My 66 Chevelle P/T build

[MMcMasters]

I'm new to this site and wanted to introduce myself and hopefully get some advice and guidance on my next build. I have been a member at Team Chevelle for many years and a few members here are also members at TC. One in particular is "TommyComfort" aka Tom Farrington. I have admired his 66 from reading his threads over at TC. I have never met Tom but by all accounts he is a great guy and he definitely has a sweet 66 Chevelle. I'm excited to be over here now and I hope its as good of a group as we have over there.

I gave up drag racing a year ago and that need for competition is still there. I really want to give Auto Cross a try and my build is going to be geared towards this. I have been looking for a solid 66 Chevelle for a few months now but I wasn't having much luck. I sold my 69 Camaro this week so my search for a new car intensified. Here is a picture of my Camaro right before it's new owner showed up.



I have traveled a lot of miles recently only to turn around and come home empty because the seller misrepresented their car. Well this weekend I found my new project. It's not perfect but as much as I drive and beat on my cars, it never will be perfect. I think it's a solid starting point and I'm more than a little excited to get started. It has new hotchkis rear lowering springs and a new front coil over spring conversion. Im not sure brand on front coil overs on the front yet. New wheels and tires that will go on another project down the road or get sold to recover some costs for new wheels. Here are a few pictures on the way home.





I have been thinking about what I wanted to do to this car long before I ever found it. My plan for this winter is to pull the body off to paint and detail the bottom of the floors and install ABC Performance mini tubs. The frame will get Abc Performance's frame notch kit and boxing plates.

As far as suspension I have been researching Detroit Speed, Ride Tech and Speed Tech's suspension packages. I definitely want to do coil over conversion on both ends for nothing else but the ability to adjust ride height. All of these suspensions will far exceed my Auto Cross abilities at first so I guess my main concern is ride quality first since it will see a ton of street miles. Secondary would be track performance. I 'm hoping to get some input from some of you who have already done the trial and error and have found a nice package that works.



Power will come from an LS3 and either a TKO600 or T56. I know the T56 requires some serious tunnel mods but I hope to hear from some guys that have used either of these in a 66 A body. Rear end will most likely be a fabricated 9". The car needs wired and I will get that from American Auto Wire. I love the looks of the 66 and want to retain all of the moldings, emblems etc... i love that look. The interior will be much of the same. Stock buckets with better foam, stock door panels and dash. The biggest change in the interior will be the Dakota Digital VHX gauges to work with the LS3.

I know I want to run a 335/18 in the rear and as big as I can fit up front without excessive rubbing. Wheels are completely up in the air right now. I know I don't like the wheels that came on the car so they are definitely going. I found some I like from Forgeline but WOW are they pricey.

I'm sorry for being long winded on my first post and hope I didn't offend anyone. This thread will move slowly at first while I spend the next few weeks gathering parts. It should take off pretty good once the weather turns bad.

Thanks for allowing me to share my experience,

Mike McMasters

[JHunter]

Mike - First off, welcome! Those are both great looking cars, I'm sure it was hard letting the 69 go, but at least you weren't project-less for long. I look forward to seeing this develop.

[MMcMasters]

I appreciate the kind words. I can't wait to get started but I really want to do my research and try not to buy things twice. I have always been into stock rebuilds/restorations so this pro touring thing is all new to me. It's overwhelming how many different companies are offering suspension systems, brake systems, wheel combinations etc... My head is spinning so I want to slow down and attempt to get what's right for me the first time.

Mike

[csouth]

Welcome aboard! Very nice car to start with. I have met Tom in person and I can say he is a nice guy all the way around. Looking forward to watching your car evolve...

[kwhizz]

Except for the trans there's some info that will help in this thread.........Make sure you get a Holley 302-2 pan to clear the steering.....

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...08#post1018908


Ken

[MMcMasters]

I'll check that link out Ken. Thank you

Mike

[MMcMasters]

Except for the trans there's some info that will help in this thread.........Make sure you get a Holley 302-2 pan to clear the steering.....

[url]https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/101814-66-Chevelle-LSA-6L90E-Conversion?p=1018908#post1018908[/u


Ken

Ken,

I just read your thread, you car is awesome..Congratulations!!

[MMcMasters]

Sunday I finally got a chance to install my new lift. This is something I have wanted for years but never quite got around to getting. It's going to make life so much easier. Only thing I have left to do is drill for the floor anchors and I'm sweating it because I have radiant floor heat.

I spent hours the day before we poured the floor, measuring and taking pictures. I knew exactly where I wanted to put a lift in the future and laid out the pex tubing accordingly. I will probably not have any issues but I'm still freaking out a little. Wish me luck, it will get drilled tonight.

[bonecrrusher]

You have a shop build thread?

[MMcMasters]

You have a shop build thread?

I never did one but I did document it very well with pictures as I went. Are you building a shop right now or getting ready to?

Mike

[Gary's66]

Way to go Mike.
Can't wait to see what you do with your Chevelle.

[MMcMasters]

I talked with Hurst Driveline about a TKO600 and Dakota Digital about the new VHX gauges today. Hurst Driveline told me I would need to get a SGI-5 box to get the VHX gauges to work with the electronic speedo due to the TKO being a 2 wire speed sensor and the gauges being a 3 wire setup.

When I called Dakota Digital their tech said it will be fine without the SGI-5 box and their gauge would work with the 2 wire system on the TKO. Does anyone on here use a TKO with the new VHX gauges? Looking for some real world experience.

Mike

[Yelcamino]

Mike,

I have the VHX gauges in my C10 with a 4L80. I haven't had it on the road yet, but Dakota told me the same thing, I only need the two wires (it's also in the instruction manual). Once I actually drive it down the road, I'll let you know if it works.

[MMcMasters]

Thank you Herb, I appreciate it.

Mike

[Yelcamino]

Mike,

I have the VHX gauges in my C10 with a 4L80. I haven't had it on the road yet, but Dakota told me the same thing, I only need the two wires (it's also in the instruction manual). Once I actually drive it down the road, I'll let you know if it works.

Thank you Herb, I appreciate it.

Mike

Mike,

FYI... I test drove my C10 last weekend and the speedo did not work. I'm going to double check the wires, maybe I missed something. If the wiring looks right and still doesn't work, I'll probably get Dakota's GPS interface and be done with it.

[MMcMasters]

Mike,

FYI... I test drove my C10 last weekend and the speedo did not work. I'm going to double check the wires, maybe I missed something. If the wiring looks right and still doesn't work, I'll probably get Dakota's GPS interface and be done with it.

Man that is disappointing Herb, I appreciate you keeping me up to date. The old truck is sure looking cool !!!

[Yelcamino]

Man that is disappointing Herb, I appreciate you keeping me up to date. The old truck is sure looking cool !!!

Yeah I was a little bummed but I'll get over it... the GPS unit will arrive today! and thanks, the truck is turning out to be a fun driver!

[tommycomfort]

Mike,

FYI... I test drove my C10 last weekend and the speedo did not work. I'm going to double check the wires, maybe I missed something. If the wiring looks right and still doesn't work, I'll probably get Dakota's GPS interface and be done with it.

We're using the VHX stuff in both the wagon and 66 with electric signal T-56s and after getting the pulse programmed right they both work great. Sam is our wiring and Dakota Digital programming expert. He's also the one that calls for tech help when we're both scratching our heads...

[MMcMasters]

Last night I took care of a problem area that wasn't discovered until I removed all of the tar paper from the interior floors. I couldn't see the problem from underneath because it was located right over the top of the floor brace which runs under the rear seat at the body mount. At some point a previous owner had filled this area with a large amount of silicone to seal the rust hole up.It baffles me that someone would do this but it's fixed now. Here is a picture of what I removed from the hole and a picture of my repair.





My order from ABC is scheduled to be here tomorrow so I plan on to start installing the new tubs this weekend. I'm a little nervous to cut out good wheelhouses but being able to stuff a 335 tire in there will be worth the effort. This will probably end up being a couple weekend job for me because I have never done it. Although it seems pretty straightforward, I'm still pretty nervous.

[Yelcamino]

We're using the VHX stuff in both the wagon and 66 with electric signal T-56s and after getting the pulse programmed right they both work great. Sam is our wiring and Dakota Digital programming expert. He's also the one that calls for tech help when we're both scratching our heads...

Tom, my Chevelle and El Camino have older Dakota dashes and the speedos work off the TKO signal generators. For some reason the VHX doesn't see the 4L80 signal. Since it only needs two wires and polarity isn't an issue, it should work but it doesn't.

Ok, back to Mike's thread...