'66 PT Chevelle

[Yelcamino]

The seat mount frames are now under construction...

[Bow Tie 67]

Looking good Herb, any plans on doing the Michigan event in June?

[Yelcamino]

Looking good Herb, any plans on doing the Michigan event in June?

Hey Matt! I really want to, but I'm getting transferred in June and we'll be moving. Carol said she doesn't mind if I go but the deciding factor will be where we are in the moving process at the time of the Michigan event.

[gearheads78]

Looking really good.

[Yelcamino]

More updates!

[rlplive]

nice

[Yelcamino]

nice

Thanks!

[Tiger]

way to go Herb!

happy new year!

[Bow Tie 67]

Herb,

You better not move to far, I want a ride in this beast at RTTH.

Matt

[Yelcamino]

Thanks! It's nice to see the positive feedback on the car's progress. Especially thanks to Mark (Tig Man) and the guys at the Fab Shop!

Talk about a class act, the Fab Shop guys are awesome. If anyone is in the market for a roll bar or other custom metal work, I highly recommend you give Mark a call, he'll take care of you and make sure the job is done right!

Now that the car is home, I've got some work to do and I'll post more pictures as I go.

Matt: The passenger seat will be waiting for you at RTTHV!

[Yelcamino]

I've been fairly busy working on the Chevelle these last few weeks, mostly stuff that needs to be done but isn't photo worthy until now...

Since I moved the battery to the trunk, I had this big empty battery tray next to the radiator. Because I needed an expansion tank I decided to build one that would fit in place of the battery. It's probably bigger than it needs to be, but that's ok, a little extra coolant never hurts.

I started with two pieces of stainless bent to my dimensions. From there I tig'd it and painted it to match the valve covers. I'm an inexperienced tig welder, but I think it came out ok.















Now I just have to figure out what to do about the Jeg's filler cap.

[tom_a]

Looks really nice. I like the the brake duct idea and seat brackets.

[Mike Holleman]

I've been fairly busy working on the Chevelle these last few weeks, mostly stuff that needs to be done but isn't photo worthy until now...

Since I moved the battery to the trunk, I had this big empty battery tray next to the radiator. Because I needed an expansion tank I decided to build one that would fit in place of the battery. It's probably bigger than it needs to be, but that's ok, a little extra coolant never hurts.

I started with two pieces of stainless bent to my dimensions. From there I tig'd it and painted it to match the valve covers. I'm an inexperienced tig welder, but I think it came out ok.















Now I just have to figure out what to do about the Jeg's filler cap.

Well Herb, Looks like you are having fun. Good looking welds for a "beginner ?". When did you pick up the TIG? I've been buryed in the shop rebuilding the burned up 66. It's coming along nicely. Trying to make improvements in every area I have to redo. Customer is getting an extra 60/70 HP with the new fuel injection setup. Try to make the Michigan deal. Maybe we can make the drive up together. Move still looking like DC? Paint the cap flat black.
Mike

[Yelcamino]

Thanks Tom!

Mike, I've had the TIG for about a year, but I don't use it much. I'm trying to get myself to use it more often, but the MIG is so easy I tend to use it more.

What EFI did you go with on the '66?

[Mike Holleman]

Thanks Tom!

Mike, I've had the TIG for about a year, but I don't use it much. I'm trying to get myself to use it more often, but the MIG is so easy I tend to use it more.

What EFI did you go with on the '66?

We went with Accel's DFI. I looked at everybodys stuff at PRI and came away feeling it was the best for what we are after. It's on order and hopefully just days away. I want to install as much of it as I can before putting the frontend on the car. I really like the direction you are going with the Chevelle. I plan to take the Elky to Maxton next month for a few trial runs. Once I get in the license runs I will be held back to 135 plus the fudge factor. Until the cage goes in I cannot find out what it will topout at. Plan on a Maxton run sometime this year.
Mike

[Yelcamino]

We went with Accel's DFI. I looked at everybodys stuff at PRI and came away feeling it was the best for what we are after. It's on order and hopefully just days away. I want to install as much of it as I can before putting the frontend on the car. I really like the direction you are going with the Chevelle. I plan to take the Elky to Maxton next month for a few trial runs. Once I get in the license runs I will be held back to 135 plus the fudge factor. Until the cage goes in I cannot find out what it will topout at. Plan on a Maxton run sometime this year.
Mike

Sounds cool! I want to run the Chevelle at Maxton as well. Before I can go though, I'll have to get an actual racing bucket for the driver side as well as a 5 or 6 point harness. Those two items will open up higher speeds for me to reach for.

[Mike Holleman]

Sounds cool! I want to run the Chevelle at Maxton as well. Before I can go though, I'll have to get an actual racing bucket for the driver side as well as a 5 or 6 point harness. Those two items will open up higher speeds for me to reach for.

If you don't have one, get a current ECTA rulebook. You may be surprized at how close you already are to meeting the requirements. Unless you are expecting 175 plus?
Mike

[Yelcamino]

If you don't have one, get a current ECTA rulebook. You may be surprized at how close you already are to meeting the requirements. Unless you are expecting 175 plus?
Mike

In some of the threads I've been reading people have quoted safety sections from various sanctioning bodies, including ECTA, and they all seem to require 5 or 6 point harnesses. I have the Schroth ASM 4 points, but apparently they won't do. So I figure on the driver side, I can get one harness specifically for race situations and a one dedicated seat with holes for the 5th and 6th straps. Of course, before I spend any money, I'll have to get the rule book to make sure I get what's needed. And who knows, if I equip the car properly, maybe 175 won't be out of reach!

[Yelcamino]

I’m not sure what happened, but I posted this yesterday and today it was gone. So here goes again.

I got the Chevelle up and running, all suspension bits are in place and the engine seems to be running well. With that in mind I took it out for a spin yesterday to get some price quotes on paint and interior. On 30 March it’s going in for the carpet and headliner and maybe a week or so after that I’ll take it in to get the hood and trunk painted.

Here’s how it looks now with the new Coil Spring Specialties 250 lb/in rear coils combined with the 1000 lb/in fronts. Even though it looks low, it actually rides pretty nice. It’s a bit rough over bad roads, but overall it works!





I also changed the rear exhaust tips. The ones I had on there before were bugging me so I changed them out for simple turn downs and then had both tail pipes and tips black ceramic coated.





Here’s the engine. The Fab Shop built the “tomb stone” around the air cleaner. I had it powder coated to match the valve covers. It seals to the hood too so it should only get cold outside air.



I also relocated the battery to the trunk...



I covered the interior floors with Fatmat all the way up to the rear window. There won’t be a rear seat so carpet will go all the way up too. I painted the roll bar a close match to the anthracite powder I have on other stuff. Right now it’s covered with blue tape to help prevent scratches while the carpet and headliner go in.







Now that I’m getting close to completion (at least the main stuff), I hope to get some seat time at an autox event or two before RTTH V!

[wayne70]

That is looking sweet Herb. I will miss RTTH this year so keep the pictures coming. Where did you get the rubber seal for your air cleaner. I built the same style air cleaner pan and need a better seal for it.