[65_LS1_T56]

Hey guys, it's time for me to start a build thread for my project. Dubbed the G-Velle, could be for the 1+ lateral-g I hope to do, or for "Grandpa" Chevelle, once you see the car I'm starting with .
This is actually the second car for this project. The first one was in a bit worse shape, actually a lot worse.

I want to build a daily driver that also is a capable autocross car. After getting a ride in Tom Farrington's car (tommycomfort) I am hooked on trying autocrossing out. Thanks Tom!

Some of you may have read my thread about notching and boxing the frame here: http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344628

The current plan is to use the frame that I've modified already and the body off of the second car that I recently acquired. Upgrades to the car, that are currently planned are:
LS1 & T56 425-475hp range
Custom 9" Ford rear from DTS
Mini-tubbed for 295's maybe 305's
Front & rear coil-over suspension
Tubular front & rear control arms from ABC Performance
C6 brakes
18" x 8" front, 18" x 10" rear (haven't picked wheels yet)
Minimal body mods, smooth firewall, some trim delete.
Bucket seats from a 4th gen
ididit tilt column
Some more interior creature comforts too

So onto some pictures right? Here is the second car I bought out of NH. Drove 930 miles each way to get it. Worth every mile.

A little info on the car above: owned by an 80 year old man, 65,000 miles, inline 6 and a glide, mostly original paint (drivers door has been reskinned 20+ years ago, fenders and quarters, behind wheel openings, have had some minor repairs too. Floor and trunk are rock solid as is the rest of the car. Two things don't work on the car: the dome light and the original AM radio :sad:...
There is an original spare and jack in the trunk too. So I think I have a very solid car to build on now, couldn't be happier about that.

Here is the trunk, complete with moisture holding mat!

So the plan is to sperate the body and frame, minitub it and raise the floor tunnel for driveline clearance, build the chassis and drop the body on it. That way I can get everything the way I want it before body & paint. I probably creates more work, but I think I'll be glad in the long run.

That's it for my intro for now. This is a real time build, not some accelerated one where the project is already done. I hope to have it on the road next year for some thrashing. Wish me luck!

 

[UMI Tech]

That is a nice starting point! Can't wait to see the transformation.

 

[cgocifer]

Good to see another 65 in the works! Looks like a nice, clean starting point! Mine is nowhere near as radical as some cars on here, but at least I'm still one of the very few 300 2dr posts! At least I can stake some sort of claim! lol

No LS for me, a Muncie 4sp, and a bench seat (for now):noway:

Do have some goodies though:
UMI upper and lower front control arms
UMI adjustable upper and lower control arms rear
Moser M9 (Ford 9") rear end narrowed 1" on each side
3" springs on all corners
Flaming River tilt column
close ratio mechanical steering
Drilled and slotted discs
Smoothed firewall
New Gen Descendents (18x7F, 19x9R)

Should be a fun cruiser!

Good luck with the build, I'll be watchin'!

 

[65_LS1_T56]

That is a nice starting point! Can't wait to see the transformation.

Thanks Ramey, me either!

Good to see another 65 in the works! Looks like a nice, clean starting point! Mine is nowhere near as radical as some cars on here, but at least I'm still one of the very few 300 2dr posts! At least I can stake some sort of claim! lol

No LS for me, a Muncie 4sp, and a bench seat (for now):noway:

Do have some goodies though:
UMI upper and lower front control arms
UMI adjustable upper and lower control arms rear
Moser M9 (Ford 9") rear end narrowed 1" on each side
3" springs on all corners
Flaming River tilt column
close ratio mechanical steering
Drilled and slotted discs
Smoothed firewall
New Gen Descendents (18x7F, 19x9R)

Should be a fun cruiser!

Good luck with the build, I'll be watchin'!

Thanks Dan. I've been watching your build from the beginning. Love the color you picked. I really wanted a dark silver/smokey gray, but after picking up this latest car, I have to use some of the interior since its in such great shape. It's the tan (saddle I think) and wouldn't look too good with a silver or dark gray. Leaning towards something with a little brown in it maybe. Again, as you know, paint decisions are aweful to make :yes:
Can't wait you see your wheels either, I'm sure they will look killer that color.

 

[cgocifer]

Aaron, here's a color idea for ya. The first color I contemplated was Ford's Mineral Gray. It's got some brown-ish hues to it. I had a 2002 Mustang GT in tat color with black wheels back before black wheels were in. It looks fantastic and might go well with your interior. I didn't go with that color because I'm having to re-use my interior which is gray and black... lol

Check it out!

Not mine, but similar:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/2005-mineral-gray-mustang-gt2.html

Here's a suede version of the color on a nasty v-12 Cobra!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lowcola/5000784300/

Dan

 

[65_LS1_T56]

Yeah, exactly Dan. I like that color alot, kinda what I'm leaning towards. Almost a Pewter.

Thanks, for the links. I'm keeping a folder with pics of colors and cars I like something about, ideas, ideas and more ideas

 

[Freddy Mercado]

Very nice car!!!

 

[65_LS1_T56]

Thanks Freddy!
Small update, been doing some more mock up for the motor/tranny and crossmembers. After notching the front crossmember for F-body oil pan clearance, this is the first time I had the motor set back in. Looks like pretty good clearance with the possibility of moving forward a bit more if needed. Also, I didn't realize when I made the notch in the frame, the oil pan is not symetrical on the lh and rh sides. The rh side actually hangs out a bit further, about 3/8"-1/2" or so. Even with the difference, I still have plenty of clearance.
Here is the lh side clearance

Rh side clearance

The other thing I've got installed now is the crossmember for the tranny

With reinforced clevis mounts that attach to the boxing plates on eith side perimeter welded and a couple of plug welds for fun.

Setting the driveline angle at 2.5* down, here is where the trans mount ended up

Next up will be the rear coilover crossmember

 

[65_LS1_T56]

Another small update, but progress none the less...
Got the rear coilover crossemember fitted and tacked in position. This is a weld in kit that replaces the factory spring pockets and shock mounts.

Final welding will take place after I've sourced the rear end and wheels too.
Here is it tacked in:

The other thing I got started on this holiday weekend, after the "outlaws" left anyway, was to start tearing the car apart. Man, it's hard to start taking a perfectly good, fully assembled, running, driving car apart. Hopefully it won't be that long before it's back together, but we all know how that goes sometimes...finger's crossed.
Anyway, the good news is the floor is in pretty amazing condition. At least what we are used to seeing in the rust-belt here. This car was born at Framington MA and lived it's life just outside of Boston. I'm amazed at the condition still.
I think this was the first time the original carpet was removed...there is event some headliner trimmings under the sound deadener still.
Carpet removed:

Headliner trimmings under deadener:

The worst area is the passenger side footwell, nothing thru, but kinda scaley looks like from wet shoes as there is not evidence of the window leaking (I'll find that out later):

Next up is to get the chassis out from under it. Knock on wood...so far the bolts have been coming out pretty good (finger crossed on the body bolts )

 

[Bad66Chevelle454]

That really is about the cleanest floor Ive seen! Especially in those wetter areas. Keep up the progress, and more pics!

 

[65_LS1_T56]

That really is about the cleanest floor Ive seen! Especially in those wetter areas. Keep up the progress, and more pics!

Thanks Tim:thumbsup: Yeah, I'm very pleased so far with what I've found (or haven't found). Here is a link to my photobucket with some more pics of the car and the trip from MI to NH and back. http://s1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb476/65_LS1_T56/65 NH Malibu/

Of course, Project Teacher's Pet was a great inspiration for me. How's your buddy enjoying it now?

 

[69chevelless3964speed]

That's a nice solid car that you got for the money, I saw the Craig's ad.

 

[tommycomfort]

Wow, you said it was clean on the phone, but that is amazing for the area it came from! I can't wait to follow along with the progress!
Tom

 

[65_LS1_T56]

That's a nice solid car that you got for the money, I saw the Craig's ad.

I got lucky. I was the first guy to call. The previous owner was a very nice guy: he held the car for me to make the trip out there. He had a guy show up the night before I got there with cash in hand and wanted the car. The seller said he promised me first dibs and held his word. Nice to know there are people still willing to business based on their words :thumbsup:

Wow, you said it was clean on the phone, but that is amazing for the area it came from! I can't wait to follow along with the progress!
Tom

No joke Tom. I still can't figure it out. The old guy must have never ventured out in the snow for sure...maybe the garage was heated It's definately not rust free, but it's very solid. The trunk floor does have some pencil sized holes thru and quite a bit of scale. I'm blaming the vinyl trunk mat for that :sad:

 

[65_LS1_T56]

Spent a little time this weekend continuing the teardown process. I got it up on the wheel stands I made then pulled the front clip with the help of a neighbor. The cowl is in great shape, very happy about that.
After diconnecting everything between the body and chassis, I was able to drop the whole thing out together. I only broke one body bolt. It was rusted to a 1/8" diameter in the middle and just twisted off, so I have to fix that one. Then I made the switch-eroo between my two chassis. Glad I have a fairly good sized shop, cause it's cold out now! Only had to raise the door for a minute.

I did find a little more rust, I knew it was there, but not how bad it was. Not too bad at all, should be a fairly easy fix. Here is that infamous back valence panel that hardly ever survives....
The culprit: rubber "edging" stapled thru the valence and trunkpan...everywhere a staple, the rust has started there.

rubber removed:

The other side wasn't as bad, but definately needs attention.. really? staples thru the painted metal..:sad:
The other spot that I knew about was in the trunk, right above the body mount that is behind the wheelwell on the passenger side. It's the 'ol For Sale sign rivited patch with a dab of blue silicon to seal it up...nice.
With patch:

Patch removed:

And on to lifting the body off of the chassis and moving the other under it.

Here is my other chassis that will be in it's new home under here.

Need to get the tunnel cut out to clear the T56 next. Not real excited about cutting such a solid floor. It will be worth it in the end though.
Thanks for looking, hope nobody has dial-up

 

[tommycomfort]

Man, those are fun times, I wish we were neighbors!
Tom

 

[65_LS1_T56]

Man, those are fun times, I wish we were neighbors!
Tom

These are the "cheap" fun times! After this is "get-the-checkbook-out" fun times. I wish we were neighbors too, Sam can mow grass right? He could have lots of money for parts.

Tom, you still need another frame?

 

[69chevelless3964speed]

It's an original grandma car that's going to the next level and it's going to look great. Good luck with it, keep us posted.

 

[Bow_Tied]

If that had been a Z16 I'd say don't cut, maybe even if it was an SS. But I think the end will justify the mods on this grandpa car. :subscribed:

 

[65_LS1_T56]

I can't believe you're doing this to a mostly original survivor.

Surely you could have found a different car.

You're taking what is essentially a very rare thing (an original survivor) and turning it into the latest fad car.

Shame on you.

I hear you, but, I did find a different car, this one. I specifically searched for a solid, MALIBU, L6, Plain Jane, econo model so I could build the car I wanted. I would not cut up a SS either. My first car was exactly the same as this one except a 3 speed instead of the powerglide.

After digging into it, it's not a real "survivor car" by any means. It's solid, dont get me wrong, but it has had a repaint a long time ago and lot's of recent "touch ups" by the previous owner.