Brandon's 1971 Chevy Chevelle Malibu.
After moving to Texas, I decided that I needed a new project to keep me busy. The 1970-1972 Chevelle body has always been my dream car. At the age of 15 I bought my first 1972 Chevy Chevelle Malibu (thanks to the help of my parents) and a KENO jackpot winning that I chose the numbers for in Vegas. I did not know how to play. I was just told to pick some numbers. When I got the card back I had asked what happens if you get all the numbers right.....everyone thought I was joking, but sure enough BOOM! We had won $4000.00. My cousin Renee had paid for it and she graciously split the winnings with me and her half went to her wedding (great present to her, yes I know ;-) lol
I had it for months before I got my license. Sitting in the driveway, I would come home from school everyday and just start it while sitting in the driver seat. Finally, I got my license and was able to drive it! That day was the day that I got my drivers license SUSPENDED HAHA. At lunch I had gone to school. Wanting to show off how bad ass I was, I power braked infront of the school! Man did I light those bad boys up, but as I took off about half way down the block I heard the worse noise possible....a cops siren! My heart dropped as I pulled over and got chewed out. The judge took it for 3 months, but it did not stop me from driving (sorry mom) lol. My car instantly became popular. Everyone knew who I was...I dont know if it was due to all the racing or the crazy stuff I would do in it (Dukes of Hazard had NOTHING on me). This is also the cause of the car getting broken into 3 times and tore up....I ended up selling her because of this.
Fast forwarding back to the new Chevelle, I searched for years and finally found this one. I found it on EBAY in El Paso, TX. After only seeing the pictures, watching vidoes I decided to purchase it sight unseen. It had a mildly built 355ci and the TH400 trans. It got delivered to me and for the most part it was as described. I no longer had to be stressed out! I took it off the trailer and went for a cruise and boy did I become like a kid in a candy shop. I had my dream car once again. I drove it around for a few months enjoying it and didnt plan on restoring it this soon, but the transmission started to have some problems and I decided to swap the engine and transmission. I was originally going to do a mild 383 Stroker, but a Chevelle was MEANT for a big block. After lots of researching and speaking with Mark and Scott (our engine builders) we came up with a game plan. There were a few changes down the road as my original heads were not going to fit the bill due to them not being able to run an off the shelf intake. I also kept wanting more, so I had to upgrade my lifters as well. The build took a good part of about 6-8 months. When we finally put the engine on the dyno I could not take the smile off my face if I wanted too. The first pull the engine hit the power numbers I had hoped for and it kept getting better. 3 jet changes and some timing/tuning it made an unexpected 675HP/637TQ! During the engine build, I was pulling the engine and virtually refinishing everything under the hood (see below) with the help of some friends. Lots of time, money, blood and sweat and this is where I sit. About a month away from start up (todays date 3/26/10). Hope you enjoyed the read and history thus far. I will continue to update as we make progress.
ONE LOVE.
After moving to Texas, I decided that I needed a new project to keep me busy. The 1970-1972 Chevelle body has always been my dream car. At the age of 15 I bought my first 1972 Chevy Chevelle Malibu (thanks to the help of my parents) and a KENO jackpot winning that I chose the numbers for in Vegas. I did not know how to play. I was just told to pick some numbers. When I got the card back I had asked what happens if you get all the numbers right.....everyone thought I was joking, but sure enough BOOM! We had won $4000.00. My cousin Renee had paid for it and she graciously split the winnings with me and her half went to her wedding (great present to her, yes I know ;-) lol
I had it for months before I got my license. Sitting in the driveway, I would come home from school everyday and just start it while sitting in the driver seat. Finally, I got my license and was able to drive it! That day was the day that I got my drivers license SUSPENDED HAHA. At lunch I had gone to school. Wanting to show off how bad ass I was, I power braked infront of the school! Man did I light those bad boys up, but as I took off about half way down the block I heard the worse noise possible....a cops siren! My heart dropped as I pulled over and got chewed out. The judge took it for 3 months, but it did not stop me from driving (sorry mom) lol. My car instantly became popular. Everyone knew who I was...I dont know if it was due to all the racing or the crazy stuff I would do in it (Dukes of Hazard had NOTHING on me). This is also the cause of the car getting broken into 3 times and tore up....I ended up selling her because of this.
Fast forwarding back to the new Chevelle, I searched for years and finally found this one. I found it on EBAY in El Paso, TX. After only seeing the pictures, watching vidoes I decided to purchase it sight unseen. It had a mildly built 355ci and the TH400 trans. It got delivered to me and for the most part it was as described. I no longer had to be stressed out! I took it off the trailer and went for a cruise and boy did I become like a kid in a candy shop. I had my dream car once again. I drove it around for a few months enjoying it and didnt plan on restoring it this soon, but the transmission started to have some problems and I decided to swap the engine and transmission. I was originally going to do a mild 383 Stroker, but a Chevelle was MEANT for a big block. After lots of researching and speaking with Mark and Scott (our engine builders) we came up with a game plan. There were a few changes down the road as my original heads were not going to fit the bill due to them not being able to run an off the shelf intake. I also kept wanting more, so I had to upgrade my lifters as well. The build took a good part of about 6-8 months. When we finally put the engine on the dyno I could not take the smile off my face if I wanted too. The first pull the engine hit the power numbers I had hoped for and it kept getting better. 3 jet changes and some timing/tuning it made an unexpected 675HP/637TQ! During the engine build, I was pulling the engine and virtually refinishing everything under the hood (see below) with the help of some friends. Lots of time, money, blood and sweat and this is where I sit. About a month away from start up (todays date 3/26/10). Hope you enjoyed the read and history thus far. I will continue to update as we make progress.
ONE LOVE.
