It was a cool Fall night in late October 2004 when he rolled his 1969 Chevelle onto a concrete pad at his Kimberly residence. That was the foundation for not only hid garage but for hid frame-off restoration. He knew he had a challenge on his hands.
For the next few years, he worked relentlessly hour after hour on building a garage and a car at the same time. He constructed a rotisserie and began sanding the partial body as most of the car had rusted away in a field outside his friend’s garage.
As years went by, the process of locating parts began. Thankfully, he had found Ground Up, and they supplied so many of the parts he needed. A 12 bolt rear end that came in the car had to be rebuilt. So he went with a 342 posi traction gear behind a 400 automatic transmission.
Inside the 1969 Chevelle is completely sound deadened with the original console/automatic shifter on the floor. Dash and gauges were rebuilt to original GM specs. He used as many original GM parts as he could salvage, which included all original seat belts and buckles.
The 1969 Chevelle has all original window glass except for the front windshield. The engine is a big block 396 with a bore of 4.155 and a stroke of 3.76. Crank is GM forged 1053 rods are forged I beam flotted and bushed. The length is 6.135 OEM. Piston is KB160-030 Camshaft GM .527/.544 lift – 224/234 @ 50,000” the heads are (215) cast iron. Valves are 2.19/1.88 Stainless Rocker arms are comp magnum 1.7 compression ratio is 10.07 to 1. 17cc pistons – 97cc heads – 11cc gaskets, 1.1 cc deck. Dyno at peak 420hp. Paint is 87 Corvette Blue with White Stripes.
After many, many hours of hard work and dedication, he can finally enjoy his completed 1969 Chevelle. He has currently begun restoration on a 1972 Chevelle Malibu. So for now, you could say this story will be continued….
