1969 Chevelle SS396 / 454 Street Machine

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This car is not an up-to-the-minute track monster, but it was a fun build and the car came out really sharp, so we figured we'd share it!

This 1969 Chevelle was born wearing a Cortez silver paint job and sporting a blue interior. It was an original V8 car, sporting a 307 V8 under the hood and was driven for many many years by its owner Al until the late 80s.



However, by the late 1980s, the street use took its toll on the Chevelle's body and chassis, and Al decided it was time to disassemble the car and restore it.





He disassembled the car in his home garage with the help of his young son, and embarked on a journey to repair the rusty quarter panels as the first steps to bring this car back to life.



Unfortunately, as many people know, restoring classic muscle car takes time, money, and effort. He had the effort, but raising the family was the obvious priority, so his project speed was set on extra slow. However, Al was able to complete some tasks, including a very good job of installing a pair of original NOS Chevrolet quarter panels on both sides.

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Time passed, the family moved into a bigger house with a bigger garage, and the Chevelle patiently waited for the next stage, which was the engine project.





The trusty 307 pulled this car over the roads for many years, but Al wanted more, so he and a buddy built a screaming 454 to give this car more go! The engine was built just past LS6 specifications, topped with an aluminum intake and Hooker headers.



Al build a test stand to break-in his rashly rebuilt engine right there in his garage. This allowed the engine to be ready to fire as soon as the car was finished.







He found a used 12 bolt rear axle, and had his chassis media blasted and painted and rebuild the front suspension components and bushings to restore the Chevelle's ride.

Al pulled the body off the frame to start the chassis restoration. Unfortunately, it was determined that the Chevelle's cabin floors were hiding more rust and was initially thought.

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Interestingly, the topside it looked okay except for the body mount areas. The bottom side was scaly and Rusty.









This is when the body came to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop. After our initial inspection, it was determined that the best course of action would be to install a complete cabin and trunk floor.



Our first step was to affix the body on our jig to ensure the floors would go in square and true. Our team use a plasma torch to speed the removal of the original floor.

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The trunk floor was the first section to come out. After it was plasma cut, the crew went back and cleaned up the details around the perimeter where the new floor section would attach.













At this point, the crew took a slight detour from the floor to install some cowl box replacement panels. These rusted due to leaves and other debris being trapped between the cowl box and the fenders. This is a common occurrence and GM "A" body cars.

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There were sections in the front of the body shell that needed repairing before the new cabin floor could go in. For example, we would be installing a full-length floor that ended at the factory seam at the base of the firewall. Our new floor required to clean sheet metal in the toe board area for proper installation, but the original floor was rusty at this seam. To remedy this, patch sections were ordered welded in place to provide clean sheet metal to attach to the new floor section. Patch panels were cut down and welded in place.

















Once the toe boards were repaired, the main cabin floor was ready to come out. It looks a little daunting on the jig with absolutely no floor, but the jig legs ensure the shape of the body structure does not change.





The floor section runs from the driver toe board all the way to the backseat support. The challenge was not only to change the floors, but also to repair rusty wheel houses without damaging the newly installed quarter panels.

The body was temporarily removed from the jig so the new floor could be slid in from the bottom, than the body was re-fixtured in proper position.

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Many hours were spent carefully removing and trimming the center floor section. On a GM A body like our Chevelle, the floor is an intricate sandwich of layers, weaving through the rocker panels, floor, and various braces and supports.



The challenge was not only to change the floors, but also to repair rusty wheel houses without damaging the newly installed quarter panels.

Plasma cutting the large areas and careful spot will drilling allowed our team to separate the quarter panel from the wheelhouse without causing damage. However, there were areas where we drilled through the quarter panel which would require re-welding after the new wheel houses were installed.





At this point, we began to mock up and test fit the wheel houses and trunk drop off panels, in addition to test fitting the rear trunk section. This is a tedious process involving installation and removal of these panels multiple times to ensure proper fit. We also installed The main cabin for to make sure it fit properly and harmonious we with our other new sheet metal panels.

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Although our car is not a true SS model, we decided to add a correct GM Chevelle SS stripe to the side for some color accent. We chose a bright red stripe color for maximum contrast against the black exterior color. We decided to spray the stripe in reverse, so the red was the first color to go on the outside of the body. Once it was applied, we masked off the final stripe design using a factory GM assembly manual as a guide. The dimensions are exactly as GM specified.









Once the stripe was taped off, the exterior coats of Standox Carbon Flash metallic were applied. Three coats of color were sprayed on the car, and then it was bathed in several layers of clear. Our strategy was to apply two layers of clear, and then "cut open" the clear with 800 grit sand paper to allow it to outgas and breathe.

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After a couple weeks, we cleaned and wet sanded the clear and rolled the car into the baking spray booth for its final clearcoat. We then applied to more coats of clear to ensure a deep luster and smooth finish.











At this point, the window rollers and regulators and tracks were all rebuilt and lubricated. We installed a stereo from Antique Auto Radios which looks exactly like stock, but features modern internals, MP3 and Bluetooth capability, but still retains the sliding red needle like a 1969 Chevrolet radio.







The interior assembly continued with original Chevrolet bucket seats that have been reupholstered with leather covers in the original pattern. The crew installed the side windows and weatherstripping at this point, along with the windshield and rear glass. Next up where the door panels, dash pad, carpeting, and other interior details.







Next came the installation of the headlights, grille, bezels, and taillights. The car was wet sanded and buffed using a multi step process to bring out a mirror like finish.

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The theme for this car was the look of an SS 396, but with a few updates. We wanted a retro style wheel with a modern size and a high-performance tire, so we installed a set of 17 x 8" Rocket Racing Wheels in the hyper shot finish. This is a reflective dark gray spoke that changes color with various lighting conditions. The tires are BFGoodrich G Force Sport Comp 2 tires.





All the fluids were changed, brakes were bled, and the remaining interior items were installed. At this point the crew completed the exhaust tips exiting just below the rear bumper. The rear trunk was spatter coated in original black and gray pattern.

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It was finally time for an initial test drive where we tuned the carburetor on a chassis dyno. We learned several things after warming up the car and running it on the rollers. We found the used rear differential to be worn out and the gears and housing were rusty. The posi unit chattered like crazy and the clutches were gone, so we installed a new set of gears and a Detroit True Track differential to remedy that problem.





Changing the rear gear also required the installation of a new Speedometer drive gear.





The dyno showed us some lean areas in the fuel curve, so we tuned the 750 carb but were not happy with the result, so we switched the carburetor for a Holley Street Avenger 870 CFM unit to better supply the thirsty 454. This tuneup process was verified on the chassis dyno with a wideband oxygen sensor installed in the exhaust for optimum air fuel ratio.





We didn't do full power pulls on the dyno yet, as the car is super-fresh and is still not broken in. After a 4-500 miles we'll change the fluids again and see what it does. We'll be running Royal Purple synthetics to reduce friction as well as keep the moisture at bay.

We put some miles on the car and are quite happy with the result. The car is stunning in any light, turn heads everywhere does, and the performance is excellent. It feels new and tight, the steering is crisp, and that 454 makes tons of tire frying torque!