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72 Chevelle restoration

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HA get it so you can drive it safely and spend a little but just driving the car. makes the build momentum keep going when you can remeber what it was like driving the car before you did all the work and there is a certain charm to driving a car in that shape!
 
Black2na said:
HA get it so you can drive it safely and spend a little but just driving the car. makes the build momentum keep going when you can remeber what it was like driving the car before you did all the work and there is a certain charm to driving a car in that shape!
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My list for immediate fixes is:
1. Fix the damn window that doesn't work right
2. Do whatever is necessary to get the gauges working correctly
3. Replace brake system
4. Replace battery

"a certain charm" lol, I like that!
 
I had a 69 Chevelle SS 396 and I could kick myself for ever getting rid of it.🙁

The pics for yours shows its not too bad. The body appears to be pretty straight which is good. Since it appears to have originally been a standard Malibu with a 327 or 350 small block and not an SS I wouldn't worry about trying to "restore" it, just rebuild it and modernize it where necessary. I would change it over to an electronic ignition and put modern guages and stero and stuff like that.

First things I would get rid of are that hideous homemade console where the guages and stereo are, and that hood. You should be able to find a standard chevelle hood without much problem.
 
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Will a magnet stick to any part of that body? 🙂

I like it. Love the custom gauge/stereo package.
I would be really tempted to take the body off and really go through the whole chassis. You could drive it with just a little work, but it will be a lot nicer ride if you go through everything. And it will be a lot more fun doing the work with the body off. Or at least the front clip.
 
haha i agree, the console is awesome!

nice car too, much potential. i like the hood tho, adds to the 80s appeal of it. you can go full bore aftermarket on that car, theres a ton of crap you can do to it.
 
twinrider1 said:
Will a magnet stick to any part of that body? 🙂

I would be really tempted to take the body off and really go through the whole chassis. You could drive it with just a little work, but it will be a lot nicer ride if you go through everything. And it will be a lot more fun doing the work with the body off. Or at least the front clip.
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Wondering that myself.

And get rid of that ridiculous wooden box in the interior.
 
Nice, pics don't look too bad actually. How much rust is underneath? Any rust around the window frames? I generally think rust repair (ie making sure it's gone, just not covered up) is the single worst part about doing any kind of resto work. Window frames can really be a huge PITA.

Fortunately I live in the heavily salted mid-west so I get to enjoy rusty undercarriages on cars only a few years old. 🙁 :thumbsdown:
 
IcePickFreak said:
Nice, pics don't look too bad actually. How much rust is underneath? Any rust around the window frames? I generally think rust repair (ie making sure it's gone, just not covered up) is the single worst part about doing any kind of resto work. Window frames can really be a huge PITA.

Fortunately I live in the heavily salted mid-west so I get to enjoy rusty undercarriages on cars only a few years old. 🙁 :thumbsdown:
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There is rust, but it is not horrible. All of the body panels and parts are from the 70's and early 80's and have had no TLC since then. The car has been in a dirty garage since the early 90's.
 
JCH13 said:
That's a good start, but it is a little general. Your entire list can be summarized as: "make it not suck". Maybe pick a title for the project, like "budget Sunday driver", "neck-snapping drag racer", "project car to learn how to do everything ever", something that captures what you want to do with it.

This will guide decisions like getting it painted. Do you get a professional frame-off paint job? Buy a gun/compressor/mask and paint yourself? Get a wholesale job from a body shop? Take it to a local VoTech center for HS kids to paint?
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I would think he'd rather paint the car than paint himself. 😛
 
I was half-joking. I don't really know that it has any bondo. OP knows it needs work, so it's not a big issue here. But it you were buying a finished car that old, you'd definitely want to go over it for any body filler.
 
twinrider1 said:
I was half-joking. I don't really know that it has any bondo. OP knows it needs work, so it's not a big issue here. But it you were buying a finished car that old, you'd definitely want to go over it for any body filler.
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There is very little bondo in use on the car. Really though, does it even matter? The car is not being transformed into a $80,000 showroom restoration with original parts. It is just a daily driver with a lot of sentimental value.
 
It was just a little joke. I thought it was primer grey when I first saw the pics. But looking again I wonder if it's white.
I like the car! Looking forward to seeing more pics when you get it.
 
I was going to say mean things about the console too. Then I viewed the full size image and saw the angle brackets holding it together. I had a change of heart. I think the angle brackets bring a bit of a modern industrial feel. It contrasts nicely with the warm old-world look of the wood.

Oooh, I just noticed the green switch at the top. I bet it turns on some kind of mood lighting or maybe fires up a hidden 8-track stocked with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Either way you're set for all the help you'll need in contracting the clap and other great venereal diseases.

Please keep this thread updated with any progress. My father-in-law has a '72 Chevelle, I thought I had a motivational pic of it to share but I can't find it right now.
 
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