63’ Chevy II Project “The Golden Girl”

[64G-lark]

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.

[64G-lark]

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.

[64G-lark]

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.













The tear down begins.







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.



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.

[64G-lark]

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







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

[Kmelander]

Wow! That trans is wicked high in the tunnel.


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[syborg tt]

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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[64G-lark]

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.

[bkswede]

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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[64G-lark]

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).







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.

[64G-lark]

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.



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.