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frosty22

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Good Morning all,
I've had this 1970 Chevelle for 2 weeks now, and I've been reading and reading and reading. I've ordered a stack of manuals and Books. My problem is. Where do I start? I thought maybe some of You who have done this before, might have some good advice. I made up my mind to do an off Frame restoration. I want to stay as close to stock as I can, and still look nice and new.
I'm not after a show Car, I want to drive this Baby.:thumbsup:
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
66 MYSTERY CHEVELLE said:
What experience do you have with cars?? mechanical and paint and body? This may dictate where you begin and what is feasable vs. not such a great idea to START at.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty handy with a wrench. In my younger Days My Buddies, and I lived in the Garage working on a 55 Chevy, 68 Camaro, 72 Chevelle. I swapped the Engine in my 72 Jeep PU for a Chevy 350. This was years ago though.

But now I have 2 full Time Mechanics (Diesel), a Welder Fabricator, and a Body fender Guy on my pay roll. I also have a nice little Machine shop. I figure I'll do all the disassembly and assembly, and I'll sub out the Body work, and Painting/ powder coating.

I just caught the thread on the April 4th thing in Sac, so I think I'll wait until after that. So I can drive it there.
 
#6 ·
Well, you're starting off on the right foot by tapping Team Chevelle for knowledge...the wealth of information here is priceless!
With that said, you will get much better answers by posting as much as you possibly can about what the car has right now as far as options, mechanicals, interior condition, drivetrain, and of course body. Post a bunch of photos. This will give the experts here a solid basis to help you develop a plan.
Good luck...hope to see more!
 
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#9 ·
As i (like many others here) have done this (starting) in the recent past and if I may be so bold to offer you suggestions, the place to start is:

1-Become a student of the hobby. Search, read, learn. DO NOT take 1 thing off the car for now. Order a few items: Assembly Manual, Fisher Body Manual. Go to the shows and meets were there are Chevelles to look at. Try to meet with other local members, they've been there, seen that, done it. Do you have the tools you need to do it?

2-Pictures-Take high resolution pictures of every inch of the car;inside and outside, under and over, motor, dash, seats, close-ups. That might not seem real important now, but when the only thing left on the car is paint, you'll thank me.

3-Identify your car. What is it, when was it made, is there a build sheet?

4-Make a plan, decide what you want it to be. Are you going to wipe it, spray it, and drive it? Race it? Restore it? Resto-Mod, Pro-Touring? etc.

5-PRICE out the parts and labor BEFORE you begin taking it apart. If you decide you want a high end finished car, the prices of stuff will knock you down a peg or two and fast. Before you start is the time to revise your plans, not in the middle of it.

6-Expect it to take a lot longer than you planned for, cost more, and be more difficult than expected.

7-USE THE TECH LINKS ON THE HOME PAGE. They are not linked to the blog pages. Tons of info there.

8-USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. There is some much knowledge here, it's scary, it's free, and darn good.

9-HAVE FUN. IT AIN'T WORTH THE TIME IF YOU DON"T HAVE FUN! :D
 
#10 ·
I've had my 70 chevelle for a couple of years and am involved in a frame off resto. the best advice I can give is get a good assembly manuel and label everything. I had my frame blasted and powdercoated. I bought a eastwood powdercoat kit and I have powdercoated everything that will fit in my old stove. I added a 12 bolt 4:10 axle quick ratio strg box. rear lower boxed control arms, all stainless steel fuel and braked lines. I put on the big sway bars, polyurethane bushings, power disc brakes, a 2004r trans built up to 750 hp, and in april I am going to get a 505 big block from vortec pro. Right now I have a rolling chassis. Good Luck I have alot of fun building this with my 13 year old son
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Chicken Coupe said:
As i (like many others here) have done this (starting) in the recent past and if I may be so bold to offer you suggestions, the place to start is:

1-Become a student of the hobby. Search, read, learn. DO NOT take 1 thing off the car for now. Order a few items: Assembly Manual, Fisher Body Manual. Go to the shows and meets were there are Chevelles to look at. Try to meet with other local members, they've been there, seen that, done it. Do you have the tools you need to do it?

2-Pictures-Take high resolution pictures of every inch of the car;inside and outside, under and over, motor, dash, seats, close-ups. That might not seem real important now, but when the only thing left on the car is paint, you'll thank me.

3-Identify your car. What is it, when was it made, is there a build sheet?

4-Make a plan, decide what you want it to be. Are you going to wipe it, spray it, and drive it? Race it? Restore it? Resto-Mod, Pro-Touring? etc.

5-PRICE out the parts and labor BEFORE you begin taking it apart. If you decide you want a high end finished car, the prices of stuff will knock you down a peg or two and fast. Before you start is the time to revise your plans, not in the middle of it.

6-Expect it to take a lot longer than you planned for, cost more, and be more difficult than expected.

7-USE THE TECH LINKS ON THE HOME PAGE. They are not linked to the blog pages. Tons of info there.

8-USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. There is some much knowledge here, it's scary, it's free, and darn good.

9-HAVE FUN. IT AIN'T WORTH THE TIME IF YOU DON"T HAVE FUN! :D
Click to expand...
Thanks Fred, Your advice is good as Gold. I think I'm going to take a step back and think this through better. I'll fix some of the things that bother Me, and make sure it's Road worthy enough to make to Sac and Home on April 4th.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
dpvoiceguy said:
Well, you're starting off on the right foot by tapping Team Chevelle for knowledge...the wealth of information here is priceless!
With that said, you will get much better answers by posting as much as you possibly can about what the car has right now as far as options, mechanicals, interior condition, drivetrain, and of course body. Post a bunch of photos. This will give the experts here a solid basis to help you develop a plan.
Good luck...hope to see more!
Click to expand...
It's a 1970 LS5. The Story is the Guy blew up the 2 bolt main 454, and replaced it with a 4 Bolt main 454. It was originally a Bench seat, but the last Owner put in Bucket seats and a Console. The headliner, and seats have been recovered. Carpet might be New, but its pretty faded.
It has Disc brakes in the Front, and Drums in the rear. No adjustment slots on the rear dust plates.
It has the Original Wheels with the SS dust Caps. Needs repainted.
The Cowl induction hood is new. I don't think it came with the Cowl induction package.
It has anti sway bard on front and back.
It has the Original Instruments. Big Gas Gauge/ speedo/ Clock with idiot lights. The Radio hole is chopped all to heck.
It has a Turbo 400 automatic Transmission. The vin # indicates it was assembled in Texas.
Not alot of Rust, but some that needs attention.
The Wiring looks like it should all be replaced.
What am I forgetting?
 
#19 ·
Make a plan. Find out how much of a resto you want to do. If you are going for a full body off, that is one thing. If you are going to spruce up and drive it is another thing. It would be nice to find the build sheets to see exactly what your car had or was when it left one of the factories. Buy an Assembly Manual and other publications. If you do decide to do a full resto, don't look at the entire car, it can be overwhelming. Concentrate on the subsystems, brakes, suspension, transmission, engine, heating and cooling, wiring, interior, body and paint. The forum has it sectioned off this way for a reason. If you go the full body off route, be very organized, take many pictures, get plenty of plastic bags and markers. Label everything and keep it together. I use giant boxes to keep parts together. Example, bumper braces and bolts are in one box, A/C stuff in another box. If I only have an hour to work on a subsection, I pull out a box and focus on its contents and only its contents. Also, ask a lot of questions after you have exhausted the search function of the forum. There are many expert people here who have a wealth of knowledge available for the asking. Lastly, double your budget of time and money. Good luck and keep us posted. Jerry
 
#20 ·
Chicken Coupe said:
As i (like many others here) have done this (starting) in the recent past and if I may be so bold to offer you suggestions, the place to start is:

1-Become a student of the hobby. Search, read, learn. DO NOT take 1 thing off the car for now. Order a few items: Assembly Manual, Fisher Body Manual. Go to the shows and meets were there are Chevelles to look at. Try to meet with other local members, they've been there, seen that, done it. Do you have the tools you need to do it?

2-Pictures-Take high resolution pictures of every inch of the car;inside and outside, under and over, motor, dash, seats, close-ups. That might not seem real important now, but when the only thing left on the car is paint, you'll thank me.

3-Identify your car. What is it, when was it made, is there a build sheet?

4-Make a plan, decide what you want it to be. Are you going to wipe it, spray it, and drive it? Race it? Restore it? Resto-Mod, Pro-Touring? etc.

5-PRICE out the parts and labor BEFORE you begin taking it apart. If you decide you want a high end finished car, the prices of stuff will knock you down a peg or two and fast. Before you start is the time to revise your plans, not in the middle of it.

6-Expect it to take a lot longer than you planned for, cost more, and be more difficult than expected.

7-USE THE TECH LINKS ON THE HOME PAGE. They are not linked to the blog pages. Tons of info there.

8-USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION. There is some much knowledge here, it's scary, it's free, and darn good.

9-HAVE FUN. IT AIN'T WORTH THE TIME IF YOU DON"T HAVE FUN! :D
Click to expand...
Fred, you got the outline of a best seller! Now we just need to get that printed...:D
 
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