1967 Chevelle
 

I'm starting to get to work on my 67 Chevelle, so I figured I would start up a build thread. I have been looking for a nice 66 or 67 for several years, but hadn't had much luck. But about a year ago, I came across this one on Craigslist. It's a really clean 67 Malibu that had buckets and a console automatic. The previous owner had it for 14 years. He had already replaced both full quarters, inner/outer wheelhouses, and repaired the package tray area(almost always rotted on these cars). So, for the most part, there isn't any rust repair that needs done. It came with a ton of new parts including all new interior pieces. It has a pretty mild 350 with a th350 trans and a high geared, open 10 bolt rearend.
My goal is to make it a car that's equally as fun to drive, as it is comfortable. While I enjoy driving my truck alot, I don't really consider it an exciting experience with the mild small block and auto. So while i'm still on the fence as far as what engine I want to run in this car, It will most certainly be a stick shift. It will either be a tko600 or a t56. Over the past year, I've been accumulating some of the parts for this build. But in the year I've had it, I really havn't had time to do anything to it other than a few little things. Even without the glass, I would still take it up and down our road from time to time. This will still be a really slow process since I will be doing all the work myself as time allows. Heres some pictures of when I brought it home.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Here's a couple pictures after I put the bumpers, trim, and emblems on. Looks a lot better.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

I had Quick Performance build a 9" with 3.89 gears and an Eaton truetrac. Built to handle 650 hp. I doubt I will be throwing that much power at it, but I do plan on having too much power for the 8.2" 10 bolt.
I also ordered Wilwood front and rear brakes. 14" 4 piston rear, 14" 6 piston front.
Pictures:

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Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Has a tough, rough and ready vibe. (in a good way) you going to run it for a while as is or spiff it up with paint and such?

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In in to see this one ,Im a Chevelle guy too.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Thanks. Im planning on painting it.

Great! My good friend in high school drove a 66 that we had a lot of good times in. I've wanted one every since. I like all years of a-bodys, but the lines of the 66-67's have always been my favorite.

I've been working on a few small projects as I take the car apart. I went throught the instrument cluster and added aftermarket gauges from Shiftworks. They aren'the exact matches for the original guages, but they still look nice. Only the purists will know the difference. I also took the vent windows apart and replaced the rubber pieces. While I had them apart, I cleaned them up and repainted/polished them. They came out pretty nice I think.

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More small projects. Polished the headlight rings, and cleaned up the front and rear bumper brackets.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

New Moog steering parts, ready to go in when I go through the suspension.
I'm replacing the original steering box with one out of a Jeep Grand Cherokee. This is a fairly common upgrade in the Chevelle world. The Jeep box bolts right in and has the same turning radius as the original. It even uses the stock Chevelle pitman arm. The difference is in the ratio and the valving. Everyone on the Chevelle forums that has done the swap seems to be very satisfied. I guess I'll find out. All I needed to make the conversion was a rag joint out of an 80's chevy truck, and a set of press in adapters for the hose fittings. You can get the rag joint and fittings from Lee Power Steering for about 50-60 bucks. They even include a little tool to press the fittings in with.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Great start, this is my dream car. When I first got my license the family car was a 67 chevelle 283 with 3 on the tree. It was a four door that I drove the wheels off of but have sworn that I would have the 2 door version. That was 40 years ago but that dream still lives. Looking forward to seeing your build.

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Is the jeep a metric "o" ring fitting for the hoses and you're going to use the old style flare fitting? I was looking into those fittings, but I wasn't sure that was correct for what I needed.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Thanks, glad to have you following along.

Yes, the Jeep box uses metric o ring fittings. The press in adapters make it possible to use the original inverted flare p.s. hoses of the chevelle.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

Nice Chevelle! :chevy: I've always loved the 67 as well. I know where a 67 Malibu is sitting and rotting away.... It's been sitting so long, it's probably completely rotten underneath. Yours is going to be FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!! :metal: What colors are you thinking about?

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

That is a very nice car you have to start with. A 67 Chevelle is on my to own list some day. My baseball coach who was a family friend, had a 67 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed car that he painted for a guy and got the car because the guy didn't pay the bill. Russ used to take us to base ball games and practice in that car. It was so much fun!

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

I'm about 99% sure it will be red. I'm typically not a red car guy just because of how many of them there are out there. But the one I spent all the time in as a teenager was red. So, for the 15 years I've thought about having one, it's just always been red in my head.

Thanks. That makes the '79 Caprice I got took to practice in look really lame :lol:

I'm working on patching a couple places in the floor pan underneath the rear seat. There were a few pinholes around the area where there are what I guess are rubber drain plugs. I'll get a few pictures of that excitement this weekend. Heres a few pics from the last week or so. Also a (sideways) picture of my suspension setup, or at least the boxes anyway. It's a Ridetech level 2 coilover setup with front and rear musclebar sway bars.

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And a random picture of the Chevelle next to my truck, because I like the picture.

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Sweet suspension parts! I have a 68 GS400 I'd like to put all that on some day. I'm hoping I can get started on it this winter.

Re: 1967 Chevelle
 

JM,
I guess we have a lot in common. I have a project 67 I am getting ready to start on.

I had two over the years:

The first was a Malibu that I got right out of the service in 1971. It was a 327
with a factory 3sp on the floor. It was a fun car to drive. I had to sell it due
to money woes and still miss it.

The second was a mint SS 4 spd. this was in 1982. I had to sell it for the same
reason as above.

I found another one last year. I did not pay much for it. It came from one
of the northern states and would require massive metal work. It does have
a solid 12 bolt and a good top skin. The friend,I got it from, is an engine
builder and racer.

He called me a couple of months ago and asked me if I was interested in
another one. Of course, I said yes and wound up buying it on the spot.
The only rust through is on the front pans. It is solid and tight. The main problem
is an ex-vinyl top. I hope to use the one on the parts car. I have done several
restorations and have my own shop. The restoration was started by a local
body shop. My friends cousin had bought it to finish the restoration. He needed
to sell if for the same reason that I had to sell both of mine. I guess the wheel
finally turned and I was on the other side.

I have a couple of projects to sell to get started. Age is catching up with me but
I think I have one left and it is going to be for me. My heart is in the 67.

I noticed the truck in the background. I have a 70 cst, same trim package,
that I have had for 38 years. It is in my heart also with a lot of memories.

Good luck,
EdB

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Over the last week or so, I finished the small floor patches and put on the ABC Performance firewall panel. Here's a few pictures of fitting/tacking it in. I have it all welded in and bodyworked now, but no pictures yet.

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I should be starting the priming and blocking process in the next week or two. I'm going to use all SPI primers and their single stage red. I've never used SPI products before, but everyone swears by them. So I'm going to give them a try. If their products are as good as their customer service, I'll be happy. Anyway, I went ahead and masked off the upper parts of the doors, quarter window area, and dash and shot them with satin black. I also shot the dash, glove box door, and ash tray while i was at it so it would all match. This is backwards of the way some people do it, but I've done it this way in the past and prefer to do it this way. I was happy with the level of sheen on the black I used. It's probably a little flatter than it would have been from the factory, but that's what I wanted. I plan on using the same paint on the firewall and inner fenders. The paint is Excel xl4000 hot rod satin black. Here's a few pictures.

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Some inspiration for you, my dad's SS from way back..


Attachment 1689301

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Thanks MP&C. I love these Chevelles gold. If my truck wasn't gold, this car would be gold instead of red.
The big brown truck brought me 3 big boxes from Southern Polyurethanes yesterday. Now the real fun begins. Hopefully the next pictures will have some painted parts to show off.

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Dig it, Real Mans Car!:devil:

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I got the shell and a few small parts in epoxy.

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And the fenders