After mostly lurking I thought it was time to post.
Here is what I started with in 96
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...06/69ext-1.jpg
Here it is in 2000 before going to NY
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...hevelle3-1.jpg
2006
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...1010054O-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...P1010128-1.jpg
and the latest
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...97008118-1.jpg
Short story is I've owned the car twice since 1996
Slowly it is becoming a PT car.
Below is the long story..
I’ve always wanted a 69 Chevelle SS396. This bug had been put in to me by my father. He has owned many Chevelles, at least 30 or so 99% of them 68-69 with a 70 thrown in there so I had wanted one of my own since I was little…. even though he never let me take one and drive it on my own.
My project Chevelle started back in 1996, when I got stationed out at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, NV. This was my first (still is) decent paying job.
I located the car after about a 6 months of searching in was in the local penny saver, no picture, just a brief description.
I had my friend that was with me in tech school take me to look at it. It was located about 1 hour north of Vegas in Logandale, NV.
When I looked at it, it was in primer, ran good and had extra parts in the trunk. This being my first car that I only had myself to evaluate I decide that it was descent for the price of $3000.00 and decided to buy it I gave the man a $500 deposit and returned the next weekend. The hood was not bolted on, no hinges, so that went in my buddies truck along with the extra parts that would not fit in the trunk, extra trim, extra seats, exec. It was late and dark by the time I rolled up to the gate at the base, no hood, miss aligned headlights, and a high idle.
Next day I got my new toy out to show off and wash. This is where I learned for the first time that water and lot of TQ in a rear wheel drive car don’t mix. I had the car going all over the place left, right, left, right, telephone pole…. missed, ok park. I did not have any $$ at this time so I did little to no work on the SS other than a front trans seal well in a full arm cast, and I also found out that the original SS hood does not work well as a kite (remember hood hinges when moving the car in the wind)
After driving this gas guzzling BB I decided that I need a second daily driver a V6 Beretta that I paid $1800 for. So the Chevelle got put on hold till I paid off the Beretta. When $$ became available (second job at Las Vegas Motor Speedway) I bought parts for the Chevelle, Headers, ARP bolts, Cam, and Carpet. Lots of $$ for me as an Airman before I was able to install these I moved out from the AF dorms and in to a House with a bunch of my friends from work. This allowed me to remove the frame from the car and sandblast the whole frame and cover it in POR15 (hind sight not the best thing to do). After I did this I decided that the Chevelle was just going to keep sucking $$ from me and I wanted something that would handle and brake. So the body was set back on the frame with a few bolts, motor dropped back in, FT clip loosely on and the rest thrown inside.
Long story short I sent the Chevelle to NY for my Father to work on
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../ssframe-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...scan0005-1.jpg
So my quest for better breaking and handling took me away from the Chevelle and in to another Beretta. This time a Quad 4 powered GTZ 5spd. This car has a lot of my $$ and plenty of stories even caused me to sell the Chevelle when I went overseas in 2001.
So I sold the Chevelle for $6000 to a man in Rochester. This I thought was the end of my Chevelle owning for a good few years. Come 4 years later (2005) I get a call for my father say that that he thinks my SS was for sale on Ebay. I was unable to get to it before the auction ended but it was my Chevelle. O well it’s gone again. I week later my father gets a call from the owner/seller of my old SS asking if he wanted to buy it for what I sold it for, so he bought it and ended up with 4 years of free storage and some additional body work.
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../06/ebay-1.jpg
After my dad got it home he bought a new hood had it painted, well home on leave he surprised me with the Chevelle as I had no clue that he a bought it and I again had my Chevelle bug going. So on returning back to Belgium I started buying parts again and paying him back for buying the car.
In early 2006 before coming back my wife got stationed back in Vegas we bought a truck in TX, a 24ft enclosed trailer in NY and drove the Chevelle back to NV.
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...ktrailer-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../trailer-1.jpg
Late 2006 put me back in Vegas again I am working and spending as much time as the wife will let me on the Chevelle, even got a second job again back at LVMS as NHRA tech, Tire barn, and security.
So far what I’ve done is:
Extra Frame that will be boxed and braced
New wheels
Anvil marker lights
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../marker2-1.jpg
Interior with GTO seats
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...gtoseats-1.jpg
Fuel system upgrade
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../06/fuel-1.jpg
Inner fenders
Sound deadener
Stereo
ATS Spindles
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...0/06/ATS-1.jpg
C5/6 brakes with a Wilwood MC
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../booster-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...6/brakes-1.jpg
SPC Arms
https://static1.pt-content.com/image.../06/Arms-1.jpg
Boxed factory lower with Bushings
https://static1.pt-content.com/image...lowerarm-1.jpg
Bilstein shocks
Still to do is rear end with something a little better than 2.73's, new frame boxed, headliner, re-contour headrest and someday a LS.
For more pictures feel free to check out my Photo bucket
http://s606.photobucket.com/albums/t...myss/Chevelle/
Thanks to My father for reassembling what I took apart. Tyler, Russ for parts and welding. Tobin at Kore3 for the brake MC advice. Marcus at SC&C for the suspension input.
