1970 Chevelle (SR70 BBC - Black Bird Chevelle)

[Cubsfan3493]

Hey everyone, I have been a long time follower of these forums and finally have something of my own to post! I have a build thread going on the Team Chevelle forums, but I thought this car was capable Just recently bought a 1970 Chevelle which has been my dream car since before I had a drivers license! It is sitting in the garage right now waiting for some new parts to come in so I can put everything together properly. The car was already built when i got it, but I have found some issues, some minor and some major that I want to fix before I truly take it out and start driving it. The car came with a LQ9 engine which has been modified with a bunch of LS1 components to make it a little bit more fun to drive. It has all of the right parts (apart from things that I keep finding are missing from the car completely) to be a great Chevelle, but needs a little bit of TLC to make it perfect.

So far here is a list of things I have done to it.

New brake pads and rotors - old ones were shot
Rewired the front end of the car - all of the lights were not working properly.
New fan relay - Old relay was bad and needed replacement
New door strikers and latches - door was hard to open
new door seals - Door seals were poorly installed and actually got caught in one of the latch mechanisms
new door handle buttons - the new door latches did not work with the old ones for some reason

Currently I am in the process of rewiring EVERYTHINGbecause it is as bad as I have ever seen. The dashboard will most likely have to be replaced because it is cracked and broken in many places, but I will see if I can't work some magic on it first...I am trying to salvage as much as I can of the car that is already there because every little nut and bolt replacement seems to cost an arm and a leg the more I do. Anyways, here are some pictures of the car! I will try to post more pictures as I accomplish more so everyone can see the progress.

Bringing the Chevelle home
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More pics
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Cleaning stuff up and rewiring on the front end
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Taking out the nitrous set up - for now it doesn't need it, I don't plan on using it any time soon either. Priorities...
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Found a squirrels nest while taking out the back seat. Anyone thirsty for a Capri Sun?
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Where I am at now. Dash will need some work before I put it back together.
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Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy updates as I work on it!

[MOREHORSEPOWER]

Car looks good !!

I would have got a AA wiring kit . Plug and play for the most part .

[Cubsfan3493]

Car looks good !!

I would have got a AA wiring kit . Plug and play for the most part .

I did not originally build the car. I am just fixing everything that the guy screwed up. Much less fun, thinking I bought a fairly finished car and need to go back and repair/reinstall almost everything!

[Sebambam]

Mmmh wiring...how i love it..lol.

[Cubsfan3493]

Mmmh wiring...how i love it..lol.

I'll buy someone a case of beer if they want to tackle it for me...or I can just do it myself and keep the beer. Either way, beer is required.

[Josh@Ridetech]

I'll buy someone a case of beer if they want to tackle it for me...or I can just do it myself and keep the beer. Either way, beer is required.

What if someone just comes over to watch?... Do they get beer? lol

You're going through alot of what I did with my car. I found so much wiring from someone trying to put in car alarms, stereo equipment, old nitrous hookups... I ripped it out and started fresh. Car looks good though man, keep the thread updated!

[Cubsfan3493]

What if someone just comes over to watch?... Do they get beer? lol

You're going through alot of what I did with my car. I found so much wiring from someone trying to put in car alarms, stereo equipment, old nitrous hookups... I ripped it out and started fresh. Car looks good though man, keep the thread updated!

After the last week of doing all of this myself I would have given anyone beer just to have someone to complain to about that disaster!

[Cubsfan3493]

I am trying to keep two threads going at the same time so I apologize if there is any delay in updates with my project.

Anyways, I finished 99.9% of the wiring and it looks about a billion times better than it did, although not perfectly up to my standards. The only way I could have made it better is if I bought a new wiring harness and started from scratch. Due to my limited budget and time, I chose not to go that route.

Anyways I ended up replacing the dashboard because it was so far beyond my level of repair. The brackets that actually held the dash to the firewall were broken off in 4 of the 7 places and superglue wasn't going to fix the problem. I hated to cut up a perfectly new dashboard, but to make the Autometer gauge insert work with the car instead of adding new gauges to the long list of things to fix, it had to be done. Anyways, heres a small update of everything, I think I did a pretty good job! We will find out for sure tomorrow when I hook the battery back up and test everything.

I've been working hard to make this thing not such a death trap so I can go enjoy it!

Not very safe rag joint I don't think. I don't think it is supposed to be split like that especially on both sides, am I wrong?

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Cutting up a brand new dashboard...it will leave a pit in your stomach.

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Pics of the wiring 99.9% finished

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I will have the parts to get the rest of the car buttoned up tomorrow, including the new steering shaft, u joints, and the column bracket. The plan is to get it back together so I can make a trip to Cars and Coffee on Saturday morning here in Plano!

Hope you guys enjoy, I might not have the most interesting build thread, but I am trying to enjoy the little things about building the perfect car for me, or in my case rebuilding!

[Josh@Ridetech]

After the last week of doing all of this myself I would have given anyone beer just to have someone to complain to about that disaster!

Haha, I've been there!

[Cubsfan3493]

Been a while since I posted an update, so I guess now is as good of a time as any to post. I took it out for a test drive today to find some of the issues with the car, how it drove, and see what needed to be fixed mechanically. Other than a couple of minor wiring issues that I need to fix when it comes to the gas gauge pegging out, (obviously it is getting the wrong signal) everything seemed great until i started to roll back onto my front street. As I turned the corner, it felt like a damn wheel fell off. I realized how unlikely that was, so I got it pulled up to the house and checked it out. Looks like I will be needing to replace the entire front suspension! I already knew that was the case to an extent, just didn't realize how soon it needed to be done. The answer to that question is NOW. So, I have some time to work out some kinks with the rest of the car while I wait for more parts to come in. Here it is now with what I like to call an extremely aggressive stance.

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Any suggestions on suspension components? While I am at it, I guess I am going to go ahead and change the wheels and tires as well. I was trying to put it off a little longer, but I don't necessarily like the wheels at all, and the tires are pretty much completely bald anyways.

[Cubsfan3493]

Been a long time since my last update, and a lot of things have changed on the Chevelle. IT DRIVES ALMOST FLAWLESSLY and I have been enjoying driving it whenever I get the chance!

Dad and I finally got the cooling system figured out by replacing the water pump and thermostat and also added a dual electric fan setup. Car never overheats anymore which is much better than I could say about 4 months ago. The ultimate test was when I got stuck at the worlds longest train and the car never reached over 190 while I sat there!

Besides that, I have been putting the car back together one piece at a time, still have a few adjustments to make though. Rear view mirror is in, wiring is done (somewhat, still working on a few things.) Turn signals work, hazards work, car drives straight, has fresh tires all around along with some much better looking wheels, doors open easily, door seals replaced, side mirror no longer loose, suspension is firm but able to handle a lot more than the one that fell out of it, fuel system replaced (Gas tank rotted and needed to be replaced...badly) new fuel pump installed, new Edelbrock water pump, dual electric fans and lingenfelter 160 tstat, all gauges work and all lights work and rear end tar has been replaced with differential oil. NOW the only things I really need to address before it is truly a great driver are the surging during "lazy driving", lack of power brakes and a transmission shift cable that is wayyyyy too long.

The solutions to these problems are hopefully pretty easy (famous last words).

Surging could be something as simple as a bad fuel filter which I have yet to check or replace, might need a tune (LS based engine) or might just be a problem I have to live with because of the big cam in it.

As for the brakes, I am considering a few different options. The car is a big cam car. Everyone on here knows what that means and that means no power brakes because no vacuum. So I have 3 options, Hydroboost (expensive), vacuum booster, less expensive but not ideal, and converting to manual brakes. As of right now I have no idea which way I'm leaning.

As for shifting, last time I had the car up on a lift I walked under it and saw that the shift cable was about a foot too long and angled sideways and curving. I am assuming this is not the ideal way to run it so I will probably have to cut or replace that with a shorter one. I don't know why this wasn't done right the first time, but then again at this point I'm not surprised. Anyways here is a picture of the car in the garage with the new wheels and tires!

I know the car is not pro touring per say but I plan on making it more so in the future. A lot of the upgrades I've been making to the car are of the pro-touring nature, minus the wheels and tires. Those were to save money temporarily until I can start spending the big bucks on other parts. I am planning on putting some new seats on the front and back of the interior here over the Christmas break time. Anyways thanks for reading!

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[badolds]

I totally feel your pain haha. I have dealt with a lot of the same issues as you over the years. I also have a "big cam car" and I went with the hydroboost option and could not be happier with it. I went with this.

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1964_1972_Chevelle_Elcamino/6474HBK-SS.htm

Last year they had a 15% off sale for black Friday.

I solved the shifter cable being too long by making a loop and zip tying it up to the floorboard.

Dan

[David LaBuda]

On the other hand, I'm a big fan of the manual brakes on my Chevelle. They take a little getting used to, but now I don't even think about it. I hop between my hydroboost truck and the Chevelle and they stop similarly. The truck has a TON of pedal travel though, but I'm not sure if that's the case with all hydroboost systems.

Also, you've got to admit that not having a booster is a much cleaner look.

[badolds]

Agreed, the manual setup looks the best. I am not sure about the pedal travel on your truck. The pedal has a different feel than before but the travel is the same, maybe even shorter. I really like the look of your car, the black vette wheels looked pretty good on there.

Dan

[csouth]

You could always piece together a hydroboost system from an Astro Van at about 1/3 the cost of a new system.....

[Cubsfan3493]

I totally feel your pain haha. I have dealt with a lot of the same issues as you over the years. I also have a "big cam car" and I went with the hydroboost option and could not be happier with it. I went with this.

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1964_1972_Chevelle_Elcamino/6474HBK-SS.htm

Last year they had a 15% off sale for black Friday.

I solved the shifter cable being too long by making a loop and zip tying it up to the floorboard.

Dan

I'll check that hydroboost setup out thanks for the tip! As for the shifter cable, I am just going to wait to fix it until I get a new shifter. I'm planning on getting a shiftworks horseshoe shifter with a ratchet detent soon, then I can truly show off some of my carpentry skills at making a custom center console around it! Thanks for the reply!


On the other hand, I'm a big fan of the manual brakes on my Chevelle. They take a little getting used to, but now I don't even think about it. I hop between my hydroboost truck and the Chevelle and they stop similarly. The truck has a TON of pedal travel though, but I'm not sure if that's the case with all hydroboost systems.

Also, you've got to admit that not having a booster is a much cleaner look.

I absolutely agree. The brake booster is just UGLY. And since my cam makes my brake booster practically useless anyways, I'm thinking about just throwing it out for a manual setup. I don't mind manual brakes, but I want to make sure I do them right. Any tips for what master cylinder to get? (specifically bore size on the Wilwood). I swapped the front over to some Wilwood D53 Dual Piston calipers but I know there can be a lot of headache in trying to find the right kind bore master cylinder for a preferred setup.


Agreed, the manual setup looks the best. I am not sure about the pedal travel on your truck. The pedal has a different feel than before but the travel is the same, maybe even shorter. I really like the look of your car, the black vette wheels looked pretty good on there.

Dan

The vette wheels looked okay on the car in pictures, but in person I did not like them as much. It could have a lot to do with the stock ride height of the car being so high. I liked them a lot better when my suspension was sitting on the ground in front of my house...


You could always piece together a hydroboost system from an Astro Van at about 1/3 the cost of a new system.....

I've looked at this option as well, but I really have no idea how to piece together the system so it works properly. I'm sure I would need to use a different bore master cylinder for a hydroboost setup than I would for a manual brake setup.

Thanks for all the replies! This forum seems to be a lot more active than the Chevelle forums thats for sure.

[David LaBuda]

A 3/4" or 7/8" bore master cylinder is probably what you'd need for a manual brake setup. I used a 77 Malibu master cylinder before swapping to the Wilwood pedal setup and it worked well.

[Cubsfan3493]

A 3/4" or 7/8" bore master cylinder is probably what you'd need for a manual brake setup. I used a 77 Malibu master cylinder before swapping to the Wilwood pedal setup and it worked well.

What kind of pedals did you use in your car? I want to swap the stock ones out for a better look but I know that I need to look for some that will bolt in easily as well as work well with the new system.

[Cubsfan3493]

On another note, I got the interior successfully ripped apart again, probably for most of the next couple of months to get some upgrades done. I'm planning on putting some 2010-2015 leather camaro seats hooked up with some power and seat heaters, changing the steering wheel, adding a horn, relocating the PCM from the trans tunnel, building a center console, swapping the shifter, installing a back seat, adding turn signal indicator lights to the dash, fixing the wiring to the electric cutouts (or ripping them off), and a few more things I can't remember right now so a long month or so of work ahead til the car hits the road again. I plan on getting the brake system fixed, I went ahead and replaced the brake pedal return spring while I was in the car, but this didn't fix my brake pedal not returning issue (like I suspected it wouldn't) which means that I will end up replacing the master cylinder anyways and solve the brake issue. Again, a lot of work ahead but I will post more updates soon. Thanks for reading!

[badolds]

I put a complete interior from a BMW in my cutlass. I went with the BMW seats for the integrated seat belts. With a hard top your seat options are better. Just be careful that the seats you choose are not dimensionally too big. Maybe my build will give you some ideas.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/124852-1970-Cutlass-convertible-updates

Dan

[Cubsfan3493]

I put a complete interior from a BMW in my cutlass. I went with the BMW seats for the integrated seat belts. With a hard top your seat options are better. Just be careful that the seats you choose are not dimensionally too big. Maybe my build will give you some ideas.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/124852-1970-Cutlass-convertible-updates

Dan

Luckily there have been a few other guinea pigs that have done the camaro seat conversions so I know that it will fit fine. I'm sure they will be wider than the seats i have in there now which is why I'm waiting to build a console til after I get those seats in. As for the back seats, I'm not even entirely sure I will be able to make the camaro back seats work with the car but thats okay, I'm not planning on sitting back there anyways! I will definitely check out your build! Thanks for the advice on the built in seatbelts, but I am already in the works on the seatbelt solution for my Chevelle. What I'm really interested in is what are those door panels from?

[badolds]

The door panels are from the same 2011 BMW 328I convertible that the front and rear seats, console etc. are from. I bought a complete take out interior from a wrecked car. They turned out good but they are far from show quality. The door panels are wider than the originals so I had to mount the seats after the door panels and console were in place. My driver front seat ended up 1 inch inboard from the center of the steering wheel. I thought this would bother me but I don't even notice it anymore when I sit in the car.

Dan

[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, you did a great job cleaning up the wiring harness!

[Cubsfan3493]

Appreciate it! I still have some work to do on wiring. It keeps getting put off by other things, I got the seats and updates will be coming soon. Bought my first MIG welder last weekend, been practicing a little bit on some home depot quality steel. Just got the drivers side seat bracket together, I will post some pictures of it when I wrap it up this weekend!