1968 Chevelle Mild Pro-Touring Build

[theastronaut]

We started this build around last August as a quick daily driver build but it ended up getting deeper than planned. The owner bought it as an unfinished project from a relative and had taken it to another shop to have it restored. He wasn't happy with the quality of work being done so he pulled it out and got on our waiting list. At first we were just going to paint the car and assemble it with the parts he already had so he could sell it, but we ended up starting all over from scratch after finding some ugly repair work under the primer. 90% of the work done to the car so far has been done by Rodney, with a little help from me.


Here's how it looked when the owner bought it. It had been stripped and shot with PPG DPLF epoxy at this point.











When it was delivered to us the car had been stripped again and some rough bodywork had been done, then shot with lacquer primer. We started by getting the panels aligned and straightening out the gaps. We weren't trying to get them perfect like the '65 C10 or the '66 F100, just better than they were since the aftermarket doors, trunk lid, and fenders didn't fit at all.











Door gaps before and after.












Once we started stripping the primer off we found some pretty nasty bodywork underneath plus we found rust in strange places. The previous shop had used silicone, fiberglass, and body filler on top of masking tape to stop up the rust holes At this point we let the owner know that this wouldn't end up being a low-budget job like he originally planned if he wanted to fix it right without finding another body. We stopped work while the owner was deciding if he wanted to fix the car properly or find another body.

[theastronaut]

The owner decided to keep going with the project but we weren't able to find another body in good condition. So Rodney started cutting the rust out and welded new metal back in. The tail panel and the panel under the rear window were both cut out and replaced with new panels. I didn't get any pictures of metal or body work progress since Rodney did most of that and I was busy with other projects.

The owner let us pick out the color combo since he was still planning on selling it when it was finished at this point. We picked Butternut Yellow with a black vinyl top and black interior, not a usual color like the normal black, red, or blues that are really common on these cars.

[theastronaut]

With the body painted Rodney shot the tail panel and firewall with flattened single stage urethane.






The trunk was sprayed with black/aqua spatter paint.

[NONHOG]

Love the GM A-bodies! Love the yellow. My 66 was Lemonwood yellow. (same thing) Anxious to see more!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Love the GM A-bodies! Love the yellow. My 66 was Lemonwood yellow. (same thing) Anxious to see more!

My brother had a '66 in that color when he was in high school. He ended up trading it for an '83 S10...

[theastronaut]

Rodney wetsanded and buffed the paint then started assembling the body.







We also wrapped the interior in a couple layers of sound deadener.







Speakers going in.

[theastronaut]

At this point the owner decided that the car was coming out nice enough that he wanted to keep it, and decided to take the body off the frame and change out the suspension and brakes for upgraded parts. So we put the body on a rotisserie and blasted/painted the frame. The underside of the body was in pretty good shape so we coated it with POR15 and shot it with Raptor Liner.

[Clyde65]

another quality job yall are doing. I sure wish I could afford to have my truck done like that.

[Advanced Design]

Huge improvements in quality of the work. Amazing that there are still shops that used plastic filler over rust holes...wow.

[tommys72]

Nice work

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

another quality job yall are doing. I sure wish I could afford to have my truck done like that.

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Huge improvements in quality of the work. Amazing that there are still shops that used plastic filler over rust holes...wow.

Yeah it's amazing what some guys do to cover up the bad places. There was even filer wiped over rust holes that had masking tape to back the filler.

Originally Posted by tommys72

Nice work

Thanks!

[theastronaut]

With the body off the frame we blasted and primed/painted the frame with epoxy and flattened single stage. Working with the owner, we came up with a game plan for the car- upgraded suspension and brakes so it would handle and drive way better than the factory parts ever could. He didn't want to go full-out since it would just be a driver, so after some research we picked out CPP's Stage 4 suspension and brake kit.

[theastronaut]

It already had a new radiator support and inner fenders so we scuffed them and shot them with flattened single stage to match the frame and firewall.






The owner picked out Dakota Digital VHX gauges and Vintage Air for the car.

[theastronaut]

The CPP kit came with 13" front and 12" rear brakes. Everything in the kit fit great and is very well made. I know CPP doesn't have the best reputation on here but their parts and customer service have been top notch through this build. We had one issue with a missing a bracket set; they shipped one out quickly with no questions asked.








The owner picked out black/polished lip 18" Boss 338 wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.






The rear axle had supposedly been rebuilt with a posi and 3.73 gears. When we disassembled it we noticed that there was no resistance when turning the axle; the posi unit was completely worn and was nearly acting like an open diff. It also had a 3.5x gear instead of a 3.73. We had a local shop go through it and add Moser axles, Richmond 3.73 gears, and a new posi unit.

[theastronaut]

With the frame and suspension finished we put the body back on.








The owner bought a American Autowire Classic Update wiring kit and an Ididit steering column. The radio is from Custom Autosound. We ran the USB and Aux jack to the ash tray.

[Clyde65]

Nice!

[tune_1]

Glad to see you post this on the forum. Like what you have done and don't blame the owner for deciding to keep it.

Dwight

[Advanced Design]

Looking good, going to be a really nice Chevelle!
The CPP parts look good.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

Nice!

Originally Posted by tune_1

Glad to see you post this on the forum. Like what you have done and don't blame the owner for deciding to keep it.

Dwight

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Looking good, going to be a really nice Chevelle!
The CPP parts look good.

Thanks dudes!!

It had a "built" 383 stroker that came with the car. Supposedly dyno'd at 456 hp. Since nothing else had been as-advertised or built correctly the owner decided to go back in it and see what was actually in the engine. Turned out that the bottom end was done right with nice parts but it had stock early Vortec heads. The owner was able to get in touch with the original engine builder in Florida and found out that it only made around 340 hp.

Wanting more, he had a local builder change the cam and heads (CNC ported AFR 195's), bought better headers, and a quick fuel carb. The heads are capable of a little over 500 hp with the right cam, we're thinking this one should make 470ish with the cam that's in it.


As received from the engine builder. Has rattle can paint at this point, we soda blasted that off and shot it with epoxy, then single stage urethane. To get the code for Chevy Engine Orange, we shot a test card with rattle can engine enamel, then had it scanned at our local shop. It came up as Chrysler Spitfire Orange... hopefully the paint won't slow it down too much.

[theastronaut]

Rear bumper and trim installed.




Vinyl top going on.







Shooting the front clip.





TKO600 five speed kit from Hurst Driveline.




Test fitting the trans to see how much of the tunnel had to be cut.




Test fitting the console.

[theastronaut]

Engine/Trans in for the last time.






Trans tunnel after cutting the top off, reshaping the new tunnel top that came in the Hurst kit, welding it in, and finishing it with sound deadener.




Top moldings installed.




Headliner hung.






Bottom of the hood shot with flattened single stage.




Foam blocks glued inside the doors to keep the relay rods from rattling.

[carboncrew]

So nice! Love the color combo

[tune_1]

Thanks for showing the details. looking really great.

Dwight

[Advanced Design]

Great work, the car is coming out spectacular. Gonna be a keeper!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by carboncrew

So nice! Love the color combo

Originally Posted by tune_1

Thanks for showing the details. looking really great.

Dwight

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Great work, the car is coming out spectacular. Gonna be a keeper!

Thanks!!


The owner wanted '70 SS style stripes on the hood and trunk so we masked them out and shot them with black basecoat, cleared and sanded the tape lines flat, then recleared the panels to have enough clear to wetsand/buff.