1965 Chevelle - BOLT.ON.BEAST

[BANKO]

Hey Guys, I thought I’d finally post up a thread on my Chevelle.

I have always loved the squared off design of the early Chevelles. The project began in my mind after I won a box of bolts from Larry at Prodigy Customs at the 2010 Pro-Touring SEMA dinner. I came up with the project name: BOLT.ON.BEAST I wanted to use great parts from a myriad of vendors to meet the goals stated below. When parts weren’t available to my needs, I would design and fabricate them myself.

I wanted a car with a great stance that I could enjoy looking at it every time I saw it. I also wanted it to be as low as possible without putting it on airbags. I enjoy driving the twisties, so I needed it to handle like it is on rails. I love shifting gears, so it needed to be a manual. Lastly, I want to be able to enjoy the car as much on the street as at track events.

I like pro-touring better than pro-jackstand, so I spent considerable time planning various phases of the design to keep my car running and drivable with minimal downtime. After saving some money to begin the project, I searched for nearly 2 years to find my car. My goal was to find a solid mechanical car with limited body work needed. After passing on a big block Chevelle in Oregon, I saw this car on craigslist only an hour from my house. I've made many incremental changes to the car in order to attend various ASCS and Goodguys auto-x events in CA. Last year I made the long trek to the Lone Star state last October with the Goodguys Texas road tour, driving the car over 4000 miles without many issues.

For questions: please PM me or send an email to: BOLT.ON.BEAST at gmail.com

Project Rendering: (By Carter Hickman)



Just after purchase in June of 2012:


On the Goodguys Texas Road Tour::


Phase 1: - Completed Q4 2012
DSE suspension - rear
Ridetech Triples - rear
Global West Uppers - front
Hotchkis 2" drop springs - front
Ridetech 2" drop spindles
Lee Manufacturing gearbox
Hellwig solid sway bar - front
Recaro seats
Custom harness bar
Schroth harnesses
Sparco steering wheel

Phase 2: Completed Q1 2013
T56 Swap
Manual brakes w/ Wilwood pedal swap
Z06 brakes / Kore 3 Hubs - front

Phase 3: - Completed Q3 2013
Global West extended coil over kit
Ridtech triples - front
Wilwood W6A - front
Z06 Brakes swapped to rear
12 bolt swap
PSC P/S remote reservoir w/ XRP lines
Vintage Air install
TSW 19x10.5” wheels installed

Phase 4:
Optimize front track width /steering angle
Custom front swaybar
Diagnose Vintage Air heating issue
Install new fuel gauge shunt resistor
Re-do brake M/C hardlines
Install rear swaybar
Raise exhaust

Phase 5:
LS3 swap / Ricks Vaporworks tank
Digital gauges
Mini tubs / frame notch
Solid body bushings
Rear wing

Phase 6:
Paint / Body mods to match rendering
Interior refresh: rear seat, carpet
Stereo Install

Detailed Build Sheet:

Suspension:

Front:
Upper: a-arms - Global West Negative Camber w/ Del-a-lum Bushings
Lower: a-arms Stock ( modified to fit RideTech Coilovers with lower T-Bar mount )
Hubs: Kore 3 (black Anodized w/ ARP 1/2”- 20 wheels studs ( reduced length ))
Spindles: RideTech 2” Drop
Coilovers: RideTech Triples, 5.2” Stroke, 600lb 12” Spring ( double shear design )
Sway Bar: Hellwig 1-15/16” Solid Sway bar
Misc: Global West Extended Travel Coilover kit

Rear:
DSE Swivel Link Control Arms
Coilovers: RideTech Triples, 5.2” Stroke, 175lb 12” Spring w/ 1.75 spacer
Sway Bar: None

Brakes:

Front:
Calipers: Wilwood W6A with 5.4” piston area
Rotors: E-Coated GT72 slotted rotors w/ Dynamic hats
Pads: Polymatrix E
Misc: Wilwood Caliper bracket machined for clearance to Kore3 C6 spindle bracket

Rear:
Calipers: Z06 6 Piston (Silver)
Rotors: Z06 14” OEM drilled rotors ( modified to fit over axles )
Pads: Hawk HP
Parking brake: IPSCO viper spot calipers with custom mounting brackets ( yet to be installed )

Steering:

Box: LEE Manufacturing 670 Quick Ratio Box
P/S Pump: KRC ( cylinder head mount )
P/S Reservoir: PSC Remote
High Pressure Lines: XRP - Black Braided Hoses

Wheels / Tires:

Front:
Wheels: TSW 19 x 10.5”, 5 x 120.65mm Matte Gunmetal
Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sport: 295/30/19
Wheel Spacer: Adaptec Hub Centric spacers 1.75” w/ ARP 1/2”- 20 wheel studs

Rear:
Wheels: TSW 19 x 10.5”, 5 x 120.65mm Matte Gunmetal
Tires: Michelin Pilot Super Sport: 295/30/19
Wheel Spacer: Adaptec Hub Centric spacers 0.875” w/ ARP 1/2”- 20 wheel studs

Rearend:

GM 12 Bolt ( rebuilt by Meanstreets Performance: San Carlos, CA )
Eaton Tru-Trac / 3:55 gears
Moser Axles
Misc: Custom hardline to flexible braided brake lines to Z06 calipers

Transmission:

Viper T56
QuickTime scatter shield ( modified for additional ground clearance )
Driveline: modified stock, shortened and new yoke welded
Clutch: McLeod RXT twin disk
Flywheel: McLeod aluminum 168 tooth
Throwout bearing: McLeod old style hydraulic
MGW short throw shifter w/ shifter extension
Electrical:
Reverse solenoid lockout activation ( wired via momentary switch + brake pedal depression )
Reverse lights wired via transmission pigtail
Pedals: Wilwood 6.25:1 reverse mount triple M/C pedal
Master Cylinders:
Front: Wilwood High Volume 3/4" bore
Rear: Wilwood High Volume 7/8" bore
Clutch: Wilwood High Volume 3/4" bore
Misc: Custom pedal bracket / MC box
Wilwood proportioning valve with pressure switch for brake light activation Wilwood in - cockpit brake bias knob ( yet to be installed )
Plumbing: custom bent hardlines

Interior:

Recaro Sport Seats, Wedge Engineering seat brackets
Mounted using some existing holes and welded Schroth harness brackets to the floor pan Harness: Schroth 6 point with custom color patches
Harness Bar: custom low profile ( Meanstreets Performance: San Carlos, CA )
Sparco steering wheel
A/C: Vintage Air ( 3 Knob Backlit Controls / Swivel Ball vents installed directly into the dash )
Custom pulley & tensioner setup for low mount compressor ( left side )
Bracket: Alan Grove low mount compressor bracket

Cosmetic Mods:

Glass: Dark Window Tint
Body Mods: Shaved Drip Rails, Filled Rear decklid seams
Fenders: Trimmed lips to 1/2”
Brake lights: Dakota Digital LED bulbs

[Flash68]

Awesome Josh! Glad you posted. Great stuff. Love what you have done and kept it on the road in the meantime.

[glassman]

Nice to see you start a build thread (Finally!!!!)...haha, just teasing, but not really....but jk.

U making it this year on the road trip?

BTW, i like phase 5 the best, that will be worth the price of admission, although cornering and stopping are a must too..

Anything going on with your work ventures?

, Mike

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Blue?!? I'm gonna miss the GM code 81 red!!

[zbugger]

Looks good Josh. So, you're calling your car Bob?

[65_LS1_T56]

Nice Josh. I've been waiting to see more info on your car, looks like you've done a lot already and have a great plan ahead.

Question on the 10.5"/295's all around: what is your plan to get them up front? I run 265's on 9.5" and a steering stop restriction and still get a rub on hard turns (ARB arm). I'd love to get to a 295 setup all around also.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

He is already running them. No inner fender wells and the fender lip has been trimmed flush. I was surprised too when it didn't rub during normal operation. He will have to add steering stops.

[65_LS1_T56]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

He is already running them. No inner fender wells and the fender lip has been trimmed flush. I was surprised too when it didn't rub during normal operation. He will have to add steering stops.

Wow. Yeah my inners rub only on a hard turn, trail braking with the nose in full dive a little. Its the ARB arms (spinded bar, arms barely clear frame) that hit. No room to run less backspace or I'll be in the fender arch on the outside.

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

Originally Posted by BANKO

I like pro-touring better than pro-jackstand...

Classic!

Oh, and nice build too! I also like the older; squarer Chevelles way better than the later ones.

[1965_SS]

WOW!
Very nice build
Would love to see a LOT more pics of everything.
Any build pics?

Someday I hope to be there with mine.........