Torch red paint, black everywhere, and on the ground. This Chevelle caught our attention a mile away – last year. While walking the Street Machine Nationals in Pomona, CA last year we spotted this beauty sitting off by itself. We couldn’t find the owner and creeping inside the windows we could see the interior wasn’t done. A year passes and we spot the Chevelle again at this years Street Machine Nationals show. Luck was on our hand this time, as we spotted the owner and builder John Boggio walking away from his red hot ride.
The story of John and his Chevelle started like many guys. He bought this Chevelle back in high school, but then sold it. Fortunately he was able to buy it back 12 years later and then took another 7 years to build the car into what you see today. Most of our high school cars are long gone by now. “After selling the car in 1998, I bought the car back. My old insurance card and registration with my name was still in the glove box. The car just sat for 12 years like a personal time capsule,” explained Boggio. After a friend spotted it sitting in the yard, John picked her back up.
Torch Red
Besides the insanely perfect torch red paint, one of the biggest things you’ll notice is that there’s zero chrome on the car. Boggio shaved all the emblems then powder coated all the chrome black. Next Level Motorsports in Riverside, CA is responsible for getting all that sheetmetal flatter than a pancake. Foothill Auto Body in Rancho Cucamonga, CA laid down the paint. Every piece and part of this car has been massaged to perfection – a true testament to John’s love for his high school ride.
Lighting The Torch
Under the hood the old engine is long gone in favor of an LS1. In order to bring this LS up to Boggio’s standards, the engine was balanced and blueprinted and upgraded with ARP stud kit, Manley pushrods, Manley rods and a Whipple 2.9 liter supercharger with 12 pounds of boost to get things moving in the right direction through a set of K&N air filters. In order to supply all the fuel a custom built gas tank was installed in the truck and fitted with an Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump. A Milodan 7-QT. oil pan was fitted to the bottom end to finish off the motor which is tied to an oil cooler that’s behind the grill.
Cooling is handled by a custom Be-Cool aluminum radiator. A Wegner Automotive front drive was added to keep the pulleys spinning, including the 165-amp alternator. This combo put down 586.5 horsepower at 5800 RPM’s and a whopping 760.2 lb.-ft. of torque at only 3200 RPM’s at the wheels.
Backing the powerful LS is a 765R4 transmission, which is a very built transmission that started life as a 700R4 thanks to Bowtie Overdrives. A TCS 3,000 RPM stall finishes off the combo. Connecting the power to the rear is a Inland Empire Driveline aluminum driveshaft. The rearend itself a Chris Alston Chassisworks 9″ custom fab housing fitted with an Eaton Truetrac, 3.55 gears and 35 spline axles.
Stance’d Out
Besides the bright paint, another detail you’ll notice about John’s Chevelle is how low it sits. Naturally that’s thanks to RideTech. The Chevelle sports RideTech’s drop spindles, tubular control arms, and bag set up. The rear also sports RideTech’s adjustable shocks to dial in the right ride. All the RideTech goodies are bolted to a fully boxed and stiffened chassis.
Filling the Falken Azenis tires is a set of Donz Gijante forged wheels. The fronts are 19×9″ with a respective 255/30 tire and the rears are a wide 20×12″ and 315/30 tire. Filling up the wheels is a set of massive 14″ 6-piston Wilwood brakes in the front and 4-piston caliper in the rear along with a Wilwood master cylinder to make sure they work properly.
Stitching Up The Hides
The interior received the same level of attention that the rest of the car achieved. To start, a complete stereo system was installed by Art Of Sound that consists of an Alpine head unit and a ton of Rockford Fosgate speakers and amplifiers.
Using the stock bucket seats, the seats were stitched up with a custom pattern with a mixture of leather and suede and red stitching to tie in the paint to the interior. Elegance Upholstery out of Upland, CA are the ones responsible for the incredible stitchwork. Finishing off the interior is a set of custom Speedhut gauges and a Killduff Machine shifter.