69 Chevelle <<SNAKE EATER>>

[nitetrain4590]

I've been around this forum for a while and getting a lot of help from many users. My project is at about an 80% solution so I'm throwing this together for some final motivation and hope that it helps some others. I'm not going to bore everyone to death with details, unless someone asks.

Here are the hightlights: Picked up in Summer 2009 as an original Malibu 350 SBC with a Turbo 350, no previous body/paint work, and with a slight amount of surface rust and the typical package tray rust. The engine was a reworked 350 casting 010 bored .030 over and was supposedly a circle track engine (right...)
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After disassembly, I took the body to the Restoration Shop for media blast and tearing into it. I took the frame and everything that was left and worked on it for the next 8 months.

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[nitetrain4590]

I should have figured with the A/C lines zip tied to the intake manifold, the engine was going to be more than I bargained for. Disassembling the mill found 3 different types of roller rockers, all of the international variety, a welded SCAT Crank, various windows on the cylinder walls, but all in all, a reasonable fix.

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Meanwhile, the media blast uncovered more cancer.

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The frame was reinforced and welded in the chronically weak areas of the lower control arms front and rear. The frame was then sent to powdercoat.

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[nitetrain4590]

I had a lot of time to figure the build and put together the parts list. Here is some of the info.

Powertrain: 010 Casting 4 Bolt Main bored .030 over
Completely re-machined Winter 2010
Probe Forged Pistons (Speed-Pro Rings)
Eagle 6 Inch H-Beam Rods
Eagle 3.48" Steel Crank
Complete Hydraulic Roller Motor
Comp Cams HR Custom Grind (224/230 with .536/.5168 Gross Lift with 1.6/1.52 Ultra Pro Magnum Roller Rockers, lobe separation=110*)
World Castings Sportsman 2 Iron Heads (200cc Intake/64cc Chambers) with all Manley SS Valves and worked to have Manganese Bronze guides instead of the hardened iron.
Valve Springs are Comp Cams Beehive with new valve seals.
Edelbrock RPM Airgap Intake hand ported to match the heads and gaskets, which I never want to do again!!! :banghead:
MSD Digital E-Curve Dist., MSD Digital 6-AL and Blaster SS Coil
FAST EZ-EFI Fuel Injection
Hooker Super Comp 1 3/4 to 3" and 3" Torque Tech exhaust Ceramic Coated with Super 44's.
TKO-600 5 speed and Keisler Drive Shaft and RAM Billet Flywheel
12 Bolt (originally a 2.56 one-leg) narrowed to 60" WMS to WMS with 3.73 Eaton-Posi with Moser 33 Spline Axles
C6 Z51 Brakes Front and Rear and assorted parts via KORE 3 (Thanks Tobin!)
PRC Radiator with dual 16" Spals
Vintage Air GEN IV Surefit
Hand Bent SS fuel (-6 AN for supply and return/used teflon line through the frame) and brake lines.

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[orbit]

Great start! Love the Johnny Cash pic too. LOL Is it me or is it there is always a nice rust surprise everytime you pull a car apart?

[Code Red]

Great start! Love the Johnny Cash pic too. LOL Is it me or is it there is always a nice rust surprise everytime you pull a car apart?

unless its a practically brand new vehicle

[shortrack]

Nice 69 mahn.....should be a blast to drive.

what color????

[Jesse72]

Man thats a good start and I like the name too. Way more than I have going these days, keep it up! Also, I like those inverted forks on the bike behind the motor in one of the shots.

[RicerwannaB]

Awesome start man! Keep up the good work.

[nitetrain4590]

Thanks for the comments guys! The color is Toreador Red Metallic (2-stage) with the Hood/top of front fenders a 30% gloss satin black...the black line follows up the window seam for the doors. I'll update the suspension and body work details after work....and hopefully the pics of the NEWGEN two-piece Hammer Wheels that are shipping this week. (They are the 2-piece design of Justin's 3-piece Trigger wheels that are going on his Camaro)

[nitetrain4590]

As far as the Chasis, the suspension is from Marcus at SC&C:
SPC Front Upper and Lower Control Arms
Bilstein HD Shocks
SPC Springs
Spohn Rear Upper and Lower Control Arms
Hellwig Pro-Touring Sway Bars front and rear
As stated before, the 12 bolt was narrowed and tig-welded with Big Bearing Torino ends to fit with the Ford axles.

The Frame is powdercoated and the inside of the frame is coated with Eastwood's internal frame coat.

The other pain was the supply and return fuel lines for the EZ-EFI system.

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Another headache was the transmission crossmember for the TKO-600. The stock crossmember wouldn't work with the 3" exhaust, so I picked up a G-Force one, that of course was too short. And yes, before you ask, I ordered the right size....but it gave me an opportunity to work on my TIG skills, which are pretty poor....

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[ryeguy2006a]

Well your poor TIG skills look pretty good to me. Nice build man, I helped my dad build a 1968 a few years ago.

[nitetrain4590]

So this is what the body is looking like this week, should be one more until it's up for parole.

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Also, Christmas came early this year from Jon and Justin at Driverzinc. A new set of 2 Piece Trigger Wheels

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[Global Warmer]

sweet wheel choice I'm really struggling with picking up new wheels is a big decision you nailed it

[nitetrain4590]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it took me all of 2 years to find what I liked. The guys at Driverzinc definitely helped out a lot and made me feel comfortable with the amount of $$ you have to throw down on a good set of wheels.

[Motown 454]

Awesome project your making some nice progress.

[bhcustomdesigns]

cool project :twothumbs

[fladoans]

Great Work. You've done a lot more than I have on mine. Should'd be too long before your driving it around.

[nitetrain4590]

So I'm hoping some guys can help me out with a potential issue. I've run the numbers at least a dozen times, but I'm still not sure how the rear wheel/tire combo will fit. My narrowed 12 Bolt is 60.0" from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface, and based on the approximately 14" of space between the inner and outer wheel houses in the rear, I ordered 18x10" wheels with 4.5" of backspacing....now putting this on the rear end (both sides), there is at least 2 inches of space from the frame to the inside surface of the wheel not mounted with tire. There is barely .5" from the outside of the wheel surface to the fender lip. I'm running 295/35R18 BF Goodrich KDW2's which measure 11.9" in cross section width, which adds .45" to the outside diameter. Even if I roll the lips, it's a little too close for my comfort. I'm looking for anyone who has ran tire/wheel clearance as close as this on an A-Body. I really feel as if I ran 5.0" of BS, it would be more centered....which it's too late for now. Here are a few pics, I may be overthinking this, but it is what it is.

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[johnny68]

very nice looking car its coming along awesome just talk to Jon he is great at helping with any problems they are the best IMO
john

[StyleIn68]

Very nice. I'm anxiously awaiting how you setup the clutch pedal on this project.

[Speedy911]

Very nice choice for rims! Looking forward to more updates.

[nitetrain4590]

It's been a while since I've updated this post. I got the wheel issue worked out with Jon and Driverz Inc. Their customer service is the best that I've ever seen. Car finally finished paint, and I'll be working finally assembly and getting the engine fired.

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[coolwelder62]

Very nice.

[nitetrain4590]

Some updates, slowly piecing it back together.

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[sokoloka]

The Johnny Cash poster says it all. One badass Chevelle! Are you planning on running inner fenders up front?

[nitetrain4590]

Yeah, I've got some smoothed over steel inner front fenders that have had to be re-painted to match the firewall. The first round of paint ended up a little light, and need to be re-sprayed.

[nitetrain4590]

A few more update pics, starting the A/C and Engine wiring this week.

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[Snake Eater]

Got the same name. Car looks great.

[1971CHEVELLE]

Wow Awesome

[130fe]

Great car! Are you a SERE guy?

[nitetrain4590]

Great car! Are you a SERE guy?

Not a SERE guy, a little too intense for me.

[nitetrain4590]

Some snow days gave me some time to work. Mounted the Evap for the Vintage Air Sure fit system. The hoses are a pain, and the Heater Control Valve is left dangling, so I made a bracket for it and it's relay. The condenser/drier went on well, except this "Sure Fit" system is designed for a 69 Chevelle, but with the March Style Track system, it puts the compressor on the passenger side, like the 68. So I'm going to have to make some different lines and a bulkhead fitting.

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I'm also working on putting some 5" Autometer Phantom Guages in the stock bezel...

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[nitetrain4590]

Its been a while since I've posted anything on here. The car is coming along. Power train is solid, interior and electrical are the next biggest tasks.

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[dug]

car looks badass. i love it.

[CodexGigas]

That Car is sexy as Hell.

[ak72]

awesome awesome car!

[nitetrain4590]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the kind words. Hopefully I'll get a quick drive by clip. The 3" exhaust is a little much, but it sounds pretty bad ass.

[rfalker1]

wicked.. i love the color and the look of it!! should be a great driver!!

[Windy City Chevelle]

Real nice build going n I'm about to order my wheels from forgeline for my 68 Chevelle SS, what back spacing ended up working because a 4.5 rear sounded like that's more standard for the front, what BS ended up working for you

[nitetrain4590]

I ended up going with 5" BS for the rear with 18x10's....I think my 18x9's in the front are 4.75" BS if I remember correctly with a 275/35 tire. I'll look it up in the paperwork. But I ended up sending the rears back to NewGen, and Jon re-hooped them for me with 5" of BS(which was awesome customer service by the way). I'm running a 295 rear, and honestly, I could have gone 5.5" BS to get it completely centered in the wheel housing. But I've got a narrowed 12 bolt, which measures close to a 9 inch. 60 inches WMS to WMS.

[KnightMare]

Great looking car. What seats are those?

[nitetrain4590]

The seats are Corbeau TRS Leather. Comfy and light, but a pain to see when you're wearing a helmet since I've only got the driver side mirror.