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Robert's 1970 Chevelle at Roadster Shop

Having been whole, in pieces and now becoming whole again, it seems like a good time to introduce Robert's '70 Chevelle build.

The plan for this A-body is a clean, simple and refined '70 with T56/LS combo for reliable, enjoyable power and modern day handling and performance dynamics from our FAST TRACK Chevelle chassis.

The car as it arrived with us:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8408/8...f14ef165_b.jpg
Picture 225170 by Roadster Shop, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2814/8...28365f33_b.jpg
Picture 225171 by Roadster Shop, on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5327/8...bb4d74df_b.jpg
Picture 225174 by Roadster Shop, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/8...a5e3ae65_b.jpg
Picture 225178 by Roadster Shop, on Flickr

Aww man...a convertible? YES!!!!!!! :king: We're not worth, we're not worthy!

Looks like a really nice car. Love the color combo. As a 70 Malibu fan, I'll be watching this one.

This should be good as I'm also a 70 Chevelle fan I can't wait to see what you guys do to this one!

It looks like its a nice car. 70 is a nice body style.

Yes, it looks like you guys have a great starting point. Can't wait to see what you guys do with this one!

Wish my name was Robert. Oh well, maybe next time. Of course this one needs to be subscribed to. How many can we do that to?

Quote:

Originally Posted by waynieZ (Post 482480)

It looks like its a nice car. 70 is a nice body style.

Famous last words.... We thought it was going to be a real nice car as well.

This is what came back from the acid dipper.

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps8437fec9.jpg

At what point during this incredible metal work do you think this guy thought to himself..."Yup, I think its ready for paint!" It is amazing how something that looked as good as the original car, could end up like this. We looked the car over pretty well before disassembly and had no idea of what laid underneath.

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/s...psd63b4cda.jpg

What was left of the wheel opening and outer wheel house.
http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/s...psb385687f.jpg

There wasn't a wave, a bubble, a sand scratch, a shrinkage mark... nothing anywhere in this quarter. the trim fit nicely all around the convertible top... no signs of what was underneath. Oh well, nothing that an entire parts catalog can't fix!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roadster Shop (Post 484581)

WTF....?!! :shakehead: :shakehead: :hairpullout: :hairpullout: Rest assured though, this baby is in the best hands possible.

:omg: That's all I can express on that.

The dippers pulled a fast one on you. :) That's incredicble - in bad way - the before and after.

I wonder if that guy just wrapped up the trim in tape. Put down a bunch of filler and pressed that trim right into and pulled it back off before it was completely hard. Then just sanded to the indention....Always wonder how some of those guys do that.

Is that what sonny was driving on the causeway in the God Father??
I feel your pain.

Wow can you say artist. :hitaxeonthehead: It looks much better now, I was looking at the pictures on your web site. Nice job on getting back from that.

Wow! Can't believe they were able to hide that much rot without showing some signs.

The "bodyman" spent more time hiding that mess than it would have been to fix it the right way.

Two thoughts occur to me when I see those pictures -

1) Wow, I'm pretty good at body/metal work ! Anything I"m doing is 25* better than that, and it looked good under paint !

2) Wow, bondo is amazing ! Whatever flaws I have in my metal work will be easily remedied !

Ha ha.

Its true though, I haven't spent years doing bodywork or been around it much, but I enjoy fabrication and metal work, and sometimes get down on my work after perusing photos from the pros like Roadster Shop, and then once in a while I'll see the kind of underneath work done by all sorts of collision shops and so called restorers, and how much junk they actually cover up, I realize that what I"m doing is actually pretty decent and will be just fine under paint, even if a far cry from the standards of the professional craftsmen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjsjea (Post 484945)

The "bodyman" spent more time hiding that mess than it would have been to fix it the right way.

^^ This ^^

Think about the cost of all that filler he put on there. Even if he would have tacked a skin on there or glued it it would have been better. I have seen skins tacked every 12'' or so and then filled over.

It was definitely one of the most interesting repairs that we have seen in a while, that's for sure. There was 1/2" of bondo on the insides of the quarters to hide everything from all angles. There was definitely 10 times the amount of labor needed to do it the wrong way, than to do it correctly. The weird part is that a lot of areas on the car are perfect, unmolested metal, in areas where they normally rot first.

We have been making good progress on this build and taking care of these issues. We will post up some updates shortly.

Its looking good. It will be a nice ride.

Damn fine work as always

Another :confused59: Wow!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjsjea (Post 484945)

The "bodyman" spent more time hiding that mess than it would have been to fix it the right way.

When we tore a friends 65 mustang down, the previous owner had laid several layers of duct tape down then rebuilt the panel with bondo. It was insane, never seen that much work to do body work wrong. The funny part was that like this Chevelle, there was nothing showing that it was a disaster. There must have been a gallon of bondo on the mustang to blend it out that far.

After you Chemically dip a car, how do you coat the bare metal in the hard to reach places?

As always amazing fab work. I love the way the core support cover came out.

Love the build!! But I am a little biased. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmtech921 (Post 518824)

Love the build!! But I am a little biased. :D

I love it too and I'm not biased ! :D Awesome job.

The car is painted and inline for assembly. The chassis just came back from powder coating. We are waiting on a few items that were just sent out to the chromer. Should start looking like a car again in the upcoming months. I'll get some pictures together and post some this week.

Any updates?

Great Build :thumbsup:

Dan