rogerjohnston
06-19-2015, 11:01 AM
Hey guys,
I've been reading the forums for a few years now gawking at all of the killer builds and finally I figured I should share my latest build.
It's a 1970 chevelle that I picked up in March 2014. At the time, I had a 72 chevelle pro-street that I was building for about 3 years before I picked this one up and the whole time I was building the 72, I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted a pro touring chevelle and not a pro street car. I bought the 72 as a started project so it didn't make sense to try and convert the car back to something that could be pro toured. So once I came across this 70 chevelle I knew it was time to cut my losses on the 72 and focus on building a pro touring 70. I sold the 72 in August of 2014 and began focusing on the 70.
The car has a fresh 454 with edelbrock aluminum heads. It's pretty stout and only has around 500 miles on it. The car has a th400 auto trans and an overall pretty solid body. I'm sure there are plenty of things I will uncover once we get to the body down the road - but for now it works as a nice driver and I don't have to worry about anyone scratching it.
I order the ridetech level 1 coilover kit along with the front and rear muscle bars. Once I installed the suspension I realized the existing SSBC 4 piston brake kit that was on the car would not work with the new drop spindles. So I went and ordered a willwood 6 piston kit for the front. Of course now that I had a nice set of big brakes for the front, the 15" weld racing wheels that were on the car would not clear :). So after contemplating for a couple of months on what wheels I should buy - which I think is one of the hardest decisions of any build. Who wants to drop $4,000 on a set of custom wheels that don't match the style of the car? So like everyone else I search and searched to find cars with the different styles of wheels I was considering. Finally I decided on Rushforth Rated-X wheels. Which I have to say Jason Rushforth is one of the best people I have ever had to deal with when making such a big commitment.
Fast forward to today - The suspension, brakes and wheels/tires are all installed. I picked up a TKO600 recently from another forum member and that is awaiting an install. I have yet to drive the car on the road but test driving it through the neighbor has me stoked to get it registered and on the road to play with in the next week or so. The car feels nice and tight and the slop is gone!
Eventually I'd love to swap the BBC for an LS3 but i figured I would enjoy her for a little bit before I start that project.
Here are some pics of how she sits today:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0568_zpsw1vzsk0o-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0566_zpsvxooxni0-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0560_zpsmwb5dzze-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0559_zpskrl0h9mg-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0561_zps2wlru2ku-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0357_zpsdpxfycnn-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0355_zpscecxqqpi-1.jpg
I've been reading the forums for a few years now gawking at all of the killer builds and finally I figured I should share my latest build.
It's a 1970 chevelle that I picked up in March 2014. At the time, I had a 72 chevelle pro-street that I was building for about 3 years before I picked this one up and the whole time I was building the 72, I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted a pro touring chevelle and not a pro street car. I bought the 72 as a started project so it didn't make sense to try and convert the car back to something that could be pro toured. So once I came across this 70 chevelle I knew it was time to cut my losses on the 72 and focus on building a pro touring 70. I sold the 72 in August of 2014 and began focusing on the 70.
The car has a fresh 454 with edelbrock aluminum heads. It's pretty stout and only has around 500 miles on it. The car has a th400 auto trans and an overall pretty solid body. I'm sure there are plenty of things I will uncover once we get to the body down the road - but for now it works as a nice driver and I don't have to worry about anyone scratching it.
I order the ridetech level 1 coilover kit along with the front and rear muscle bars. Once I installed the suspension I realized the existing SSBC 4 piston brake kit that was on the car would not work with the new drop spindles. So I went and ordered a willwood 6 piston kit for the front. Of course now that I had a nice set of big brakes for the front, the 15" weld racing wheels that were on the car would not clear :). So after contemplating for a couple of months on what wheels I should buy - which I think is one of the hardest decisions of any build. Who wants to drop $4,000 on a set of custom wheels that don't match the style of the car? So like everyone else I search and searched to find cars with the different styles of wheels I was considering. Finally I decided on Rushforth Rated-X wheels. Which I have to say Jason Rushforth is one of the best people I have ever had to deal with when making such a big commitment.
Fast forward to today - The suspension, brakes and wheels/tires are all installed. I picked up a TKO600 recently from another forum member and that is awaiting an install. I have yet to drive the car on the road but test driving it through the neighbor has me stoked to get it registered and on the road to play with in the next week or so. The car feels nice and tight and the slop is gone!
Eventually I'd love to swap the BBC for an LS3 but i figured I would enjoy her for a little bit before I start that project.
Here are some pics of how she sits today:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0568_zpsw1vzsk0o-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0566_zpsvxooxni0-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0560_zpsmwb5dzze-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0559_zpskrl0h9mg-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0561_zps2wlru2ku-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0357_zpsdpxfycnn-1.jpghttps://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2015/06/IMG_0355_zpscecxqqpi-1.jpg