63’ Chevy II Project “The Golden Girl”
 

I lost my previous project car a 64’ Buick Skylark to a freak electrical fire last September. The insurance company totaled it out and I bought it back. Fortunately the majority of the damage was to the interior and the cowl area of the car, so I was able to salvage a lot of parts.
I began hunting a new car to build last fall, and thought I would find another GM A-body car so I could reuse many of my parts. I ran across a Chevy II that wasn’t to far away and decided to change plans. I have always liked the early Chevy II’s and loved the Detroit Speed car.
The car I found was a 1963 Super Sport car although that option was mostly emblems as they all came with six cylinders. The previous owner had built the car in a different style than what I had planned. The car had a heavily modified 292 six and a five speed transmission. The good part was the body and paint looked good and thats what I was interested in. I didn’t want to deal with paint and body work. Here is what I started with.

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The car was originally black with a white painted top. It had been stripped to bare metal and painted GTO Tiger Gold. I liked the color combination and had a vision for where I wanted to take it.

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I drove the car less than five miles before the tear down began. I spent the first two months stripping thick layers of undercoating from the bottom of the car, the trunk and even under the carpet. As the layers came off, years of hidden repairs became exposed. At some point the floor pans and trunk pan had been replaced. It was poorly done and the way the front subframe mounts were reattached was down right scary. Lag screws are not good! I pushed forward and stripped it all down to bare metal. More rust issues behind the rear bumper. I knew I would be replacing the trans tunnel to make room for a T-56 and it looked like I would be replacing even more now.

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The tear down begins.

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I sold the 292 and the five speed that was in the car. I was surprised there is a cult following for these inline engines as I had multiple people wanting it. It was pretty trick for a six as it had a Sissels lump port head, forged pistons, roller rockers, etc. It sounded like a old log truck. It went on to live a new life in a early 60's Chevy truck.

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The previous owner had installed Church Boys Racing suspension components on the stock subframe/ doghouse. The design is kind of a mix of stock and aftermarket as the coil overs are above the upper control arms. Greg Wiedeman purchased these for his car.

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Once the bottom side was stripped and primed I started mocking up the new upgrades.

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I used my previous engine and trans. For mock up. Excuse the Buick Green LS3 it’s just mock up at this point.

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Wow! That trans is wicked high in the tunnel.


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Looks like it’s going to be a very cool project. However I like the green motor and it would make a great story when you open the hood.


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I looked into three suspension manufactures ( Detroit Speed, TCI and Speedway Motors. I based my decisions on quality, features, capabilities and price. Ultimately I felt like the Speedway Motors G-comp offered the best bang for the buck. I opted for the Unser Edition. It uses a fabricated spindle that has a bolt in C-7 Corvette hub and wheel bearings, billet steering rack and sway bar mounts, aluminum coil over uprights that tie to the down bars and a aluminum crossbar that ties the uprights together. I have had good experience with Ridetech coil overs so I choose to use them front and back.

Kmelander It does look tall in the photo. Really not that bad. These cars had small tunnels. I’m shooting for a 2-3 degree angle on the engine and trans.

Thanks Marty it’s a different color for sure.

Sorry to hear about your previous car, what a bummer! Look forward to seeing the progress on your Chevy II. What are your plans for rear ended and suspension?


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Thanks Brian, It all worked out in the end. I’m using Speedway Motors Unser edition rear suspension as well. Truck arm style with watts link. Narrowed 9” full floater rear. I was able to reuse my center section ( 3.70 gear with True-Trac 31 spline).

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The rear end that was in the car was a 65' Chevy II 10 bolt 8.2" it had been upgraded to a 3.73 posi with 11" disc brakes. It has gone on to be reunited with a 65 car that was in need of a new rear.

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Test fitting headers and fitting a steering shaft using Borgenson joints, the front joint I used a damper style, cut down a collapsible d shaped shaft.

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I found a damaged rear shock mount under the undercoating. I repaired it even though I wont be using it for anything other than a mounting hole for the new rear subframe. Must have had a rear shock come loose at some point and the bolt hole got torn away.

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Once I was satisfied with the front sub frame, engine and trans mock up I pulled it back apart to close up all the holes in the firewall that I wouldn't be using.

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With all the unneeded holes filled I put it back together to get it back to roller. I loaded it on a trailer and headed to Wisconsin to take it to Randy Johnson at D & Z Customs. I elected to get some professional help to build the transmission tunnel, install DSE mini tubs, a full floor pan, trunk pans, etc. I have known Randy a few years, he is a straight shooter and he was able to fit me in his busy schedule.

Out with the old.

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The new to go in.

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New rear crossmember/ subframe for the watts link and coil overs mounts welded into the inside of the rear frame rails. You can see the gas filler location in this picture above the left rear inner wheel tub. More to come on that later.

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Starting to go back together.

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Mini tubs in.
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Custom panel for the trunk to provide clearance for watts link.
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New panel behind the rear bumper.

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Randy was able to reuse the DSE sub frame connectors and torque boxes. Randy modified a Speedway Motors trans. Crossmember to mount to the DSE sub frame connectors.

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Looks really good, nice progress! Your paint scheme reminds me of Smokey Yunick’s 68 Camaro Trans Am car. Keep the updates coming, always good to see another Nova on here.

Thanks Shane. I have watched your thread. Your skills are amazing and it cant believe how far you have come with your car.

One of the the issues I had to find a solution for was a gas filler location. The previous owner had the fender opening closed up and the filler neck came out in the trunk over the left rear wheel well. I didn’t like it being so far in the trunk and in a weird place to access. Having built a A-body car I decided to build it so the filler would come out the rear bumper behind the tag. The new mini tub eliminated the previous filler location. I told Randy what I wanted to do and asked if he could make a slight relief in the trunk floor.

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Fabricated transmission tunnel.

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I have lost count on how many times the engine transmission and the front sub frame have been in and out of this car.

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Welded in the DSE clutch master mount. Welded up a DBW pedal mount, and vintage air mounts on the other side of the firewall.

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Looks great! I used the DSE mount for the clutch master as well. Also. on mine, we welded up the extra space in the firewall just above the steering column, which really helped clean up the firewall as well.


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Added a DSE fuel pump access panel to the trunk floor. I had the bottom of the car and trunk coated with a bed liner type coating. The inside just a satin black.

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Painted the firewall the body color.

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In this picture you can see the added crossmember that the truck arms are hinged off of. This crossmember goes from rocker to rocker and is also tied in to the DSE sub frame connectors.

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The front sub frame and suspension was all blown back apart for paint.

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Then back together temporarily. Randy and the guys at D & Z Customs did a great job with everything and gave me a solid foundation for everything I had planned. Not to mention doing it in a short amount of time. Thanks Randy.

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At this point I hauled the car back to my home shop to be blown apart again.

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I began attacking the time consuming stuff. I learned from my previous build to use Nicop for brake lines. I actually enjoy making them. I try to minimize the joints and I use stainless clamps to hold them in place. I was able to make the brake line from the proportioning valve to the rear axle in two pieces. Another little idea I came up with is to use heat shrink tubing on the lines were the clamps are. You just have to remember to slide it on before flaring your last fitting.
I used Banjo to A&N fittings for the steering rack as they provide the most clearance and the ability to clock them at any angle.

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Not the best picture but this is a example of a line I made with the heat shrink on at the clamp locations.

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I’m using Speedway Motors Headers made by Dynatech. They have 1 7/8” primary tubes and O2 bungs. They are a mild steel header and fit great. I did not like the three bolt flange on the collectors so I cut and ground the welds to remove them. Then changed to stainless steel V-band type instead. Then I sent them off to M & R coatings in Kodak, TN. To get coated. They do great work at a reasonable price if your looking to have any exhaust components coated.

Interesting story on the headers. When I ordered the suspension and subframe, Speedway was out of the headers and I was told they were on backorder. After checking for weeks on end they told me the demand wasn’t there and they wouldn’t be getting any more. I tried going straight to the source but minimum order qtys and Speedway owning the design kept that from happening. I looked at the Church Boys Racing Headers and at Ultimate. But they didn’t work for my application. I twisted Speedways arm a little and they ordered five more headers and I got a set at half the price for my trouble. So if you need LS headers for a 62-67 Chevy II they have four more at half price. Here’s a link for anyone interested.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/G-Com...sh,205590.html

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The car looks great. Love the paint scheme. Keep up the great work!

Thanks Trey. I see your in Ga. I've heard they have a great Cars and Coffee scene there. I was in Franklin, NC until about four years ago. Hope to move back in a few years.

I am using a Ricks restomod fuel tank. I opted for the internal corner pickups. As I mentioned earlier my fuel fill location needed to be changed. Randy was able to get me a heavy walled stainless filler neck that was welded into the new location. I was concerned I might have some fuel slosh issues so to counter this I made a few things to deal with this. First the fill tube is extended into the tank several inches, second the end in the tank has a reverse facing piece of metal that acts like a dam in the lower third of the filler. Fuel goes in like a ramp but fuel trying to go out is partially blocked. I used a short piece of hose between the tank neck and the actual filler that is a 89-97 Ford Ranger upper neck. I chose this because it had two features I wanted. First it has a nozzle flap like the late model cars and second it’s a tube in tube design again to deal with any fuel slosh. The last thing I did was create a internal flap that is hinged on the end of the tube inside the tank. Probably overkill.

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I was real excited when this crate arrived.

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This is a Blueprint engines 427 LS. 625HP and 565 ft. Lbs of torque. I’m using their long block so I could select the external items to fit my needs. Its a LS3 based stroker that has an all forged bottom end, Mahle forged pistons and rings, ARP rod bolts, Melling oil pump, and 12 degree 255 cylinder heads that rotates the valve angle from the 15 degree angle of the standard LS3 to similar to the LS7.

The old and the new.
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The one thing I missed during mock up that caused lots of head scratching and some challenges to overcome was the oil pan. I had a Holley 302-2 oil pan I used to mock up and it fit great. The longer stroke of the new engine didn’t clear the pan. The new Holley pan 302-3 is good for up to 4.00” stroke but I am at 4.125” stroke. The original Holley pan 302-1 would work for the engine, but the sump is too deep for my liking and hung below the cross member. In addition the front of the pan was to deep for my steering rack. So after looking into lots of oil pans I selected the Mast Motorsports stroker pan. I prefer the cast pans and it had all the clearance I needed or so I thought. For those studying oil pans here is a comparison to the 302-2 Holley pan.

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The Mast pans have those kick outs in just the right places to clear the rods. I am using their pickup and windage tray as well, all designed for the longer stroke. The only thing I didn’t like about the pan is the cast in baffles but no trap doors for oil control. I was using the Improved Racing baffle trap door assembly in the Holley pan and I really liked it.

Thanks Andyd, I like lots of details.

When I test fit the engine and the Mast pan I created a new clearance issue. The left front portion of the pan didn’t clear a steering rack fitting. I had to cut out a small notch and create a piece to go back in place to clear it.

Before shot.
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After shot

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Next up was to create a trap door baffle for the pan. I started by cutting out the cast baffle in the pan. Then I started with a Improved Racing baffle for a Holley pan. The first issue is the Mast pickup is clocked 180 degrees opposite of the Holley so this meant the lower part of the trap door had to rotate 180 degrees as well.
Here is what I started with.

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Here is the Mast baffle laid over the Improved Racing trap door.

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The pickup difference. Mast on the left, Holley on the right.

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And here is what I ended up with. It took way to much time to make this piece.

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While fitting the pickup I decided to make the little hold down to use the second bolt on the oil pump. You can buy these but I was ready to button up the pan and didn’t want to wait so I made this one out of some scrap metal.
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Before buttoning it all up I ran the Pan, and baffle through the dish washer to give it a good cleaning. Since it was not oily the wife approved. She has gotten used to parts coming into house for various reasons over the years.

The Speedway motor mount plates that attach to the block position the motor really well but they are made of steel and felt very heavy. The other thing I didn’t like was they used some separate spacers to position the actual motor mounts. This is just a pet peave but I hate have to line up bolts, spacer, motor mounts, and engine plates. So I decided to make some lighter weight ones out of 6061 Aluminum to save weight and incorporate the spacers in the design so I don’t have to worry about them falling out and rolling off when taking things in and out. Also saved 2.8 lbs ! My oldest son is a CNC machinist and enjoyed the challenge. He did a great job. This is probably the fifth or sixth set of LS mounts he’s made for me for various projects.

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I was able to reuse my flywheel clutch and throw out bearing as they didn’t even have fifty mile on them. I am using a GM LS7. I checked the flywheel for runout and checked the bell housing alignment using a Bowler test fixture.

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I made a little trip to the other side of Illinois to pick up this.

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Tremec T-56 Magnum-F six speed from Bowler Transmissions. Thanks Mark and Tom.
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Using a Summit Racing SFI harmonic balancer (4th gen F-body spacing)with ARP bolt.

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All bolted together for the final install I hope.

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Going to install the engine, transmission, subframe and All suspension as one assembly. So Time for some front brakes. I’m using Wilwood Forged Superlite 6R 14” Corvette front brakes.

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My oldest son came to the rescue again and machined me some custom aluminum spacers for the caliper mounting bolts. They use a special shouldered bolt. My spindle ears are different than the factory Corvette spindles.

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Great write up and I love the attention to detail and ingenuity... going to be an awesome ride! What are plans for intake, injectors, etc. for the LS7? Also, what are you using for ECU?

Brian


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Thanks Brian I am going to run a LS3 intake and injectors as my engine is LS3 based. I am planning for a Holley Terminator Max ECU.

Makes sense... should’ve caught that when you noted the 4.125” stroke in your earlier post. The Terminator Max is a great ECU... really capable and affordable.


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Yes, we do have a large Caffeine and Octane show every month just down the street from me. Covid hasn't really slowed it down. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, lol. I've been staying home typically. Let us know if you ever make it down for the show. Rustomatic(Paul) and Che70velle(Scott) are in the area, too.

Good to know Trey. I will have to check out sometime when I’m down that way.

The assembled front ready to go back in.

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Some tape on the firewall for some protection along with some moving blankets on the engine. Don’t need paint scars at this point!

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I coaxed my wife, Robin to come out and help me balance and line up everything for assembly.

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What an inspiring thread. I love all the details that you are sharing. However, the parts in the dishwasher is definitely a “Win” for me.


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Very nice. I like everything you're doing. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Marty. I spent a few nights looking over your Camaro build. Awesome project and love your details. Especially the blue tape :) .

Thanks 214Chevy

Picture of the brake and clutch pedals. I had to drill a few holes to improve the looks and decrease the weight. :) The clutch pedal required some changes . I raised the clutch pick-up point higher to better align with the clutch master cylinder this caused me to remove part of the clutch stop arm. I cut back the area to reduce the thickness to allow the yoke to go around then beefed up the welds. I use Wilwood yokes for the brake and clutch as they are aluminum and just work well.

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I am using a compact 3/4” Wilwood clutch master 260-13619. It is setup for a 3/8-24 Banjo fitting.

I am going manual brakes and would normally use a Wilwood master cylinder for the brakes. I have used them in the past and my only complaint is the lid. I guess it’s a pet peeve, but I don’t like to use tools to remove a lid to check the fluid level. The mounting location is very close to the left valve cover so I researched an alternative.
I ended up using Dorman M39736 that was used on 87-95’ Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. It has the 7/8” bore size I wanted, its compact and aluminum. The side benefit is its cheap ($39.00) and readily available. The hole spacing is just a little tighter than GM, but its Easy to open up a bit to fit. I used a universal pushrod from Wilwood. I know the risk is low but I always think about what could happen if the rod came out of the master cylinder. I weld a washer to the rod and then drill and tap the back of the master cylinder to accept a washer that has a hole smaller than the washer I welded on the rod. No chance of it coming out!

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https://i.postimg.cc/Fs9yFTj6/472-CB...13043-FACA.jpg

I’m using a Wilwood proportioning valve and I had to cut the mounting bracket and extend it some to fit.

New wheels arrived after a long wait to be made. Had to throw them on to see how they looked. Weld RT-S S77 18 x 9.5 front and 18 x 10 rear. Thanks to Randy Johnson at D & Z Customs.

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Nice work...

Question...is there a reason for mounting the prop valve backwards?

T,

Thanks Tom, I would love to see the pictures in your build threads.

Good catch. I should have mentioned that earlier. Yes a couple reasons. The port configuration on the master cylinder is the main reason. The rear port of the master cylinder is for the front brakes. The other reasons are to make access to the adjuster knob easy, and I didn't like the brake light sender and wires sitting front and center.