The 69 Chevelle Project...Gearjammer

[Haulnaz]

Great to see another 69 Velle on here. Ill be following along. If and when you make that front bumper you will be getting a request for one more for mine!!

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

It's been a slow winter here, so I thought I would add a little filler until we get back into things for the project. I was able to make it to Indy for PRI and met with several of the vendors for components that I had an interest in. First stop was at the StopTech booth to meet up with Ron Sutton to make a few final decisions on the front end. Through-out the later part of 2017 we had been bouncing ideas back and forth and came to the decision to change from the original plan and build my own chassis vs. buying the SpeedTech one. My brother-in-law is a certified welder and between the 2 of us, we can fabricate the chassis at a much lower cost with Ron's TA2 components and end up with a great foundation. This will allow me to build in stages and keep the C10 on reserve for financing the drivetrain when we get to that point as that will be the biggest hit on the wallet. I do have to admit, seeing how well Aaron Oberle's G-Velle 2.0 came out was a big influence to go this direction on the chassis. Ron and I also discussed a couple of his engine packages and I think we have it narrowed down to the Level 3 625 HP package that he offers. This should be a good all-around motor that is still street-able yet plenty of power for autocross and occasional track days.
Ron and I also went over the StopTech brake package and discussed the new RideTech R-Joints. The little details are getting clearer...
While at PRI, I also wanted to check out the HAYS Dragon Claw clutch. One of the engineers that helped develop this unit was on hand and he was able to share some great info. I also stopped by the Forgeline booth to look at the RB3C wheel a little closer. Definitely like the design of this wheel.

As the build thread progresses, I also thought I would share some of the stories of the original Gear Jammer. Here's a quick one to get started:
During Christmas, our family gathers at my parents for the annual dinner and presents. My Dad had showed me his ZIPPO from when he served. It was a gift from the Captain of his unit. On the front is the the War Bonnet crest of the 14th Field Artillery unit he was with, along with his CB handle GEARJAMMER engraved on it. On the back, his unit designation, along with these words are engraved: "FOR THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR IT FREEDOM HAS A FLAVOR THE PROTECTED NEVER TASTE".

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Originally Posted by Haulnaz

Great to see another 69 Velle on here. Ill be following along. If and when you make that front bumper you will be getting a request for one more for mine!!

Looks like you are making great progress on yours! I love the lines of the 68-69.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

While finishing up the 64, some interesting events happened around the PT world. Sat back for a while waiting for the smoke to clear and decided to make a call to Roger at SpeedTech. While I would love to put their full ExtReme chassis under this car, it's just not in the budget if I want to maintain all of the other mods and features I want to incorporate into this build. But with Roger's help, I think we'll able to get 80-90% of the performance for 60-70% of the cost. We'll be seeing some large boxes showing up from them in the next few weeks. In the mean time, I've also been collecting parts. Should be an interesting winter as we finally get to see some real progress take shape.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Doing some more parts collecting on the Chevelle. Speedtech Torque Arm, Full Floater Rear End and a Strange center section loaded with 3.89 gears and an Eaton Trutrac. Have some of the chassis details nailed down and starting to cut the tubing for that. Also picked up a set of RideTech R-Joints to build the custom length trailing arms for the back.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Slllooowww but steady progress on the Chevelle project. Been a busy winter working on house projects and chasing my daughter around on her travel volleyball team, but I'm finding more time recently to get back in the garage. Playing around with a new Millermatic 211 welder and built a frame table. I have all of the chassis parts rough cut and quite a few have been final machined for the rear rails so we should be able to start some preassembly there soon. Picked up a Prototype set of RideTech Control Arms from Chris & Lynda Jacobs. These will allow for additional caster and camber over their of-the-shelf part numbers. Also picked up a Turn One 12:1 box and all new ProForged Steering components along with a Tilton pedal assembly and a QuickTime bellhousing. Next up on the list will be the SpeedTech ATS spindles and bump steer kit.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Painted the Strange center section last night so I can now finish up the SpeedTech rear-end and Torque-arm assembly. It's loaded with an Eaton TrueTrac and 3.89 gears.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

First mock up of the rear end assembly today. SpeedTech torque arm and custom lower links with RideTech R-Joints will make the necessary connections.

[rixtrix1]

Great name and a great story to go along with it! Looks like you've decided on a selection of parts to make this a really cool build. And the rendering, WOW! Ben did a great job on that. Thanks for sharing!

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Originally Posted by rixtrix1

Great name and a great story to go along with it! Looks like you've decided on a selection of parts to make this a really cool build. And the rendering, WOW! Ben did a great job on that. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! There are a lot of inspiring moments when listening to my Father tell of his stories in the Army, some good, some down right scary.... I think he was fortunate to be in during the time that he was and not a year or 2 sooner or being stationed at the fire base he was at. The outcome could have been a lot worse if it was different.

Yeah, Ben is great to work with on renderings. I've thought about having him compare a couple of other Forgeline wheel styles, like the GA3R or GZ3R. Still the same color scheme, but just ant to see a few variations of the multi-spoke designs.