project 72 Chevelle RS1

[ramlinman]

gotta do what you feel and feel whatya do! wow

[zipsimons]

gotta do what you feel and feel whatya do! wow

that's been the objective thus far! thanks

[cwmiller]

Nice project Zip! My quarters looked the same way yours did in the lower corners of the rear glass... Except I have some rust issues in the corners of the package tray and the support for the trunk hinges (support metal under the panel below the back glass and in between the quarters). Did you have this issue?

[muthstryker]

I have a question.. Did you use PVC pipe for your gauges on your panel? It looks like gray electrical conduit and white plumbing pipe.

[zipsimons]

Nice project Zip! My quarters looked the same way yours did in the lower corners of the rear glass... Except I have some rust issues in the corners of the package tray and the support for the trunk hinges (support metal under the panel below the back glass and in between the quarters). Did you have this issue?

Thanks! I got lucky there. I had a tiny bit of patch work in the corners of the package tray. other than that just some light surface stuff but blasted off with ease. then epoxied it and used a rihno lining for sound deadening and corrosion protection.

[zipsimons]

I have a question.. Did you use PVC pipe for your gauges on your panel? It looks like gray electrical conduit and white plumbing pipe.

damn skippy I did! lol I needed the perfect fit to go around the guages and allow room for a strand of el-wire to go around them.. took forever to finally find the right diameter! I actually had to shave a 1/16 off of the inside of the larger tubes to achieve the same effect as the 4 smaller ones.

[zipsimons]

chassis is pretty much wrapped up for the most part. firewall is shaved and painted, 2 stage lizard skin (ceramic heat shield and sound deadening) has been applied to the underside. those were progress pics i recieved from rockstars and custom cars. i finally test fired my instrument cluster in the garage tonight! i used intellitronix artic white gauges and red el wire to trim them

[MonzaRacer]

I bought Intellitronix gauges many years ago, I doubt its same company anymore, but if those have near the number of features my older ones had they should be awesome,,, mine are dial gauges but ran by stepper motors and have output controls, if I remember I got them from Summit back in like 99/00, one reason was the output control from the water temp to control a fan relay. One issue if same company make sure you use a good dedicated ground to block or you can get odd readings. Car looks great by the way.

[zipsimons]

I bought Intellitronix gauges many years ago, I doubt its same company anymore, but if those have near the number of features my older ones had they should be awesome,,, mine are dial gauges but ran by stepper motors and have output controls, if I remember I got them from Summit back in like 99/00, one reason was the output control from the water temp to control a fan relay. One issue if same company make sure you use a good dedicated ground to block or you can get odd readings. Car looks great by the way.

thanks alot! i read that some company took them over but then ran it into the ground and has since been taken over by the original owners..? something like that. not sure of the time line on that.. i used to work in a car audio shop a while back so believe you me, i understand the importance of dedicated grounds and avoiding interference. you can create an eletrical nightmare by having the wrong two wires even near each other! I'm really excited to see how they work out once in the car

[zipsimons]

stopped by rockstars and custom cars over the weekend and got to see the better half of the project (the car) in person... had been a while.. I was in awe seeing the progress that had been made! body is on, front sheet metal all aligned, and getting ready for the secondary primer. I went over the stripe layout dimensions with shawn and it really looks great in person.. even if it was just masking tape! lol.. I could not have been more impressed with the lizard skin used on the underside of the body. It was a very nice looking product and was smooth to the touch. The rep, Don, from lizard skin convinced me I would not be disappointed and he was right! It was even grey! I was looking for protection, sound and heat proofing, and washability. It's all there! anyway, should have some more cool pics coming soon

[ProTourGSX]

My '70 GS Stage 1 is real close to how yours started out, needing pretty much the whole back 1/2 of the car (1/4's, trunk, wheel wells, rear window channel, etc.), and I'm having a hard time finding a body shop that does anything else besides "insurance work", or giving me quotes of "1,000+ hours@$60/hour", even when I tell them I only want the BODYWORK (sheetmetal/prep/paint) done, as I'm capable to do the assembly (drivetrain/suspension/brakes/interior/etc.), myself!



After seeing what you've done here, with this '72 Chevelle project, you've inspired me to try to do my own car, the way that I'd rather have it done, anyway, as I'm confident that I could do this, and I'm aware of the techniques/materials used to get it done, I've just never tried it before.

Thanks for sharing here, Zip, and keep us posted with progress!

[zipsimons]

My '70 GS Stage 1 is real close to how yours started out, needing pretty much the whole back 1/2 of the car (1/4's, trunk, wheel wells, rear window channel, etc.), and I'm having a hard time finding a body shop that does anything else besides "insurance work", or giving me quotes of "1,000+ hours@$60/hour", even when I tell them I only want the BODYWORK (sheetmetal/prep/paint) done, as I'm capable to do the assembly (drivetrain/suspension/brakes/interior/etc.), myself!

After seeing what you've done here, with this '72 Chevelle project, you've inspired me to try to do my own car, the way that I'd rather have it done, anyway, as I'm confident that I could do this, and I'm aware of the techniques/materials used to get it done, I've just never tried it before.

Thanks for sharing here, Zip, and keep us posted with progress!

Wow! That is an incredibly nice thing to say and an honor to hear. I actually sold out and work in heavy collision now! Lol... I did all the sheet metal replacement and gor the body work roughed in but then decided to have my good friends shop wrap it up to speed up the progress. He cut me an incredible deal though! He is a fairly new shop though we both started doing body and paint when we were in high school together. He figured it would be a great car for his shop to have his name on and I can still retain full credit for concept. I'm still doing alot of other items on the build while he has the car. Good luck with everything and please ask if you have questions.. I'll give you my number and help as much ad possible.

[ProTourGSX]

Thanks for the offer, and I sent a PM to you, for further contact information!

Looking forward to it!

[zipsimons]

Thanks for the offer, and I sent a PM to you, for further contact information!

Looking forward to it!

I have a crazy busy life but I will help when and where I can! My pleasure!

[ProTourGSX]

I have a crazy busy life but I will help when and where I can! My pleasure!

If you had any idea what parallel lives we live... ; )

[zipsimons]

had some professional photos done of the frame before the body went on... just for good memories and since it will probably never be seen again from that angle. I got a sample today!

[CornHusker4Life]

The work looks amazing. When I was working on my chevelle I recieved a lot of slack for building it the way I wanted it especially from team chevelle. Build it exactly the way you are it will turn out sick. Awesome work again.

[zipsimons]

The work looks amazing. When I was working on my chevelle I recieved a lot of slack for building it the way I wanted it especially from team chevelle. Build it exactly the way you are it will turn out sick. Awesome work again.

Thanks man, I really appreciate that!

[zipsimons]

so here are some faces to put with the build... that is me (zip) in the middle. Shawn is on the right with the dreads. We were in a band together a few years ago and he now owns Rockstars and Custom Cars. He stripped and painted the frame, installed all the new suspension and steering components, did the LS swap, and is picking up the body work where I left off and painting it. I should hopefully see this thing back in the next couple of months and wrap up my end. My buddy Charlie is on the left and is pretty much responsible for starting this whole thing. It was his bright idea for me to do a "quick flip" car in my two car garage at my house in my "SPARE TIME!!!!!LOL". original deal was he was flipping the bill and I was doing the work and we would split the profit. Then we were like "well, we've done all this extensive restoration to the body.. may as well put an LS in it." then i thought "this will never get done" at the slow rate it was progressing and that is when shawn got involved. then i said "i'd hate to see that motor and body work go to waste on old suspension and brakes and a boring interior!" so now our wallets are near empty and the car does have to be sold when finished (after some fun!) and we probably wont profit anything... but who cares!!!!!! I am having the time of my not having a customer tell me how he wants his car... this is everything I want to do and how I want to and it feels great! lets face it, it's all about the build. shawn is very excited because it's the first car that his shop has been able to go all the way on in the less than 2 years he has been open. charlie is just thrilled being a part of all of it... so here is three genuine smiles man!!

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Great post Zip. That's what this hobby is all about