

I want to either pick up a built or just the block of a 396. Staying with this engine seems ideal for me because that's what my dad had (I'm really doing this for him) and gas milage/performance seems a good ratio here. I dont plan to make this a race car by any means, it should never see the track more than twice.

I want to stay away from computerization in the engine compartment as much as possible so I fear FI is out of the question? Are there FI engines out there that arn't controlled by computer? Otherwise what caurberator would you suggest for street with mild performance? I'd rather not drop 5-600 on a holley if possible.

As I said earlier I might just pick up a 396 block from a scrap yard and build it up from there. Would it be fine to just grab un cracked/burnt heads from that engine also and port and polish them? What were the differnces in the heads for the chevelle engines and the truck?

Also, what transmission would you suggest if I wanted to go the manual tranny route? Also, how difficult is it to switch from a auto steering colum to the manual floor shift? Is there anywhere else to get a steering colum besides a scrap yard? If the manual is out of question I think I'll just go the TH400 route instead. But in most cases I'd rather have the manual if possible.

Also, I'm open to any suggestions from the crowd.

Thanks guys. I'm sorry as I know this thread contains subject matter applying to most oft he other forums here, but it had most to do with this one and I'm sure you guys frequent the others too.

Thanks again, and dont be too hard on me ;)

A 396 with it's original heads and Q-Jet carb should work fine. Four-speed cars with decent bodies are very hard to find. Assuming the car you buy is an automatic, I'd run a TH400 because it's expensive and a pain to swap out the pedlas and linkage. Swapping out to a floor shift column is easy. If I can do it (and I did) anybody can. I found the column f or sale in the Team Chevelle classifieds. I doubt you find one in a wrecking yard.

You might have to pay more to get a rolling chassis. I'm not saying these deals don't exist. It might be easier to pay more sooner and pay less later. Good luck on your search!

For less than a grand, it will be very difficult to find any prime year chevelle in descent shape. Ive ran across a few plane jane rolling chassis in good shape for about 2500, and sometimes, even at that price they arent the best cars to start with. Although, it does depend on your location. I live up in the rust belt. Almost anything thats clean will go for good money up here cause clean cars are hard to find. It doesnt even have to be a prime year anything. An honestly clean malibu from the late 70's/early 80's will draw descent money.

On the other hand, you can often find good deals out west. Good deals especially seem to turn up out there in the middle of nowhere. My dad used to run out that way and pick stuff up. For example, a number of years back he took a trip to arizona with his brother and a big car hauler and brought a few random cars home. The cash cow was a spotless 67 el camino. It was a 396 car with the rock crusher 4 speed. It run him 6700 bucks and he brought it back, drove it on the weekends for about 2 years or so and then sold it for 11,500 up here in PA.

Anyways, look hard and you will eventually find something. When you do, one of the better bets is to look for an older closed chamber oval port head. A lot of big block truck heads come with little wee ports and big ol chambers. Not really meant for performance, and although its possible to work some power out of em, its much easier done with a better set of heads. There were a lot of common factory big block heads that fit the bill and you can get reasonable pricing if you look around. Just do some searches on big block heads and you can find plenty of info all over about which casting numbers are desireable. Look for a desireable closed chamber oval port casting for the 396. Thats nice for a street motor. Open chambers will work, but it takes quite a piston dome to get reasonable compression on a 396. So you can go that route if you want to.

Also I agree that a 4 speed car will be hard to find. It will be cheaper and easier to go auto(at least for now). And you dont need to pay premium cost for a TH400. A turbo 350 tranny will be easier to find, they will come at a cheaper price and are plenty capable of handling lots of power when built right. I get the impression you want a nice and probably descently fast street car. A turbo 350 is capable of every bit of that and a lot more. Plus, they use less horsepower to turn than a 400 tranny. Thats the route Id go unless you have a 400 tranny in front of you. Than it might be more economical to go with it.

theres a 70 chevelle body in the classifieds right now car is in las cruces new mexico price is $1000 not sure what your going to get though, if it's gutted you may be better off paying a little more for a complete car. Its the little parts that turns up missing that will break the bank when you try to find it. Jim