66 Chevelle - basket case

[wyattroa]

Well I went out and bought a 1966 Chevelle. The car is a rolling shell as of right now, but Ill update the pictures of what has been done so far.

My goals for this car are pro-touring, street, and cruising. I plan to yank a LS motor from a junk yard and throw it in there. I am not sure yet on a transmission. Really leaning towards a t-56, but I know the wife would probably want to drive the car too since she will be helping me wrench on it. So it might end up with a 4L80e in it. I am going to be buying parts a little at a time and building this car. I know I won't be finishing this car in a year, or even 2 for that matter, but it will be mine and something I hope my kids, wife, and myself will enjoy.

My plan for suspension is to do coil overs all the way around, upgrade the steering box to a jeep grand cherokee, and to fit 295's on the ass end of it. I was thinking of doing the mini tub, but 335 tires are more expensive and I have a feeling I would be going through them fast. I know 335's look amazing from the back. Maybe that will change, who knows.. It currently has a 10 bolt in it, but unfortunately it the weak 8.2". So I will be on the hunt for a used 12bolt or ford 9".

I had planned on buying a car to do a ton of work on, but everything in my area, Chicago, is just horrible. The cars around here are literally falling apart from rust and their prices are too high. I went to see a 66 chevelle that had the suspension collapsed on it, no trunk floor, no floors inside, rust everywhere and they wanted $4,500 for it. No thanks.

I also plan on doing the body work and paint. It will be a big job as I have never done this before, either way, I plan on doing everything I can.

I found this on the west coast, all original body panels on it. The frame had been taken to a shop and it was confirmed to be straight and true. I had it shipped back to me.

There are so many nice 66 chevelles on here. I have read through there threads and am blown away. They are the reason I have started this. I feel there is a wealth of knowledge on this site and from what I have seen the other chevelle build threads do, I think I will be in good hands for help.

Going to have some posts in a row updating everything I have done, which isn't much.

Here are some pictures to get started. The first car is a mustang I built when I was 18, I am now 32. That car is long gone, but damn it was fun. It had a 347 stroker with a BDS 8-71 blower on it. It turned a few heads..lol
















Here is how it sat when I got it.