Tom acquired this 1971 Chevelle from a good friend during a trip to pick up a 1970 Chevelle with Tom’s trailer. Tom had asked his friend what he planned to do with the ’71 now that they were picking up a ’70, and his friend intended to sell it. Tom knew what he had to do, and once they returned with the 1970 in tow the pair completed the sale and Tom loaded up the 1971 onto his trailer.
I used to street race against these and lose in my 340 Duster and have wanted one ever since!
While he may not be certain on whether this Chevelle was originally an SS454, he has taken great care to make everything appear factory correct to the casual observer. This Chevelle currently has a stock LS5 454 big block mated to a TH400 transmission and 3.73 gears. He plans to update the transmission with an overdrive TH700R4 in the very near future.
There are a few minor things about this Chevelle that bother Tom, however. The current replacement dash pad doesn’t quite fit perfectly, and the outdated amp meter will eventually be replaced with a modern volt meter. He will also be converting the factory air conditioning to the modern R134 refrigerant.
I have been fixing everything that didn’t work properly or look original. I have bought a lot of parts from Ground Up and still have a few more things to do. It’s a labor of love.
