Sometimes priorities change in life and it’s usually the toys that are set free prematurely. After turning loose three Chevelles, Tom finally got his chance to restore his dream 1967 Chevelle on the fourth go around.
Chevelle number three was about 90% restored when Tom and his wife received the news that a second child was on the way. This was great news for the Maino family, but it was bad news for the Chevelle. The car went up for sale and was taken away before Tom ever had the chance to finish what he started. He was heart broken.
16 years later, his older daughter was ready to start college and Tom decided to try the whole Chevelle thing another time before his dream stayed a dream. He searched for over a year, but found nothing but those dreaded overprice, rust bucket, tweaked frame, ex race cars that were just too far gone. He was able to find the basket case that you see in the photos, but he figured that since he wanted to tackle a full ground up restoration anyway, why not start with something that was stripped down to bare bones? At least he truly knew what he was getting himself into.
Even though the car came as a giant jigsaw puzzle in bits and pieces, it was mostly complete. The guy he bought it from had an entire new rear clip and Tom was able to locate a pair of NOS 1967 Chevelle fenders at a swap meet. The rest of the parts were sourced mostly in the Ground Up Chevelle catalog which he found via Team Chevelle (www.chevelles.com). Tom had parts catalogs from many vendors, but decided to go with Ground Up to help support Team Chevelle. (Thanks!)
Tom completed the frame off restoration of his 1967 Chevelle Super Sport clone in only two years. He performed all of the mechanical work himself. The engine, transmission, and rear end were completely rebuilt and all of the harnesses were repaired and re-taped. This Chevelle sports a 454 with a Muncie M22 and a 3:73 12 bolt posi. The body work was done at the dealership that he works at.
In the year or so that Tom’s car has been back together, it has been a real family affair! The kids and his wife love it and it is a blast to drive. The car has already earned two best of show trophies at the local cruise ins.
Future plans include a Chevelle disc brake conversion kit and some new rims. Tom’s priorities may have changed with his first Chevelles, but at least the fourth time was a charm!
