gmajor
Dec 31st, 06, 6:01 AM
Boy, it's been a few years since I've posted, but I'm back! I'm a former Team Chevelle member (and I plan to upgrade that to re-enlisted member very soon) that took some time off while moving around due to work, playing with my trucks, and waiting on the bread to resume serious work on the true love of my automotive life -- my 1967 Chevelle!
A quick recap of the project? Sure! I bought the car in high school nearly 20 years ago. When I bought it, it had a worn out 307 and a 3-speed on the column. Still, the body was reasonably solid and after just a year I had swapped in a fresh 350 and a Muncie 4 speed, put on a fresh coat of black paint, and did some other work with the help of my father. That's how the car ran for the next, oh... 14 years or so.
As we all know, without constant upkeep and maintenance, time takes its toll on our precious cars. About six years ago, a little rust popped up around the rear quarters and in the trunk. Knowing full well that if I didn't act quickly the car could be in real (expensive) trouble, I took some money and intended to simply hang some new quarters and freshen up the still reasonably strong 350. It snowballed pretty quick, however, and what started off as a project to fend off the ravishes of time turned into a full-blown restification.
After a couple of false starts, I finally found a body man that was willing to take the job. He had done a few other 1967 Chevelles and I had seen other cars he had done. In addition, my father knew him and that was good enough for me. He had the car for about 2 years and during that time we pulled the body from the frame, gutted the interior, yanked the drivetrain, and my body man proceeded to take the car to bare metal and build it back from the ground up.
Fast-forward to today (almost literally) and we find the body and interior at about 98% complete. With any luck, early spring will see me crossing the finish line with a new drivetrain and by the summer the car will be moving under its own power and possibly ready for a show by fall. Of course, if there's any one thing I've learned over the past six years it's that any estimate (time, money, or otherwise) is likely to be off by at least double.
At any rate, I wanted to re-introduce myself and give y'all a little teaser of what's to come...
http://www.gregmajor.com/images/album/pictures/chevelle/chevelle_13_small.jpeg
PS: Ignore the date on the pic. That shot was taken yesterday, but the old man's digital camera has the wrong date and time set .:D
A quick recap of the project? Sure! I bought the car in high school nearly 20 years ago. When I bought it, it had a worn out 307 and a 3-speed on the column. Still, the body was reasonably solid and after just a year I had swapped in a fresh 350 and a Muncie 4 speed, put on a fresh coat of black paint, and did some other work with the help of my father. That's how the car ran for the next, oh... 14 years or so.
As we all know, without constant upkeep and maintenance, time takes its toll on our precious cars. About six years ago, a little rust popped up around the rear quarters and in the trunk. Knowing full well that if I didn't act quickly the car could be in real (expensive) trouble, I took some money and intended to simply hang some new quarters and freshen up the still reasonably strong 350. It snowballed pretty quick, however, and what started off as a project to fend off the ravishes of time turned into a full-blown restification.
After a couple of false starts, I finally found a body man that was willing to take the job. He had done a few other 1967 Chevelles and I had seen other cars he had done. In addition, my father knew him and that was good enough for me. He had the car for about 2 years and during that time we pulled the body from the frame, gutted the interior, yanked the drivetrain, and my body man proceeded to take the car to bare metal and build it back from the ground up.
Fast-forward to today (almost literally) and we find the body and interior at about 98% complete. With any luck, early spring will see me crossing the finish line with a new drivetrain and by the summer the car will be moving under its own power and possibly ready for a show by fall. Of course, if there's any one thing I've learned over the past six years it's that any estimate (time, money, or otherwise) is likely to be off by at least double.
At any rate, I wanted to re-introduce myself and give y'all a little teaser of what's to come...
http://www.gregmajor.com/images/album/pictures/chevelle/chevelle_13_small.jpeg
PS: Ignore the date on the pic. That shot was taken yesterday, but the old man's digital camera has the wrong date and time set .:D