Project High School Sweetheart (the build of a 1965 Chevelle 300 2dr post = "POSTAL")

[sixfivepost]

Let me first say that there are some fantastic cars on here and have no illusions about my project.

I've had this car since the age of 15. I'm 35 now. It sat in my folks' garage in Arizona since 1995 when I joined the military. I'm still in and finally wanted to do something with the car. So, I had it shipped to my house in Maryland last summer and started tearing into it. Becaus it's an Arizona car, I thought it was in decent shape; however, the previous owner did some shoddy bondo work in the quarters, rear cowl, and crap floor board rivet work , so a ton of metal work was required.

I was planning on doing a frame-on resto, but one thing led to another of course and the body has been off the frame several times now... I was planning on doing all of the work myself, but due to lack of time, pending transfer orders, constant travel, and a need to finish this sooner than originally expected, I had to tap into some professional assistance in the form of Carlisle Customs and Classics in Shippensburg, PA.

I'm on a military guy's budget, so nothing crazy here. The purpose of this project is to end up with a car that handles nicely, stops nicely, is reliable, and can be driven without the worry of messing up thousands of dollars worth of crazy expensive paint and fanciness. I don't plan to auto x it (too much), race it, or etc. Just some cruising to local car gatherings and occasional Saturday and Sunday drives.

I've already started assembling the new parts and plan to install drilled/slotted disc brakes, UMI tubular upper and lower control arms, new spindles, close ratio mechanical steering box, new column, new steering linkage, 3 inch OPG drop springs, KYB shocks, OPG 1 1/4" sway bar, boxed rear arms, 2" narrowed Moser 9" rear with 3.50s, etc, etc. I'm keeping the Muncie 4sp, but will rebuild it. I'm undecided on the engine at this point. I really want an LS swap with T56, but I'm just not comfortable with my knowledge of that effort and don't want to get in over my head with unexpected costs. I may hold out on that and in the mean time install a GMPP crate 385hp fast burn ZZ4. For wheels, Jon at Driverz Inc is building me some custom 3pc New Gen Descendents in 18 x 7" and 19 x 9" (custom offset for narrowed Moser) with flat black centers, chrome hoops, and chrome hardware.

Anyway, I had planned to get the car back on it's wheels by the end of the fall because I may have to transfer out of the area and selling a house is difficult enough without a garage full of old car parts; however, that's probably not going to happen due to a project cost overrun of approximately 50%! Typical...

Pics of the progress so far:

When it arrived to my house and how I left it over 16 years ago. Looked the same.











I stripped the old paint, rust scale, grease, and grime using a needle scaler by hand over every inch of the frame.



cutting out the smooth firewall panel:





Welding it in place:



Dan

[sixfivepost]

Car was still in my 2 car garage. I prepped the frame, sealed the interior of the frame with EW frame protectant, applied two coats of EW Rust Converter, then two coats of EW Rust Encapsulator. That stuff is fantastic to work with! I used a spray gun for everything and the RE goes on smooth and perfect! The next step will be two coats of EW Chassis Black 2K Ceramic. Started working on the firewall and compiling the front end parts...

[sixfivepost]

Now at the shop:

Full floor, full quarters, inner and outer wheel houses, etc, etc. Everything else is being stripped down to bare metal at the moment.

Because full quarters for the 2dr post are almost impossible to find, coupe quarters were purchased and had to be modified to fit the body lines. The C pillar section couldn't be used.

[sixfivepost]

Don't worry, the drums will be departing along with the old 10-bolt. They will be replaced with a disc brake equipped narrowed Moser 9".

[craigs73]

you got a nice start keep up the good work and thanks for serving our country

[sixfivepost]

Update:

Not the greatest camera, but here are some pics of the progress.






























__________________

[sixfivepost]

The car has a name now. We were goofing around, joking about all the grinding work. Someone made the comment about "...going postal on that thing with the grinder..." Well, it was pretty funny given the fact that this car is a post car. So, it stuck and the name of the car is: "POSTAL" unless of course that's already been used. If so, I apologize and will scrap it. :-)

[David Sloan]

Cool build !
I think the name fits. I like it.
Keep the updates coming.

[65convertSSl79]

Love them 65's

[sixfivepost]

Thanks guys, I'll keep this updated as this progresses. I hope to have the car back in my garage by the end of October so that I can start the re-assembly of the mechanicals, wiring, interior, etc.

I think I've only ever seen one 65 Chevelle 2dr post that was given the resto-mod/PT-esque treatment. It looked really nice. Not too many of these old budget beater 300's around... Having the extra structural rigidity of that post is pretty nice actually.

[irregal83]

Nice car and great start... hope you keep with it and keep us updated! good luck

[ProTouringCuda]

Nice work. The title caught my eye, since that's what I call my Mustang: My High School Sweetheart. I've owned mine since I was 16. I've had it for 31 years.

[sixfivepost]

Yep, I've had this car since I was 15; over 20 years now. That's rare for me because I go through new cars/trucks/motorcycles like crazy. Both of your '65s are fantastic! Watching the Orange Crate Cuda!! I would love to have a custom chassis, but surprisingly the old Chevelle is pretty rigid and that post probably has something to do with that. :-). Anyway, that 'Cuda is going to be mean!! I love uncommon cars.

Dan

[sixfivepost]

The control arms are on the way!

[aldoini]

I also am going thru the same as you. I have a 300 deluxe and have my car on the same stages as you good luck. I will post pictures soon

[sixfivepost]

Don't worry, it's just primer!

[sixfivepost]

Cool, yet another 65 Chevelle 300 build? I've seen more 65 300s on here in the past couple of weeks than I ever have in person over the past 20 years I've owned the car! :-)

[ChevelleNV]

Don't worry, it's just primer!

That's too bad, I kinda like it.....its different.

[sixfivepost]

To each their own... :-P

[sixfivepost]

More updates, things are moving quickly now...

2nd coat of primer, almost ready for paint!