I just can NOT make up my mind! So I'm turning to the consensus for help. I have a 1964 Chevelle 4-Door 300 that I drive around pretty much everyday but it needs some love. I bought it with a "new paint job" on it, but soon found out that the jack ass painted over rust and bondo'd a lot of stupid stuff. In all reality it needs redone and done the right way. I want to do some other work to the car as well. It has the original 3 on the tree and straight 6, but the 3 speed just isn't enough. It needs a couple more gears. I was thinking about putting a 4 or 5 speed in it, and rebuilding the straight 6 (cause I love it!). Would the car, in the long run, be worth more as a "pro street-ish" 4-door chevelle or as a stock 300? OR should I just get out of it now and cut my losses?

Thanks

Sam Stout
Oregon
http://tinypic.com/r/2rzz7l3/3http://i31.tinypic.com/2rzz7l3.jpg
http://a.imagehost.org/view/0675/Chevelle_Right

it's a 4 door sedan- it's not going to be worth a lot of money no matter what you do to it.
looks like a perfectly good cruiser as it is- and the 3 on the tree makes it that much better.
i wonder how hard it would be to make up a linkage to shift a 5 speed with the column shifter- with an internal rail trans like a T5 or TKO, it wouldn't be impossible...

yeah probably true. that's kinda what i thought at first too. hey if i find a good trany it's worth at least trying to hook it up on the column (:

It all depends on what you have in the car now and what you are willing to do with the car.

If you like it and never plan to part with it, do whatever your heart desires and enjoy every minute of it.

Now if your try to build a really nice car and sell it for a profit, I think your probably working with the wrong car.

-Bobby-

Sam, since you love the six (you sound like me) I have to ask, is it a 230? You know a 250 crank will drop into the 230 without any changes. The same block castings were used for 230s & 250s in many cases. The added torque from idle right on up can be felt right away.

Your 3-speed is a non syncro low with a 2.94:1 low if it is original to the car. I would expect a 3.08 ratio out back. I'd enjoy driving it that way, but certainly some closer gear spacing would be beneficial. Don't sweat an o.d. too much since I bet you are already getting about 25 mpg on the highway.

If I were you I'd upgrade the brakes & suspension, especially since it is a daily driver for you. If it were me I wouldn't go "pro-streetish" but rather a bit high tech. I'd keep the body & all stock trim but run modern rubber, plus upgraded brakes & suspension (maybe trick A-arms). Basically a completely stock body with a proper stance & contemporary rolling stock.

Is the car equipped with manual steering? Chances are that it is. You might consider an upgrade to a late model Saginaw power steering setup (suit yourself though, I'm staying with manual on my '67).

Without much trouble you could upgrade that six with an Offenhauser or Clifford intake manifold & run either a staged 2-barrel for slightly better all around performance or perhaps a small Holley 4-barrel around 390 -450 cfm. I would recommend the cast headers made by http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/ since they are easy to fit, are of long life cast iron and clear the clutch linkages. You could then either run duals or could have another y-pipe to act as a collector & then run a single 2½" pipe back (it saves crossing a pipe under the trans & throwing heat into it).


I am having my 250 built with a 292 crank. My advice is not to do it unless you don't mind paying for custom rods, pistons & machining, running an electric fuel pump (the 292 six had a relocated fuel pump due to internal clearance) and have an experience stroker builder. My block had to be clearance and my counterweights needed a little attention as well. It is much easier to simply start with a 292 if you want big cubes, or turn that 230 into a 250 (easy as pie.)

There's my 2 cents. Have fun with it and keep us posted!

I'm in the same boat with my 67 4 dr sedan. I've done plenty of work to it (motor, trans, suspension, wheels) and when I get back from this next stint in Afghanistan I want to do a LSx/T56 swap. My reasoning is that if I get everything functioning on the 4 dr it would be easy to transfer to a rust free 2 door body if I can find one (frames were the same length 2/4 door thru 67). Then toss a simple motor and trans in the 4 door and sell it.

At the worst you have a car you enjoy and spent money on. How many people spend 30, 40, 50 thousand on a new car/truck and loose most of that right away driving off the lot? Do what you want and at the worst you could toss the 6/3spd in it to sell and keep the "new" motor and 5 speed for another project.

To keep the 3 on the tree, you could look for one with the Sagnaw planetary OD in the tail.