70 Chevelle build on a college budget

[lsx70]

Hey guys,

This is something I've been wanting to do for some time! I think the project is far enough along now that I have a good amount of pictures and information to share.

First a little about me and about the car. The car is a 1970 Chevelle originally from California, it was originally a Mailbu but I have since taken some steps towards making it an SS clone.
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The car started out gold but is now in dark grey epoxy primer and has been for the better part of 10 years, which is about how long I have owned the car (somewhere between 10-12 years but the exact details are a bit fuzzy). Now 10-12 years might be quite a long time to own a car and I agree, but I'm sure some of you are looking at the title and thinking college budget? Owned for 10+ years? something isn't adding up. Well actually it is, I have owned the car since I was 9 or 10 and I'm now 21 just finishing my bachelors degree in university. The car was/is a father and son project that we had finished for the time I was 16. In that finished state which I'll call stage 1, the car had a 350 with some better heads, a 3/4 race cam and an edelbrock torquer 2 intake. This was all backed by a th350 trans with a shift kit and switched between a 12 bolt posi with 4.11:1 gears and a 10 bolt posi with 3.08:1 gears with mainly the 10 bolt in for the last few years for easier highway driving.

Now onto stage 2 of the build. The idea here was that I wanted a car that would be a decently fast drag car and also be able to cruise on the highway. So I started thinking about an overdrive transmission. That researching led me to the 4L80E, something strong enough to hold some power and still overdrive (no 6 speed for this car because I couldn't bring myself to cut the mint California floors). I began reading about LS swaps and I thought it would be cool to do something that is super uncommon in my area. I stumbled across a cube van (2005 GMC Savana 3500) with a 6.0L and a 4L80E for a good price and snapped it up.
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After a quick test to make sure the engine ran and the trans went through all the gears, we got to work!
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The engine, transmission, wiring harness and ECU were pulled out for the project.
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With some help from my girlfriend we got the engine cleaned up!
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Next it was time for some upgrades. I switched from 317 heads to 243's, new main and rod bearings and a Tick Performance SNS stage 2 cam
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A little more help with lapping the valves
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And installing the new springs
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I also picked up a few pieces for later. Hooker headers, Holley/hooker motor mounts and trans crossmember
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I was planning on running a trailblazer SS intake but I decided to run an Edelbrock Victor Jr intake and Holley 4150 style throttle body to try and make the engine look a little more at home in the Chevelle engine bay. The engine then got a nice coat of Chevrolet orange.
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[lsx70]

With the 6.0L prepped for install it was time to take the smallblock out of the Chevelle
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the foam LS was mocked up
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The firewall got a nice cleaning and a fresh coat of paint and we were ready for the LS to go in
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Now somewhere between when we started and when we got to this point there was a change in the direction of this build. The original plan was to put the stock 6.0L in the Chevelle as it was and continue on our way. Somehow putting in the vintage air kit that I had for the car ended up with a dash and gauge change and a set of valve cover adapters. Basically when I was installing the vintage air kit, the dash had to come out so I took that opportunity to put an SS style dash in the car (something I had been wanting to do), along with the SS dash came a set of Dakota digital gauges because well why not?
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The valve cover adapters are Billet Specialties BBC to LS adapters and I guess they came from a change in views on my part. Somewhere along the way I realized I didn't want to ruin the integrity of a Chevelle and that I wanted the cleanest most classic appearing LS I could realistically make happen. This is also what sparked the SS clone because whats cooler than a 70 Chevelle SS?
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I used Holley/Hooker everything (motor mounts, oil pan and headers) for the engine install and honestly it worked flawlessly, definitely one of the pricier LS swap kits but in my opinion its well worth it. The engine went in first try with no screwing around. With the test fit of the foam LS I learned that I couldn't get the drivers side header in with the engine installed so I laid it in the engine bay prior to install (I later learned the header can come of and go back on from underneath the car with the car on a lift).
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With the engine in, I began mocking up the Holley mid mount accessory drive. It tucks everything up nice and tight.
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After the engine was in I started on the transmission. A nice cleaning, before the transgo shift kit was installed (I left out the pressure relief valve that is known to fail and installed a sonnax line to lube regulator valve) along with a new filter.
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The trans then got a fresh coat of paint
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And a Circle D 3500 stall converter
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[David Sloan]

Looking good!
Keep the updates coming!

[csouth]

Nice start! did you check for clearance on the valve cover adapters? I know if some people have issues with the proximity to the brake booster.

[lsx70]

With the transmission ready for install it was jacked up and checked for clearance. We did some slight clearancing to the floor but nothing major and nothing visible on the inside of the car. We then ran into a slight snag with the trans crossmember and some old body mount bushings. The solution was to replace the old bushings with a new set from energy suspension. Once the new bushings were installed it was time to put the transmission in.
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Once the trans was in it was on to the fuel system. I used a Tanks inc. fuel injection tank and in tank pump.
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along with a corvette style regulator which is mounted to the original gas tank vent mount.
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I used the existing 3/8" hard line for the majority of the fuel line along with some AN lines to finish it off.
One of the problems with stage 1 of the car was the tire on the front. I switched the car to 18" Ridler wheels a few years back and ended up having some rubbing issues on the top of the inner fender. My plan to solve the problem was to stiffen up the front spring rate. To accomplish this I decided to switch the car to coil-overs. I picked up a front and rear coil-over conversion from Aldan American. Before I got to installing the coil-overs I decided to go a bit further with the suspension and ordered front control arms from UMI along with rear upper and lower control arms and a rear sway bar. In the front I'm also running 0.5" taller lower ball joints and 0.9" taller uppers along with my existing 2" drop spindle.
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front installed
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and the rear, which also included a swap from the 10 bolt back to the 12 bolt
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- - - Updated - - -


Looking good!
Keep the updates coming!

Thanks David!

- - - Updated - - -


Nice start! did you check for clearance on the valve cover adapters? I know if some people have issues with the proximity to the brake booster.
I did! I originally thought I was going to have a problem but once the trans was in and the engine settled I think I will be ok. I'll be sure to check when I have it running to make sure the vibrations don't cause any issues!

[lsx70]

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A couple more shots of the rear suspension
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A couple shots of the car back on the ground after some coilover adjustment


Now for a bit about the wiring side of the swap. The harness is a takeout from the donor that I modified. I removed everything following LT1swap including the rear O2 sensors. I used split loom to cover the whole harness. The fans, fuel pump and starter are all run off relays that are hidden in whats left of the glove box (it has to be cut to fit the vintage air unit in the cab). Along with the relays in the glovebox are my switches for the digital dash and my wideband afr gauge. which allows me to open the door while driving and see the gauge and then close it at a show or when parked and have the gauge hidden.
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I mounted the OBD2 port in the ash tray so it can also be hidden
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The ECM is mounted under the dash pad. My plan with everything was to have either hidden or able to be hidden to keep the clean stock appearing interior
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On the engine side of the wiring everything is tucked up as tight as it can be and hidden if possible. I won't be running a MAF sensor because of the intake setup, so the car will be run on a speed density tune. I plan on doing all or most of the tuning myself (I don't have access to a dyno to accurately set the timing tables so I'm still figuring that part out). I will be doing the tuning using HPtuners. I have only tuned one other swap which was a stock ls3 from a camaro that we put into a 70 C10, which meant the tuning was much simpler than this swap will be considering I changed much more (heads, cam, intake, injectors, throttle body). I also had some practice time tuning both MAF and speed density on a 2005 avalanche, so I know the process once I actually get the car to start and run (and figure out the idle tuning), I'm definitely excited to get the car dialed in and I enjoy doing as much of the build myself as possible.


Back to the engine bay! To go along with the classic look I got my hands on an original style cowl induction air cleaner for the car along with some stock style BBC valve covers.
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Because of the new radiator and dual fan setup I started modifying the rad cover. Using a second original rad cover I added enough length to cover the rad and the fans
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[andrewb70]

Good looking project and nice work!

Andrew

[raustinss]

Nice work , nice to see you have g.f and family involved adds to the sense of accomplishment when the cars finished . Where are you. .out west ?

[protour_chevelle]

great progress! Where in Canada are you?

[Jonathonar89]

This blew past my college budget already haha. Keep the progress!

[lsx70]

Good looking project and nice work!

Andrew

Thanks Andrew! I've been following along with the GTO build for a while now, your air cleaner set up is in part what inspired my set up

[lsx70]

Nice work , nice to see you have g.f and family involved adds to the sense of accomplishment when the cars finished . Where are you. .out west ?


great progress! Where in Canada are you?

Thanks guys! I'm in Nova Scotia. I definitely lucked out with the support I get from them on this project, it wouldn't be possible without them.

Matt I've been following your chevelle on here and instagram for a while, super cool car!

[lsx70]

This blew past my college budget already haha. Keep the progress!
Haha it blew past my original budget too, but I'm lucky enough to have two parents that are also in the hobby so christmas and birthdays usually bring a few car parts with them. It also saves a big chunk doing everything in house.

[lsx70]

More progress incoming

When the front suspension upgrades were going on I pulled the inner fenders out and decided to give them a makeover as well
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We have a paintbooth in one of the bays in the shop so it makes spraying pieces like this less of a hassle. These are sprayed base clear with GM black
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I think they turned out pretty well for my first time spraying clear. This is just out of the gun with no cut/buff and I don't think I will.


I am running both a transmission cooler and power steering cooler. The trans cooler is a B&M supercooler and the power steering cooler is a Derale unit
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I also made some progress on the A/C, all that's left now is to figure out how to wire it to allow the ECM to know when the A/C is on or off so it can bump the idle and turn the fans on
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The rad and fans are also in and I made a rad hose to clear everything. The rest of the front drive is also buttoned up
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Catch can is installed. It's a mighty mouse unit, a little pricier than I would've liked but it is a really nice piece.
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I ran what I think is a pretty trick fresh air side of the PCV but I'll get to that later. The next step while the hood was off was to make the cowl induction function
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The car has had a cowl hood basically since I've had it, but the flapper door was just propped open. Christmas brought a proper cowl induction kit so I was good and ready to have that door working.

[protour_chevelle]

Thanks guys! I'm in Nova Scotia. I definitely lucked out with the support I get from them on this project, it wouldn't be possible without them.

Matt I've been following your chevelle on here and instagram for a while, super cool car!

Nice! I was looking in the pics for hints of where you were from. Didn't see a front plate so I was going to guess Alberta haha.

[Vimes]

Very sharp looking job on that engine. It almost looks like a period-correct engine. I do see a water leak ready to happen though. That rubber hose from the intake to the back of the water pump will be under pressure, but there's no clamps on the hose.

Also, if you can lay your hands on one or get one made, a low gear set for the 4L80E you're sticking in would be an excellent upgrade. I had a Silverado with the 2.75 1st - 1.57 2nd in a 4L80E and it really helped on initial takeoff. I replaced a 4L60E with the 4L80E, and the 4L80E 1st gear was the same ratio as the 4L60E 2nd gear ratio, so stock it was like taking off in 2nd gear. The low gearset made it take off more like a 4L60E only without the huge 1-2 RPM drop. Mine was TCI, but they're not made anymore and did require some machine work to actually make it fit right, but it was well worth the investment. It would also let you go with a higher gearset on the rear end, which would make the overdrive that much better without losing takeoff power.

[lsx70]

Nice! I was looking in the pics for hints of where you were from. Didn't see a front plate so I was going to guess Alberta haha.
There is actually a front plate, but it wouldn’t help much lol. It’s a California black plate since the car is from California. Was your car original paint when you got it? It was your grandparents right?

[lsx70]

Very sharp looking job on that engine. It almost looks like a period-correct engine. I do see a water leak ready to happen though. That rubber hose from the intake to the back of the water pump will be under pressure, but there's no clamps on the hose.

Also, if you can lay your hands on one or get one made, a low gear set for the 4L80E you're sticking in would be an excellent upgrade. I had a Silverado with the 2.75 1st - 1.57 2nd in a 4L80E and it really helped on initial takeoff. I replaced a 4L60E with the 4L80E, and the 4L80E 1st gear was the same ratio as the 4L60E 2nd gear ratio, so stock it was like taking off in 2nd gear. The low gearset made it take off more like a 4L60E only without the huge 1-2 RPM drop. Mine was TCI, but they're not made anymore and did require some machine work to actually make it fit right, but it was well worth the investment. It would also let you go with a higher gearset on the rear end, which would make the overdrive that much better without losing takeoff power.

you are right about the clamps, but it’s an older picture, I have clamps on there now! You’ll see them soon in one of my upcoming updates!

as for the gear set I thought the 4L80E had a 2.48 first gear compared to the 3.0 something of the 4L60? I think with the 4.10 rear gears I should be ok, I had that rearend with those gears so it was more budget conscious for me to use it instead of changing gears in the trans and rearend. With the 0.75 overdrive of the 4L80 that should make my final drive ratio in overdrive equivalent to 3.08 which is what I had in the car before. That lets me cruise on the highway at 110-120 km/h at around 2-2500 rpm which I’m happy with. Of course lower gears in the trans would be awesome for more bottom end but I don’t think it’s in the cards for this car.

i appreciate the compliments on the engine! I’ll have some more pictures of it posted soon in it’s almost complete form. It’s one of the parts of the build that took the most thought and effort so the compliment means a lot!

[egoman]

Nice project. Its good to see more Canadians here. When you went through the project many years ago did the frame get a lot of attention? If I had chose a GM for my project that was my source and choice for powertrain. If I got a Dodge I would have used a hemi Pickup. I even thought of a Toyota pickup for a power source if I had done a Solara.

[lsx70]

Nice project. Its good to see more Canadians here. When you went through the project many years ago did the frame get a lot of attention? If I had chose a GM for my project that was my source and choice for powertrain. If I got a Dodge I would have used a hemi Pickup. I even thought of a Toyota pickup for a power source if I had done a Solara.

The frame didn't need much attention. I cleaned and painted it but that was all, it was in amazing shape. No frame braces or boxing because I had no plans to take the car in this direction. It's something I may do in the future if the car requires it but I'm not planning to.

[813Demon340]

Cool build, I like how you're taking on most of it yourself! I really like how the stock look to your motor and I may have to steal the OBD port in the ashtray idea from you. Keep up the great work!

[lsx70]

Cool build, I like how you're taking on most of it yourself! I really like how the stock look to your motor and I may have to steal the OBD port in the ashtray idea from you. Keep up the great work!
Feel free to steal that idea! I put a lot of time into thinking of places to hide basically everything inside the car to keep the interior looking stock. Basically my hope is that someone who looks at the car may actually believe it's a big block in there, so having everything hidden on the inside will help with that.

I'm lucky enough to have access to a lot of resources that allow me to take a lot of this on by myself an it's certainly not all me, my dad is one of those resources and he always gives me a hand if I run into a snag or I want to bounce an idea off him.

[protour_chevelle]

There is actually a front plate, but it wouldn’t help much lol. It’s a California black plate since the car is from California. Was your car original paint when you got it? It was your grandparents right?

I figured the California plate had some history to it. Grandpa bought mine new and painted in like 2 weeks after, apparently he didnt like the shade of it. Its not much different as the inside of the trunk lid wasn't painted.

In regards to the 4l80e gear ratio, I ran 4:10s. No complaints, with a torque converter its going to be perfect. LS engines are pretty pathetic under 3000rpm so the converter helps kill that dead spot.

[lsx70]

Some more work on the cowl induction aspect. I had to modify the pedal bracket that the inner door switch mounts to because of my aftermarket pedals. Here is what I started with
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and the finished product. It doesn't look like a huge difference but things like this take a lot of trial and error to make sure they work correctly.
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Here is how it would function originally,
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and how mine functions now. After having the bracket in and out 10 or 15 times I got it right, the pedal arm actuates the switch completely open just as the pedal travel bottoms out. So essentially the switch is activated at full throttle.

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For the next part of the cowl induction, I had to figure out was how the air cleaner was going to fit with the hood. I was worried I would have issues with the air cleaner not being centered in the cowl area of the hood. With a few slow closes of the hood checking for clearance, things were looking pretty good. I did end up trimming the original spacer to clear height wise, but the air cleaner lined up perfectly.
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I trimmed about half of the spacer
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After some finishing work this is how it sits. I used a cutting wheel and took my time to keep the cut as flat as possible, then I finished it with a sanding disc and a file.

With the air cleaner fitting nicely now I went back to finish up the fresh air side of the PCV. Since my catch can is on the passenger side, I ran the passenger side valve cover as the dirty side to minimize the amount of hose in the engine bay. The clean air side hose is basically invisible because of the way it's run. The clean air side starts at the driver side valve cover in the rear (that is where the ports are on these adapters), it then runs across the back of the engine and into the coil area of the passenger side valve cover.
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The hose then runs into an elbow that goes through the valve cover and then to the original port on the air cleaner. This gives the look that the PCV system is run the same way as a factory big block but in reality it isn't.
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Also visible in this picture is the transmission dipstick. I used a Lokar firewall mount, it hides pretty well behind the air cleaner.

Here is a better look at how the rad cover came out, I'll probably pull it back off and epoxy primer it and repaint just to cover some of the finishing scratches that aren't really visible in the picture. I also need to paint some of the bolts (and clamps on other things). The rad cover is basically two original style covers meshed together to accommodate the additional width of the electric fans.
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I sent my headers to get Vbands welded on (TIG is something I need to learn) and I'm waiting on my driveshaft to show up, other than those couple things I'm ready to try and start the car for the first time. I have a tune loaded into the ECM that should get the car to start at least. The headers are also preventing me from putting the inner fenders back in and fabbing up a new exhaust system (I had a flowmaster kit for the car but it won't fit in the current configuration, so I'll use pieces of it to make the new system).

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Here's an idea of how the engine will look, there's still a couple things I need to add from when this picture was taken but this is close.

[lsx70]

I figured the California plate had some history to it. Grandpa bought mine new and painted in like 2 weeks after, apparently he didnt like the shade of it. Its not much different as the inside of the trunk lid wasn't painted.

In regards to the 4l80e gear ratio, I ran 4:10s. No complaints, with a torque converter its going to be perfect. LS engines are pretty pathetic under 3000rpm so the converter helps kill that dead spot.

That's almost close enough to call it original lol, I think that really adds to the car and I love the story behind it. My grandfather is into cars too but he always liked fords:pat::pat:lol, if only he had bought a chevelle when new I'd be all over it!

I'm happy with the choice of torque converter, the cam is supposed to start working at 3000rpm so I should be just into the power band with the 3500 stall

[andrewb70]

Nice job on the cowl induction and giving it an overall original look and feel under the hood.

Given your intake setup, I am surprised that you didn't go with a Holley Terminator X, or other Holley EFI system.

Andrew

[lsx70]

Nice job on the cowl induction and giving it an overall original look and feel under the hood.

Given your intake setup, I am surprised that you didn't go with a Holley Terminator X, or other Holley EFI system.

Andrew

Looking back it probably would've been easier for me to use a Terminator system, but when I originally started I was planning on keeping things stock so I bought hptuners. the decision to buy hptuners was something I thought about quite a bit an I decided that since I was planning to LS swap the chevelle, my 56 bel air and possibly my c10 along with my dad's c10 and possibly others that I would be better off learning how to make my own wiring harnesses and tune myself. I really like the holley system and if this was going to be a one off for me I would've certainly gone that way. With trying to stay budget conscious I decided this was the best way to go. I may still decide to try the holley system on my bel air project because I'd like to run a dual quad throttle body set up (similar to your cougar) and that would certainly be easier with holley.

[protour_chevelle]

That's almost close enough to call it original lol, I think that really adds to the car and I love the story behind it. My grandfather is into cars too but he always liked fords:pat::pat:lol, if only he had bought a chevelle when new I'd be all over it!

I'm happy with the choice of torque converter, the cam is supposed to start working at 3000rpm so I should be just into the power band with the 3500 stall

It was definitely a blessing!

Side note, do you happen to have the part numbers or application for the upper rad hoses you used?

[lsx70]

It was definitely a blessing!

Side note, do you happen to have the part numbers or application for the upper rad hoses you used?

The hose is a mashup of 2 or 3 others, it's part 2014 camaro and part tri five chevy. The camaro was an LS3 car and the tri five was a 6 cylinder. Then I used some pipe to connect them. I may be missing something, for some reason I think I used some of the original chevelle hose. It was all stuff I had so I made it work.

[Vimes]

No worries on the hose or the trans. If the overdrive is where you want it with the 4.10s, it should be fine as-is. On the truck I did I was running 3.42s, and with a 4L80E's 2.5 1st gear it was a real slug on takeoff but I wanted the rear/OD ratios where they were. X2 on the original look, it would take a real nitpicker to tell the difference, especially when you look at the exhaust and see that it's got the same pattern that a big block does (no siamesed exhaust.) You've done some really good work there.

[lsx70]

No worries on the hose or the trans. If the overdrive is where you want it with the 4.10s, it should be fine as-is. On the truck I did I was running 3.42s, and with a 4L80E's 2.5 1st gear it was a real slug on takeoff but I wanted the rear/OD ratios where they were. X2 on the original look, it would take a real nitpicker to tell the difference, especially when you look at the exhaust and see that it's got the same pattern that a big block does (no siamesed exhaust.) You've done some really good work there.
Thank you! I can definitely see it being a slug with 3.42's.. I know my chevelle is two completely different cars with each of the rearends I've had in it (3.08's and 4.10's)

[lsx70]

Not a lot of progress yesterday, things are starting to slow down as I get closer to firing the car, mostly waiting for parts at this point.
Started the day out trying to fix a pesky problem with the ash tray. Since this is an aftermarket dash it doesn't fit perfectly everywhere.
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This is how the ash tray fit before any modification, the back was sucked up into the dash and the front wasn't up tight enough for my liking
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some modification to the mounting tabs
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much happier with this fitment.
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I also notched the side of the ashtray to give some more clearance for the OBD2 connector and data link connector for HPtuners
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A new delivery showed up, this wheel fitment tool isn't only for this build, it was more of a family purchase but I'll be using it to measure this car.
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I spent some time blacking out all the clamps (including the ones on the coolant crossover) I also added the air cleaner and valve cover stickers to further the look.
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I'm debating what to run in the passenger side valve cover. This picture has a PCV valve with some hose (run to nothing because it won't be functional) similar to what would've been on the car in a factory big block application (although not exact). My other option is to just run a chrome breather in that side. Any thoughts?

[lsx70]

Well not much progress today. If anything the car went backwards. I managed to snap a bolt off in the rear end housing and it caused a world of headaches.
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after 5 attempts it finally came out. Thankfully it did come out, I was just about ready to pull the rearend to drill it out.
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I'll have to pick up a new cover gasket on Monday and slap the cover back on.

After that disaster we rolled the car off the hoist and into the next bay. I snapped a couple pictures of it out in the sun. Wow is it ever dirty!
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I've been doing a lot of looking and thinking about wheels for the car. They'll be 18's but I haven't decided on a style yet. I'll post more about this in the future but if you guys have any suggestions let me know.

I ended the day helping dad out with his 57. We just recently swapped the rear end and decided to put some caltracs on, which just got buttoned up today.
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Plans for tomorrow include putting in the passenger side inner fender (the drivers side will go in after the headers are back) and finishing up the A/C wiring. I'll also likely measure the car for wheel fitment. I'll be running 285/40/18 on the rear and I'd like to run 275/35/18 on the front but I already have the 285 so i might try it on the front just for fun. I'm guessing it'll be too tall.

[lsx70]

Well some good news from today. I got my headers back from the welder with the vbands on! Hopefully I’ll be able to start the car this weekend!188126188127188128

On another topic I ran into some issues when test fitting my wheels. The wheel fitment tool contacts the tie rod. I was testing with an 18x10 which I believe should fit. I’m going to test fit an 18x9.5 wheel that I have to see if the wheel tapers enough to clear. I was hoping someone here might be running a similar wheel on the front of an A body and might have some insight
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[raustinss]

18x10s will fit ... hell even 11s . Theres guys running 315 on the front if you make some minor mods to the inner fenders

[csouth]

18x10 will fit with the correct backspacing. What is your fitment tool set on, 6" should be about right on that width. Also I would be jacking the control arm up into the fender when to see how the suspension sits with weight on it if you're not doing it.

[andrewb70]

I run a 9.5x18 with about 6" of back spacing and a 275/35-18 on my 70 GTO.

[lsx70]

18x10s will fit ... hell even 11s . Theres guys running 315 on the front if you make some minor mods to the inner fenders


18x10 will fit with the correct backspacing. What is your fitment tool set on, 6" should be about right on that width. Also I would be jacking the control arm up into the fender when to see how the suspension sits with weight on it if you're not doing it.


I run a 9.5x18 with about 6" of back spacing and a 275/35-18 on my 70 GTO.

Thanks guys. I’ll double check the tool but I believe it was set on 6”, I think it was just the design of the tool that was throwing me off. I’ll definitely be jacking up the control arm but the tire I was using is too tall and wouldn’t fit.

andrew what are you running on the rear? I was planning a 275/35-18 for my front

[andrewb70]

Thanks guys. I’ll double check the tool but I believe it was set on 6”, I think it was just the design of the tool that was throwing me off. I’ll definitely be jacking up the control arm but the tire I was using is too tall and wouldn’t fit.

andrew what are you running on the rear? I was planning a 275/35-18 for my front

In the rear I run a 295/35-18. Having said all that, I will probably go with 275/40 and 295/40, front and rear, respectively, next tire change.

[lsx70]

In the rear I run a 295/35-18. Having said all that, I will probably go with 275/40 and 295/40, front and rear, respectively, next tire change.
If you don’t mind me asking, why the change in tire height? Are you running inner fenders?

[andrewb70]

If you don’t mind me asking, why the change in tire height? Are you running inner fenders?

To be honest, I am not sure that the 275/40s will fit. Yes, I am running stock inner fenders. I feel the 35 series tires are just a little too short for a big car. The 40 series will be about 27" tall in the rear and slightly shorter in the front.

Andrew

[lsx70]

To be honest, I am not sure that the 275/40s will fit. Yes, I am running stock inner fenders. I feel the 35 series tires are just a little too short for a big car. The 40 series will be about 27" tall in the rear and slightly shorter in the front.

Andrew
Thanks for the insight! I’m going to run a 285/40-18 in the rear and I’m planning on 275/35-18 in the front. I would agree that the 275/40’s will likely be too tall but it’ll be interesting to see

[lsx70]

Well it’s time for some more updates.
I got the car started last weekend and made some tweaks through the week so it will idle on its own. I’m going to get it up on the hoist this weekend and fix a couple leaks before I run it for too long.

in the meantime I’ve been trying to figure out my wheel choice. I’m stuck between two ideas of what I want the car to be. Here’s what I’m looking at:
188613188614188615
if I go with the rocket attacks I’d like to run the flat cap but I’m not sure it’ll clear.

any thoughts?

[andrewb70]

The flat cap will fit in the rear. It might fit in the front, but that depends on what hubs you have.

Andrew

[lsx70]

The flat cap will fit in the rear. It might fit in the front, but that depends on what hubs you have.

Andrew

Andrew,
I believe it’s a factory gm style hub. Is there anything I can measure to check fitment?

[andrewb70]

Andrew,
I believe it’s a factory gm style hub. Is there anything I can measure to check fitment?

You can measure from the wheel mounting surface to the top of the hub dust cap.

[lsx70]

You can measure from the wheel mounting surface to the top of the hub dust cap.
Awesome, any idea what the measurement needs to be for the flat cap to fit?

[Vimes]

I'm going to suggest checking wheel weights, then go with the lightest, making sure that the wheel load rating is higher than what any one corner will carry when loaded to the car's max weight. Some of those wheels can top the scale at 50lbs without tires, and looking thin and spindly has nothing to do with it. Keep in mind that the heavier the wheel, the harder it is for the engine to spin it up to speed, the harder it is to maintain that speed, and the harder it is to slow that wheel back down. A heavier wheel is bad for acceleration, top speed, braking distance and fuel economy. Not to mention, it'll be harder on the suspension when you want to go through the twisties.

[Jk918]

Those US mags will look great on your ride, nice build ��

[lsx70]

I'm going to suggest checking wheel weights, then go with the lightest, making sure that the wheel load rating is higher than what any one corner will carry when loaded to the car's max weight. Some of those wheels can top the scale at 50lbs without tires, and looking thin and spindly has nothing to do with it. Keep in mind that the heavier the wheel, the harder it is for the engine to spin it up to speed, the harder it is to maintain that speed, and the harder it is to slow that wheel back down. A heavier wheel is bad for acceleration, top speed, braking distance and fuel economy. Not to mention, it'll be harder on the suspension when you want to go through the twisties.
It’s hard to find data on those wheels, I’d imagine the rocket attacks are the lightest but honestly I’m not super worried about a few pounds. This isn’t a car I’m trying to get every tenth of a second out of. It’s mainly just a street car that may see the odd track time just for fun.

Those US mags will look great on your ride, nice build ��
Thank you! I’m in love with those us mags, but it doesn’t seem like they’re in the cards. They’re telling me it could be 3-6 months before they would be made and they’re already a bit over my budget.

[lsx70]

Well it seems rocket doesn’t have anything in an 18x10 in stock and no estimated date. The us mags are 10-24 weeks out. I’m looking for other options. I’m considering getting a cheap set of wheels for the summer and getting something I really like around Black Friday when there’s sales. I’m also looking at some weld rts s77’s to see if they have an estimated date or any stock. Does anyone know where I might get the best price on welds? Any sponsers a dealer for them?

[Motown 454]

I just went through you post from the beginning, Man this was very interesting! I love your project and how you dressed the motor as a big block. You've done a lot of great work. I'll be watching for your updates. Subscribed !

[lsx70]

I just went through you post from the beginning, Man this was very interesting! I love your project and how you dressed the motor as a big block. You've done a lot of great work. I'll be watching for your updates. Subscribed !
Thanks Motown! I’ve been keeping an eye on your camaro too. Very nice build. I’m interested to see how much clearance you have on the outside of the tire. I’m at a similar point of picking wheels and I’m trying to see what I can get away with.

[lsx70]

Another update from the weekend,
I started out getting the driveshaft in, it fit great. It’s a chromolly piece from bears performance, they do great work. Next up was fixing a pesky power steering leak, turns out I had a banjo bolt that wasn’t quite tight so that turned out to be an easy fix. Then I got started mocking up the exhaust, it’s coming nicely. I’ll have some pictures soon. I still have to sort out my o2 sensor issue (sensors aren’t reading) I think it’s a wiring problem but I’m going to investigate more tonight. Assuming I get that sorted out I’d like to run the car for a bit tonight and get a nice log to look over and see how things are looking. I may even get an idle clip to post here. I’m still looking at wheels, I’d like to get something for the summer which seems like it could be a problem. I’ve been looking at the weld s77 lately, does anyone know of a good weld dealer? What I may end up doing is getting a cheaper set of wheels for the summer and ordering something over the winter for next summer but I’ll see what’s around first

[lsx70]

Well it’s been a while since I updated this, lots has changed. I did end up getting the car started around when I expected to. But unfortunately I ran into some problems. On the first startup the car was backfiring something awful, I went through all kinds of trial and error to finally find out the coil harness on the drivers side was flipped…. What a pain that was lol. With the harness the right direction the car started and idled enough to see there was oil pressure and no leaks in the cooling system. It also revealed a power steering leak. Turns out the power steering reservoir was seeping through the seam where it was bonded together, I pulled it off and ran a thin line of panel bond around the seam and that sealed it up. Now back to the main issue, there was a valve train noise in the engine. First thing I checked was the lifter preload, it was at .060” which is within the spec of 0.050-0.100. While I was checking that I noticed the rocker arms weren’t getting oil. After talking to some guys at the local machine shop I decided to try a longer set of pushrods in hopes of quoting down the noise and getting the rockers some oil. No dice. I finally bit the bullet and pulled the heads, the theory was that the lifters weren’t enough for the higher lift cam. I ended up putting in a set of Johnson 2110r lifters which are a short travel lifter. While I was upgrading the lifters I also put in a set of arp head bolts and another set of ls9 head gaskets. To get the correct preload for the Johnson lifters (0.035 +/- 0.010) I ended up using different length pushrods on the intake and exhaust.


When I got everything back together and was finally ready to start the car it was a nerve racking experience, with that amount of money invested to try and fix a problem that I wasn’t sure I could fix. On the first startup there was a little noise initially but after a few seconds of running the noise gradually disappeared!


With the valve train noise fixed I was back on track. I ended up ordering a set of torq thrusts for the summer, they’ll likely end up on my 56 bel air project down the road. The base tune was seeming close enough for an easy drive around the block. First drives are alway nerve racking but everything went fairly smooth, we made it around the block no problem.


After some tuning changes and some slight suspension changes we took the car back out around the block. Again we made it back with no problems but this time I noticed the tire was rubbing a bit on the inner fender…


This problem has since been my biggest holdup, after multiple coilover height adjustments, 3 sets of tire sizes test fit I finally clued in that the aftermarket drop spindle may be pushing the wheel out. That was in fact the case. Luckily I had a spare set of factory disc brake spindles so I swapped those over and were all good to go again!


I’ve been driving the car the odd time, mostly just short trips around the block and one longer trip to the gas station. Just cleaning up the tune and getting things set how I want them. The car works awesome! Lots of power and really good drivability. It’ll break the tires free no problem and it seems to be very quick. I’ll be taking it to the drag strip eventually to see what it runs but I also have a dragy to test with in the mean time

[lsx70]

I also upgraded my fuel regulator and filter from a corvette style regulator to an aeromotive unit with a Holley filter.

here’s some before and after of the wheel trim and minor stance changes
191213
191214
191217
and a final engine bay picture, which also shows the final product of the rad cover
191216

[Vimes]

That is an excellent looking build, and I think I'd leave those wheels on. They complement the car. What color is the paint? Wild how the stripes go from shiny to super flat like the paint. I really like that effect.

[lsx70]

That is an excellent looking build, and I think I'd leave those wheels on. They complement the car. What color is the paint? Wild how the stripes go from shiny to super flat like the paint. I really like that effect.
Thank you! I might end up keeping the wheels, they have been growing on me. My other option is these us mags
191235
the paint is actually dark grey epoxy, I’ve had the car for so long and never decided on a color. It’ll likely end up fathom blue some day but the flat grey with gloss stripes has been on the car for so long I might miss it lol

[Motown 454]

The car looks great. That motor really pops in there, very nice.

[lsx70]

The car looks great. That motor really pops in there, very nice.
thank you sir!

[lsx70]

little update from the weekend

I have the car where I want it as far as street tuning, next up is a couple pulls on the dyno. hopefully in the next couple weeks I'll get it on the dyno.

The next upgrade I need to do is brakes. The car is a factory disc brake car so it currently has front disc brakes and rear drum. I was going to upgrade the rear to LT1 Camaro rear disc but after making a few street 1/8 mile passes while tuning I think the car might need some better brakes than that. I'm considering going to a c6 corvette setup or an aftermarket baer/willwood setup. Any suggestions on which way to go?

[csouth]

It you're on a budget, the C6 brakes would be a cheaper and reliable option. I ended up getting the front and rear calipers for my Nova project for $250

[SPLATT71MC]

If that's what you can do on a college budget, I'd like to see what you can do with a bigger budget. Car looks great by the way.

[lsx70]

It you're on a budget, the C6 brakes would be a cheaper and reliable option. I ended up getting the front and rear calipers for my Nova project for $250
where did you manage to find those? I was looking at some c6 zo6 kits with the 6 piston in the front but I can't seem to find any calipers anywhere. I may decide to settle for the z51 calipers or the base c/c6 calipers and upgrade in the future.. who knows. Car projects are never really done.

If that's what you can do on a college budget, I'd like to see what you can do with a bigger budget. Car looks great by the way.
thank you sir! I appreciate the kind words! I took a few years gathering parts but I wanted to do it right the first time. Although this is a college budget (just graduated from my first 4 year degree and starting now on 2 more years) I have access to a lot of things that many people don't (paint booth, hoist, shop to work in and all the tools I would need). That definitely makes the job easier.

[ProTouring442]

Lookin' great! Very impressive!

[lsx70]

Lookin' great! Very impressive!
Thank you sir!

[ryeguy2006a]

where did you manage to find those? I was looking at some c6 zo6 kits with the 6 piston in the front but I can't seem to find any calipers anywhere. I may decide to settle for the z51 calipers or the base c/c6 calipers and upgrade in the future.. who knows. Car projects are never really done.


I know that my car is lighter thank yours, but I'm running the C6 Z51 rotors and C5 calipers (They interchange with C6) and that setup works amazing. I've considered "upgrading", but to be honest I think anything else would be marginal for street driving.

[Dc2x4drvr]

Great build, I love the stance.
What is your crossmember clearance?

[lsx70]

I know that my car is lighter thank yours, but I'm running the C6 Z51 rotors and C5 calipers (They interchange with C6) and that setup works amazing. I've considered "upgrading", but to be honest I think anything else would be marginal for street driving.
I really appreciate the insight, I sent an email to Tobin at kore3 and he agreed that for a mainly street driven car the z06 calipers are overkill. The other kits are also more budget friendly:twothumbs

[lsx70]

Great build, I love the stance.
What is your crossmember clearance?
It’s not much lol, I have the coilovers cranked to max stiffness in the front but I’m sure on certain bumps it would bottom out. I’ll get a picture of the clearance in the morning

[csouth]

where did you manage to find those? I was looking at some c6 zo6 kits with the 6 piston in the front but I can't seem to find any calipers anywhere. I may decide to settle for the z51 calipers or the base c/c6 calipers and upgrade in the future.. who knows. Car projects are never really done.




I got them from AES Corvette parts. They always have a set and are usually free shipping. They also have an ebay store. aescorvettparts.com

[lsx70]

Great build, I love the stance.
What is your crossmember clearance?
191516191517


I got them from AES Corvette parts. They always have a set and are usually free shipping. They also have an ebay store. aescorvettparts.com
Thank you sir! I’m definitely considering going for the corvette setup, but I also can get a good deal from the local speed shop on a Wilwood kit🤔 decisions decisions

[ryeguy2006a]

Best budget rear brakes for your car will be the 98-02 Fbody rear brakes. Search up LS1 rear brakes. They only require a small shim between the flange and the backing plate and are a direct bolt on. You get a really nice PBR caliper, 12" rear rotors and an integral parking brake. I'm running the C6 Z51 13.4" front, the LS1 rear brakes, a 1" bore Master Cylinder and an 8" dual diaphragm brake booster. My setup is balanced really well and will slow the car down in a hurry.

Kore3 sells a C6 rear brake assembly that uses basically the same setup if you wanted to go that route too.

Another good place to look for brakes is Flynbye. I bought his aluminum front hubs and they were a really nice pieces. My only complaint was while they came with the upgraded 1/2" wheel studs, they weren't long enough to bolt up to my wheels with the rotor installed. I ended up getting a set of 1/2" wheel studs from ARP and pressed those in.

[esp68camaro]

Your ride looks great! hopefully I can find a chevelle project in my budget soon this year.

[jaybee]

Awesome car and you worked hard to being it in on a budget. I'd be proud to have that car.

[Alwhite00]

Car looks great. Great job. I like the wheels you are running more than what you are looking to replace them with. They look great.

[lsx70]

Well I haven't been on here much as of late so I should really give you guys an update to how the car is doing. I finished the car in about mid august 2021 and enjoyed it for the rest of the summer, here in NS we usually get salt on the roads starting around the end of October so the car was parked for the winter by early-mid October.
198277
198278
198279
198280
198281
198283
198284
198282
some finished pictures of the car
198285
198286
a friend of mine took these cool rolling shots!

so plans for the Chevelle this year are mainly to drive it and enjoy it! There are a few small details I need to get to including charging the A/C and moving my ECU and radio memory grounds to a dedicated always on ground. The brake upgrade hasn't happened yet, mainly due to the cost, besides the brake kit I will also need to do new wheels at the same time because of the limited tire to quarter lip clearance I currently have. every rear brake kit i've seen so far will move the wheel out about 1/4-1/2 an inch which I just don't have room for with this backspace setup. the plan there is to eventually get a wilwood or baer 6 piston front and 4 piston rear setup with a set of wheels that will work. The other thing preventing me from doing the brake upgrade is another project I have started, I'll get a build thread going here soon and don't worry the Chevelle isn't going anywhere. Next up on the chopping block is a 1956 bel air 2 door post, something I've wanted for a while so it should be fun!

[72cutlassS]

Good thread and nice car. I may have missed it but what tire and wheel sizes did you end up going with? no issues turning at that height?

[lsx70]

Good thread and nice car. I may have missed it but what tire and wheel sizes did you end up going with? no issues turning at that height?

the fronts are 18x9 with a 255/40/18 (I may be wrong on the aspect ratio but its definitely a 255) and the rears are 18x10 with a 285/40/18. so far no problems with turning but I only have around 1500 miles on the car

[Motown 454]

The car looks great, the engine bay looks sweet!

[andrewb70]

Looks awesome!

Andrew

[lsx70]

Looks awesome!

Andrew

Thanks Andrew! It's a blast to drive!

[David Sloan]

Just went though you’re build .
Maybe I missed it!
What radiator and fans did you use? I’m looking for options for my 70 Elcamino project!
Thank you.

[lsx70]

Just went though you’re build .
Maybe I missed it!
What radiator and fans did you use? I’m looking for options for my 70 Elcamino project!
Thank you.
David,
I used an all star radiator and a flexalite dual fan setup

[the dan]

Awesome Job man!

[David Sloan]

David,
I used an all star radiator and a flexalite dual fan setup


Thank you sir!
love your car!

[lsx70]

Awesome Job man!


Thank you sir!
love your car!

Thanks guys!

David if you ever have any more questions during the elco build feel free to shoot me a message

[69ChevelleLT1]

Nice job. This looks great. these old cars are just for the old folks! lol.

[David Sloan]

Thanks guys!

David if you ever have any more questions during the elco build feel free to shoot me a message


I will do that !
Thank you sir

[lsx70]

Nice job. This looks great. these old cars are just for the old folks! lol.
ahah thanks! I'll try and leave a few for you guys ;)

[lsx70]

199122
Well I ran into some problems with the steering wheel in the chevelle. 2 of the 3 spokes are no longer attached to the hoop and it is unsafe. The wheel is a factory reproduction from ausleys and I am quite dissapointed in the quality (it was only on the car for about 2 months). That being said I am looking for suggestions on a quality wheel that still looks like the factory SS wheel. the car is driven fairly hard (lots of street miles, some light autocross and some drag racing) so I want something that will hold up.

[Vimes]

Way back when, I had a Cutlass that had a 4-spoke wheel like this. (https://www.ss396.com/chevelle/GT-32-4265.html) Very comfortable to drive as the spokes make comfortable thumb rests, plus the wheel itself is thick so there's something to grab. The skinny wheels of the time weren't very comfortable for hard driving and you almost never saw one that didn't have 2-3 steering wheel covers on them to thicken them up.

[lsx70]

Way back when, I had a Cutlass that had a 4-spoke wheel like this. (https://www.ss396.com/chevelle/GT-32-4265.html) Very comfortable to drive as the spokes make comfortable thumb rests, plus the wheel itself is thick so there's something to grab. The skinny wheels of the time weren't very comfortable for hard driving and you almost never saw one that didn't have 2-3 steering wheel covers on them to thicken them up.

Thats a good looking wheel Vimes! Unfortunately I'm pretty set on the 3 spoke design, I want to keep the interior as close to stock as possible. I did find this Lecarra wheel but I can't find anywhere that it is for sale 199146
It is the Lecarra supreme 3

[Jk918]

Lecarra has several with that same spoke design, I've seen black and mahogany. They would almost look factory with the SS horn button.

[Vimes]

Problem is, that 3 spoke isn't stock either. But, I can understand if you want to stick with a 3 spoke.

Stock 70 SS steering wheel:
http://chevellestuff.net/1970/images/l78_ls6_th400_no_clock2.jpg

And don't let that column shift fool you - a few 70 Super Sports came from the factory with the bench seat. There have been several Chevelles in my family, and one of them was a burgundy 1970 SS454 with a bench seat that my dad bought brand new off the delivery truck. We lost track of that one in 1979, after my parents divorced and the car was sold.

[lsx70]

Lecarra has several with that same spoke design, I've seen black and mahogany. They would almost look factory with the SS horn button.
The Lecarra I posted above is almost identical to the factory but I can't seem to find it for sale anywhere. I may end up getting another one of their styles.

Problem is, that 3 spoke isn't stock either. But, I can understand if you want to stick with a 3 spoke.

Stock 70 SS steering wheel:
http://chevellestuff.net/1970/images/l78_ls6_th400_no_clock2.jpg

And don't let that column shift fool you - a few 70 Super Sports came from the factory with the bench seat. There have been several Chevelles in my family, and one of them was a burgundy 1970 SS454 with a bench seat that my dad bought brand new off the delivery truck. We lost track of that one in 1979, after my parents divorced and the car was sold.

The 3 spoke was actually an option for some GM cars from 69-72 ( camaros and chevelles for sure). It isn't an SS only option but it is certainly associated with SS cars by many. They called the 3 spoke option a "comfort grip" wheel. I think they are much more attractive than the bar style and still a factory option!

[Vimes]

The 3 spoke was actually an option for some GM cars from 69-72 ( camaros and chevelles for sure). It isn't an SS only option but it is certainly associated with SS cars by many. They called the 3 spoke option a "comfort grip" wheel. I think they are much more attractive than the bar style and still a factory option!

I did not know that was a factory option on those cars. :twothumbs

Jegs has the Lecarra 43212 (your pic), but says "Estimated to ship direct from manufacturer on 05/18/22 , pending manufacturer availability."

[lsx70]

I did not know that was a factory option on those cars. :twothumbs

Jegs has the Lecarra 43212 (your pic), but says "Estimated to ship direct from manufacturer on 05/18/22 , pending manufacturer availability."

So an update on the Lecarra wheels, they don't have any 3 spoke wheels in 15" currently in stock and are estimating at least 3-4 months before they will have any.

I'm going to keep looking for other options.