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Project "It aint a Space Shuttle" 70 Chevelle Coupe
So I finally got some motivation after not really touching my project car for almost 6 years. I bought this car in 2008 with the intention of it being a 8-10 year project for me. It was a relatively clean 70 with a few minor spots of rust, but was in fairly good condition, and had most of the bits and pieces that I needed. During this build, I am somewhat of a perfectionist, and it can bog me down quite a bit at times if I'm not sure how to tackle something, or something doesn't quite work the way that I thought it should. It's happened a few times over the last 8 years and I always think back to a friend of mine when I was building my rock crawler. Anytime I'd get worried about details, or get hung up on something that didn't matter, he'd always tell me, "Look man, we're not building a space shuttle here. It's good enough!" Over the course of this build I have to tell myself that over and over. Anyway enjoy the pictures, I'll do my best to keep updating this tread as the build progresses.
My preliminary vision for the car was an image that I saw online, and although over time my vision has changed a bit, this is what my goals were...
My story starts off like many others. a 70 Chevelle has been my dream car since I was about 10 years old. I loved the look of the car, the sound of the car, but wanted many of the modern conveniences that we all take for granted in todays modern cars. Effectively I wanted something that looked the part of a 70 Chevelle, but that was reliable, comfortable, and powerful. So I bought this shell of a car.
After I got it home I started to work on stuff that I could manage in my garage without spending a bunch of cash on. My plans for the car was LS7 (yeah right)... T-56, Nice smooth lowered suspension, Great AC (a must in Arizona), The car itself smelled like rat turds, so I tore everything out of the inside and pressure washed the whole thing. After it was clean of the dirt, grime, and turds, I smelled a lot better, and it also allowed me to evaluate fully what I'd brought home.
Progress on this build will be painfully slow. Although I've gotten the urge to get this thing back on track, I have a VERY full time job, my wife is in grad school, and I have 3 kids at home. I am working on some innovative (cheap) stuff here in an effort to achieve my goals without breaking the bank. So far ALL of the work has been done by myself, and the either my dad or my son. The only outside assistance has been the custom engine mounts that I had made at a friends machine shop.
My preliminary vision for the car was an image that I saw online, and although over time my vision has changed a bit, this is what my goals were...
My story starts off like many others. a 70 Chevelle has been my dream car since I was about 10 years old. I loved the look of the car, the sound of the car, but wanted many of the modern conveniences that we all take for granted in todays modern cars. Effectively I wanted something that looked the part of a 70 Chevelle, but that was reliable, comfortable, and powerful. So I bought this shell of a car.
After I got it home I started to work on stuff that I could manage in my garage without spending a bunch of cash on. My plans for the car was LS7 (yeah right)... T-56, Nice smooth lowered suspension, Great AC (a must in Arizona), The car itself smelled like rat turds, so I tore everything out of the inside and pressure washed the whole thing. After it was clean of the dirt, grime, and turds, I smelled a lot better, and it also allowed me to evaluate fully what I'd brought home.
Progress on this build will be painfully slow. Although I've gotten the urge to get this thing back on track, I have a VERY full time job, my wife is in grad school, and I have 3 kids at home. I am working on some innovative (cheap) stuff here in an effort to achieve my goals without breaking the bank. So far ALL of the work has been done by myself, and the either my dad or my son. The only outside assistance has been the custom engine mounts that I had made at a friends machine shop.
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The 70 Malibu I had was the same color green originally. Spent years restoring it and lost it in a divorce. She kept my dog too 
The 70 Malibu I had was the same color green originally. Spent years restoring it and lost it in a divorce. She kept my dog too
That right there is FUGLY:frown2:
Alright, Now that we got the pictures figured out, Now I'll continue with some of the progress that has been made on the car.
I mentioned that there was a couple of spots of rust that I wanted to take care of, and since I just dropped a bit of coin on the car itself, I was looking for stuff to do on the cheap... So Rust repair was what I started to tackle. Being a Southern California car, it spent it's life in the high desert, so all of the weather-stripping was more or less trashed. I bought some panels from ebay, craigslist, and OPGI to get me going.
First spot was the floor pans right under the front seats. Although there were only a small spots that had holes, there was heavy pitting, and I didn't like it.
So out it came:
and in went the new metal:
Repeated the same process for both front seats, and also had issues with the rear seat pans that turned out to be worse when I got the braces off... So those were replaced too.
I mentioned that there was a couple of spots of rust that I wanted to take care of, and since I just dropped a bit of coin on the car itself, I was looking for stuff to do on the cheap... So Rust repair was what I started to tackle. Being a Southern California car, it spent it's life in the high desert, so all of the weather-stripping was more or less trashed. I bought some panels from ebay, craigslist, and OPGI to get me going.
First spot was the floor pans right under the front seats. Although there were only a small spots that had holes, there was heavy pitting, and I didn't like it.
So out it came:
and in went the new metal:
Repeated the same process for both front seats, and also had issues with the rear seat pans that turned out to be worse when I got the braces off... So those were replaced too.
5
So Rust repair continued:
After the floors were in good shape, I decided to tackle the rear window rust. Most of it looked pretty good, but there were a couple little holes that I didn't like...
Started making small cuts...
Then they got bigger, as I kept finding more:
Until the whole damn thing came off.
and Santblasted:
Both sides of the window channel had some deep pitting that had to be fixed.
So I cut it out:
New piece fabricated. I cut the original piece just below the curve of the corner to preserve the trim and how it fit.
After the floors were in good shape, I decided to tackle the rear window rust. Most of it looked pretty good, but there were a couple little holes that I didn't like...
Started making small cuts...
Then they got bigger, as I kept finding more:
Until the whole damn thing came off.
and Santblasted:
Both sides of the window channel had some deep pitting that had to be fixed.
So I cut it out:
New piece fabricated. I cut the original piece just below the curve of the corner to preserve the trim and how it fit.
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And all welded up with new pins for the trim:
I trimmed the tulip panel so that about 1 inch of the original panel was left to preserve the factory seam. Cleaned up with a wire brush and various abrasives.
Trimmed the aftermarket tulip panel to match:
But the rearmost portion of the panel didn't line up with the original curvature of the opening of the trunk panel:
Now that's where the fun stopped. Because I didn't have the weatherstripping, I didn't want to weld this on permanently. So it's still in this condition. I'll permanently attach it once I'm doing the body work...
(EDIT: I ended up losing this Tulip panel between the 3 different houses that I've had this project at and ended up buying another, but followed the same process for fitting the new one and finally installing it in 2021)
I trimmed the tulip panel so that about 1 inch of the original panel was left to preserve the factory seam. Cleaned up with a wire brush and various abrasives.
Trimmed the aftermarket tulip panel to match:
But the rearmost portion of the panel didn't line up with the original curvature of the opening of the trunk panel:
Now that's where the fun stopped. Because I didn't have the weatherstripping, I didn't want to weld this on permanently. So it's still in this condition. I'll permanently attach it once I'm doing the body work...
(EDIT: I ended up losing this Tulip panel between the 3 different houses that I've had this project at and ended up buying another, but followed the same process for fitting the new one and finally installing it in 2021)
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So when I started this project, I was a service engineer fixing medical equipment. I spent my life behind the wheel of a car driving 50-60K miles per year, and most of that time for the first few years was spent with my backside planted in a Dodge Magnum. It was gutless as it gets, but it was quiet and comfortable, so I sourced a set of pristine black cloth (I dislike leather and pleather).
The front seats look like they are a bit tall, but with some trimming of the bracketry, they should fit nicely, The rear seats however fit like they were made for this thing... width wise anyway. The bottom of the seat follows the contour of the floor perfectly, and I only had to trim a little bit of foam from the bottom to get it to sit nicely. The seat backs were a little tall, so I modified them to fit.
This is post surgery...
Now those seats are just mocked into place, and the covers aren't trimmed yet, just tucked underneath. An upholstery guy I am not, so I'll have to leave that to professionals so it doesn't look like crap...
There is some extra bracing that I need to do because I removed the separator, but the 2X2 tubing at the top of the seat backs will be the start of that bracing.
This is effectively where that project stopped for now until I get farther along with the interior. I didn't mount the front seats yet because I didn't know what was going to happen with the transmission tunnel, I didn't want to mount them, then have to move them because I needed to widen the tunnel.
(EDIT: I ended up scrapping the front magnum seats. They were just too tall... The Back Seats that are shown above are still installed in the car, still need to get them recovered 12/21)
The front seats look like they are a bit tall, but with some trimming of the bracketry, they should fit nicely, The rear seats however fit like they were made for this thing... width wise anyway. The bottom of the seat follows the contour of the floor perfectly, and I only had to trim a little bit of foam from the bottom to get it to sit nicely. The seat backs were a little tall, so I modified them to fit.
This is post surgery...
Now those seats are just mocked into place, and the covers aren't trimmed yet, just tucked underneath. An upholstery guy I am not, so I'll have to leave that to professionals so it doesn't look like crap...
There is some extra bracing that I need to do because I removed the separator, but the 2X2 tubing at the top of the seat backs will be the start of that bracing.
This is effectively where that project stopped for now until I get farther along with the interior. I didn't mount the front seats yet because I didn't know what was going to happen with the transmission tunnel, I didn't want to mount them, then have to move them because I needed to widen the tunnel.
(EDIT: I ended up scrapping the front magnum seats. They were just too tall... The Back Seats that are shown above are still installed in the car, still need to get them recovered 12/21)
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So like I mentioned in the first post, my plans were for an LS7 and T-56, that was until I saw how expensive those damn things are... So I thought my goals were a little lofty with my miniscule budget (wife and 3 kids at home), so I started keeping my eye on ebay, craigslist, and the local classifieds. Every once in a while, I'd see the wrecked F-Body with an LS1, but more often than not they had a 4 speed auto, the ones that had a 6 speed still commanded a bit of money. I also kept my eye out for an 04-06 GTO, and wouldn't you know it. a relatively low mileage 06-GTO came up on craigslist for 5K in the California desert,
I contacted the guy. on the phone he was pretty sketchy but confirmed that it was an LS2 with a 6 speed. I was worried about the condition of the engine from the picture above, but he confirmed that the engine was OK, and that he was able to turn it over. I grabbed my dad, and headed out to So Cal that day with cash in pocket. I didn't have a truck or trailer, so I drove out in my van, and planned on renting a U-Haul and trailer to tow it back if I ended up purchasing it.
When we got to El Centro, the guy was just as sketchy as he was on the phone, and told me that the car was in Calexico, and just like it sounds, it's right on the border to Mexico... We go check out the car, and it looks WAY worse than the pictures that he sent me.
The core support is so entangled around the engine that there is NO way there was any movement from the engine. Both engine mounts were ripped apart, and so was the transmission mount. The entire drivetrain was shoved back almost 6 inches. I waffled on buying it because I couldn't tell if the engine was any good. The interior was in pretty good shape, as was the rest of the body. I decided to pull the dipstick and it was dry. I told the guy that the whole reason I wanted the car was for the drivetrain, and started to pack up my stuff. He asked me if I was going to buy it, and I told him No, that there was too much damage, and I couldn't verify that the engine was good. He asked me what I would pay for the car, and my dad piped up that it's really only worth about 2K. The guy countered back at 3K, and we settled on $2800. We traded the title for cash, and went to get the truck and trailer and loaded it up to head back to Arizona.
Just look at how far the exhaust tips were pushed back out of the bumper.... These are ordinarily pretty flush with the back of the bumper.
Made it back to AZ and bot the car rolled back into my garage.
After a couple hours with a sledge hammer, Sawzall, portapower, and jacks, I had this:
I contacted the guy. on the phone he was pretty sketchy but confirmed that it was an LS2 with a 6 speed. I was worried about the condition of the engine from the picture above, but he confirmed that the engine was OK, and that he was able to turn it over. I grabbed my dad, and headed out to So Cal that day with cash in pocket. I didn't have a truck or trailer, so I drove out in my van, and planned on renting a U-Haul and trailer to tow it back if I ended up purchasing it.
When we got to El Centro, the guy was just as sketchy as he was on the phone, and told me that the car was in Calexico, and just like it sounds, it's right on the border to Mexico... We go check out the car, and it looks WAY worse than the pictures that he sent me.
The core support is so entangled around the engine that there is NO way there was any movement from the engine. Both engine mounts were ripped apart, and so was the transmission mount. The entire drivetrain was shoved back almost 6 inches. I waffled on buying it because I couldn't tell if the engine was any good. The interior was in pretty good shape, as was the rest of the body. I decided to pull the dipstick and it was dry. I told the guy that the whole reason I wanted the car was for the drivetrain, and started to pack up my stuff. He asked me if I was going to buy it, and I told him No, that there was too much damage, and I couldn't verify that the engine was good. He asked me what I would pay for the car, and my dad piped up that it's really only worth about 2K. The guy countered back at 3K, and we settled on $2800. We traded the title for cash, and went to get the truck and trailer and loaded it up to head back to Arizona.
Just look at how far the exhaust tips were pushed back out of the bumper.... These are ordinarily pretty flush with the back of the bumper.
Made it back to AZ and bot the car rolled back into my garage.
After a couple hours with a sledge hammer, Sawzall, portapower, and jacks, I had this:
10
Spent a couple of hours fixing damaged wiring, and throwing some JB Weld on the cracked oil pan. I borrowed the battery from my rock crawler, and put the key in the ignition...
a Quick turn of the key, Netted me a running engine!!!! It sounded great!
Over the course of the next 8 months, I parted that GTO out and sold off anything I didn't think I could use. Those GTO guys are strange. They wanted the strangest things from that car. Finally I was left with all of the parts and pieces that I wanted, (Engine, Transmission, complete drivetrain and body wiring harnesses, HVAC, Exhaust, tons of little parts and pieces, I cut the pieces of the core support out for the radiator and condenser so I can just mount a GTO radiator to the Chevelle... Finally I was left with the body shell, doors and that was about it. I cut them up with a sawzall and dropped it off at a scrap yard...
My Prize.... :laugh:
The inside of the engine looked AMAZING!!!!
Now came time to marry the old with the new. This is what I started with. Pretty crusty
I spent a little time with a wire wheel cleaning up the framerails and crossmember and with the Edelbrock adapter plates I ended up with this...
Pretty good (At First, This is one of those times my OCD kicks in and I have to remind myself that I'm not building the space shuttle.).... I sourced a CTS-V oil pan and didn't like what I saw...
So I monkied around with it, ended up making my own engine mounts to get the engine and exhaust where I wanted it where the oil pan was flush with the crossmember and the exhaust was about 3/4 of an inch from the floor pans. They were pretty ugly and heavy, so I had a friend make me some out of aluminum so they were lighter and prettier.. Those pics will be later because it took him 5 years to actually get them made... (I wasn't really pushing him either. I wanted some adjustability with these mounts so you'll see my vision in a later post.
Since I was at a point where I was waiting on engine mounts, that's where this part stalled...
a Quick turn of the key, Netted me a running engine!!!! It sounded great!
Over the course of the next 8 months, I parted that GTO out and sold off anything I didn't think I could use. Those GTO guys are strange. They wanted the strangest things from that car. Finally I was left with all of the parts and pieces that I wanted, (Engine, Transmission, complete drivetrain and body wiring harnesses, HVAC, Exhaust, tons of little parts and pieces, I cut the pieces of the core support out for the radiator and condenser so I can just mount a GTO radiator to the Chevelle... Finally I was left with the body shell, doors and that was about it. I cut them up with a sawzall and dropped it off at a scrap yard...
My Prize.... :laugh:
The inside of the engine looked AMAZING!!!!
Now came time to marry the old with the new. This is what I started with. Pretty crusty
I spent a little time with a wire wheel cleaning up the framerails and crossmember and with the Edelbrock adapter plates I ended up with this...
Pretty good (At First, This is one of those times my OCD kicks in and I have to remind myself that I'm not building the space shuttle.).... I sourced a CTS-V oil pan and didn't like what I saw...
So I monkied around with it, ended up making my own engine mounts to get the engine and exhaust where I wanted it where the oil pan was flush with the crossmember and the exhaust was about 3/4 of an inch from the floor pans. They were pretty ugly and heavy, so I had a friend make me some out of aluminum so they were lighter and prettier.. Those pics will be later because it took him 5 years to actually get them made... (I wasn't really pushing him either. I wanted some adjustability with these mounts so you'll see my vision in a later post.
Since I was at a point where I was waiting on engine mounts, that's where this part stalled...
9
Now for the part that made me probably the most nervous... I am cheap... and I wanted to use as much of the GTO as I could because it all worked together. My Chevelle was a factory AC car, but it was in extremely poor condition. I also wanted a smooth firewall, so I decided to use the GTO cowl, and HVAC unit... Well can't have Chevelle HVAC and GTO HVAC living in the same space, so out came the cut off wheels and sawzall. I started pretty small, but ended up going big! I started off by removing the upper cowl by the spot welds, this took me a LONG time to separate the two pieces without damaging either.
I kept the cowl from the GTO (along with some other body pieces) so I decided to use it form this.
And it all fits under the factory Chevelle cowl...
Now at this point, I didn't know where the transmission tunnel, or Firewall were going to end up because I didn't have the engine placement finalized, so this project stopped here.
I kept the cowl from the GTO (along with some other body pieces) so I decided to use it form this.
And it all fits under the factory Chevelle cowl...
Now at this point, I didn't know where the transmission tunnel, or Firewall were going to end up because I didn't have the engine placement finalized, so this project stopped here.
10
Honestly I haven't put the front seats in for a long time. I have made some progress on finishing up the floor, so that's something that will be happening hopefully in the next few months. I'm not opposed to cutting up the floor to make them fit.
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