1966 Chevelle restomod pro-touring

[sodak65]

Its about time I start a build thread on my new project. This past winter I sold my Buick GS and purchased a 66 Chevelle to start over with. I bought the car this past Christmas and plan to have it done in time for the Hot Rod Power tour this summer. The car came with a very mild 402 with closed chamber large oval port heads, a holly 4010 carb, headers and glasspacks attached to a th400 and high geared 10 bolt. The car is a 20 footer but will make for a very nice driver I wont be afraid to run hard. So far I have pulled the drivetrain and purchased a 2008 truck L76 aluminum 6.0 and 4l80e trans to which I'm going to add a Mast motorsports M90 control package with LS3 SS Cam kit. I have a 67 Chevelle 12 bolt posi with 3.73 gears that's getting TRSD signature rear big brakes, I actually traded a Pontiac 10 bolt for it what a steal. For front brakes I've added TRSD 13 Signiture brakes and a manual Wilwood 7/8" bore master. The entire suspension has been gutted for UMI roto joint control arms in the rear along with there sway bar, offshore tubular control arms in the front with moog ball joints attached to speedway 2" drop TALL spindles and Proforged complete steering setup connected to a rebuild Jeep grand Cherokee steering box. I have Viking double adjustable coilovers front and rear. Inside the car I've replaced the bench seat with Procar Ralley buckets, added a cheap ebay tilt column and am waiting to purchase some speedhut gauges and have a leather wrapped Momo retro steering wheel on the way. So far all the parts listed and bolted on and went together very well. For the LS engine swap I have orderd dirty Dingo DD adapter plates and Holley 302.2 oil pan and I'm thinking of going with Flowmaster headers because they seem to fit quite well and the price cant be beat for a coated stainless header. This is a budget build but so far I think it should perform well and be a blast to drive daily.
Before:
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During build:
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[Typhoon1015]

Nice build! About the same suspension combo that I am running currently.

[Jerems]

Cool car, going to be a nice build!

[RMMiller]

Great car to start with, we looked for a 66 for my wife but they were all way out of our budget. Good choice on the engine, those are such a great deal for performance one might end up in my Ford!

[sodak65]

Thanks everyone, typhoon I actually took a lot of inspiration from your Chevelle. Got my dod and vvt delete kits from summit last night, now waiting on the cam from Mast. I'm hoping to get the motor together this coming weekend. I ordered torque thrust two's with 275/40r17 rear and 245/40r17 front as a kit from wheelsforless.com so those should ship this week. I really wanted tr70's but they where backordered to infinity and beyond. Might have to get some BMW wheels to swap on later ;)

[Yelcamino]

Looks like a nice foundation for a fun project.

[Typhoon1015]

I am doing more updates this year and should start updating my build thread soon. Let me know if you have any other questions along the way, I would like to help you avoid issues.

Who is doing the tuning on it?

What are the details on the brake setup? Looks like a nice package front and rear.

[sodak65]

I'm using a Mast m-90 performance package with cam and matching tune. The brakes are the right stuff detailing signature kit front and rear, it has 13" rotors front with older mustang cobra twin piston calipers just like the old baer brakes and rear 12" rotors with single piston calipers in the back. This is a low budget build after all.

[Zoomin]

Cool car, going to be a nice build!

I agree, gonna watch this one.

[bello]

Nice project,

Which rag joint are you using ?

looking forward to following !!

[sodak65]

I think I went with the Dorman 31011 rag joint and just drilled one hole on my stock column end bigger and ground a double D end on it after cutting it short to slip in the new column. Eventually I'll put in a collapsible column in.

[Centerforce]

Your car looked amazing before, and now its getting even better! What clutch are you planning to run with the new motor?

[sodak65]

Yank ss3200 converter ;)

[deejai35]

Very nice! What do you think of TRSD Signature brake kit so far?

[Zspoiler]

Nice Car.And it looks like you had a good car to start with.

[sodak65]

Looks great so far very high quality, we'll see how well it works but for the price it's a good deal. Putting the rear brakes on my 12 bolt tomorrow.

[sodak65]

Quick update. Got my 12 bolt installed with rear disk's and test fit of the LS2.5/4l80e and they fit great with the Holley 302.2 oil pan and DD adapter plates tons of tie-rod and cross member clearance . Waiting on my cheap Speed engineering headers to arrive so I can test fit them, worst case scenario they are dirt cheap so if I have to modify them to fit I'm ok with it. Also got the cam swap and dod/vvt deletes done on the engine and its ready to go. Wheels are mounted and the fit looks good just have to get the ride height adjusted after the full weight off everything is added. I'm still debating on shifters.
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[sodak65]

Rear end.126747 126748126749

[Typhoon1015]

Great progress. I am really liking those wheels.

[all4sho]

great looking build,

what are the spec on those rear wheels, and B/S?

[sodak65]

thanks, they are AR torque thrust II's 17x9.5" 5.5" BS
http://www.wheelsforless.com/VNTW215786379562

[all4sho]

thanks for the info

[sodak65]

Starting my weekend off by installing my ICT billet alt/steering brackets and Speed engineering headers. The ICT brackets went on great and I personally love the functional all business look of them. For 125$ I'm very happy, only downside is the idler is Chinese but an easy change later. I also went with there billet tensioner. For the headers I went with Speed Engineering 1 7/8" long tube headers said to fit 64-72 A-body and F-body cars. For 325$ with MLS gaskets and header bolts shipped I could not be happier! They are very nice looking stainless and have the o2 bungs already welded into the slipfit collectors. The passenger side dropped right in from the top and drivers side slid right up from the bottom after I trimmed off the upper mounting ears for the dust cover on my 4L80E trans. Clearance is very good and not a single ding was needed, I would say the ground clearance is quite acceptable with the collectors right at level with the trans pan and oil pan although there is room for them to be higher. Again my combo is Holley 302.2 oil pan, dirty dingo DD adapter plates (ICT has about the exact same thing for cheaper) and short wide motor mounts and these headers fit!!126887
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[xsboost90]

looks awesome! buddy of mine just bought a 67 chevelle should be a project

[rocket66]

Glad to see those headers are a good fit, I too have been looking at those with your exact same philosophy: at that price I can afford to "modify" them. My build will be with a crate LS3 and a T56, keeping a close eye on the R&D that Holley is doing with motor mounts. Keep up the good work, I'll be watching!

[Pt109]

Great choice in cars. You are light years ahead of me. I chose to buy a car that i thiught was in much better shape and have since found out that want so much the case. I have really been regretting my choice to buy too soon. Anywhoooo, great looking project. will be tons of fun for you. It looks like youll be on the road very soon. I also went with the mast kit as i have heard so much good about them. they have treated me very well. Just came from the shop where i finished stripping the frame so I can clean it up and get going on it. Have fun and hope to meet you some where along the road. Subscribed!!!!!!

[sodak65]

Yes I was pleasantly surprised by the quality!! I seen the Holley mounts, not sure why they would be needed when 50$ adapter plates make it drop right in and I was very disappointed to see that the 350$ oil pan I baught from them is made in China!!! The trans cross member they are working on looks like a sweet piece though.

[sodak65]

Quick update as I've got a lot done on the car in the past few weeks. I've got the engine and trans permanently installed and have my driveshaft ready to install, just need to replace the yoke on the rear for a 1130 u joint. I got my SpeedHut gauges and have them installed and hooked up, very happy with the look. Really all I have left to get it up and running/driving is my custom vetteworks tank which should be here tomorrow. sorry the pics aren't the best quality.128032128033128034128035

[FLYNAVY53]

Great project, love the speed hut gauges....whos instrument panel are you running? (Also dig your garage helper from the first post....I have a 5 year old we got from a rescue in NC when he was 1....already named "Chevy"....true to his name, he loves laying on the cold concrete floor while I wrench on my '72 C20.)

[sodak65]

A river city dash and I'm very happy with it. Had to open up the tach and speedo holes slightly to fit the bigger speed but gauges but as you can see they fit great now. Cali is my Shepard and she pretty much fallows me all over the garage and never takes her eyes off me haha, great dogs I got her used off craigslist just like everything else and she's 5 and the best pooch I've had.

[Yelcamino]

Looks like you're cruising right along! :cool:

[Arctic_Ragtop]

Awesome project, great looking car.

[sodak65]

I got the car running and driving this past weekend. Still some bugs to work out as it has a problem with a surging idle when coming off the throttle and even dies. other than that I'm happy with the way everything is working. Its at the alignment shop today and going to get the exhaust welded up tomorrow and I'm hoping to get it into a dynotuner sometime soon.
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[65Skylark]

Can you provide more info on the steering column that you bought off of eBay?

[sodak65]

I honestly cant recall which vender it was but It was around 150$ and seems to work fine so far but the wheel has a bit of play like an old gm tilt. I tried to tear into in and tighten the knuckle bolts like I have on old gm tilts but this is put together differently. From what I can tell it looks just like the speedmaster columns I've seen and probably from the same Chinese factory. I would recommend going with a good American brand as I plan to change this out in the near future with a ididit.

[Ricott]

Love your project. You will love the car when you get it sorted out. I built a 66 GTO several years ago with a 6.0 / T56. Last fall my wife and I drove the GTO from Memphis to Wyoming/Idaho/Montana/Utah and averaged just shy of 25 MPG over the entire 5,000 mile trip. The car is a blast to drive. I have a 3:76 gear with 245/45/17 on Torq Trust II all around, but it needs some more meat on the rear. Do the 275s you put on the rear of your car clear, or did you have to work the wheel well? Second question, does your fuel tank use the 5th gen Camaro fuel pump? I am sick of the spectre tank/in tank pump that requires a 1/2 tank of gas to be able to do hard cornering without fear the car will starve for fuel. Thanks for your help.

Ricky

[sodak65]

Yeah I'm loving it already, this thing is an animal for sure. the 275/40/17 clear fine in the back I'm sure I could go at least an inch wider with the proper BS. The tank does use a 5th gen fuel module, which seemed liked the most simple way to go.

[Zoomin]

Beautiful car!

[1989GTA]

Your car turned out very nice. Great job and build.

[Gil]

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I love it ! Beautiful car, Enjoy !
Gil

[chevymike]

Great looking car. Love the stance, wheels and gauges!

As for your column, you might want to read this if you haven't and you'll likely want to change it ASAP after doing so. Your car and your life could depend on it. http://www.lvvta.org.nz/documents/infosheets/LVVTA_Info_01-2013_Unsafe_Aftermarket_Steering_Columns.pdf

Keep up the great work.

[sodak65]

Thanks Mike! That's it I'm replacing it asap. In hindsight I should have known better.

[chevymike]

Thanks Mike! That's it I'm replacing it asap. In hindsight I should have known better.

Good call.

[19,69camaro]

Very nice car you have there. It should be a blast. Enjoy!

[sodak65]

I haven't been on here for a while but I have been driving and enjoying the car a lot! I took it on a two week vacation and had a blast. I was able to get the car dynotuned though the tuner was completely unfamiliar with the Mast Motorsports package.We where able to get 360hp to the wheels on a very conservative mustang chassis dyno, not as much as the tuner or I expected but given its a low compression motor and going through a 4l80e I was happy. After I drove the car around I wasn't happy with the way it came out of the hole. I'm running a YankSS3200 converter but it didn't seem to flash stall like it should so I decided it needed more gear.I swapped the 3.73 out for a 4.10 gear set and added more initial timing, made a nice difference.Now I just need to get it to a track and run it.

[sodak65]

I can't believe its been two years since I've posted but I need to update this build thread. I'm still running the same L76 6.0L but it's now running a single turbo setup with Hooker cast manifolds and a MS3 gold box ecu now. I'm running a VS Racing Billet 75mm Compressor 83X75 turbine T4 Turbo, FIC 95lb injectors, dual walbro 450 fuel pumps and a return fuel system among a few other changes. Just had the car dyno tuned last weekend and it made 550hp/608tq on waist gate 6psi and we turned it up to 13psi and it made 686hp/707tq to the wheels. I've ran more boost on the street but that's where the dyno operator was comfortable stopping.154972154973154974154975