LS-swapped 1971 Chevy Chevelle Is One Wicked Build
As amazing as this classic Chevelle has turned out, you’d never believe this was the owner’s first build ever.
As we often like to say, there isn’t much that a good old fashioned LS swap can’t fix. And the world pretty much agrees with us. That’s why we see all sorts of oddball vehicles packing GM’s legendary V8 engine, of course. But even though we love to see wild and wacky LS-swapped vehicles, we also love to see them residing under the hood of a bona fide classic. Something like, say, this 1971 Chevy Chevelle under construction by LS1Tech forum member lawrenq.
“Here is my attempt to start a build thread on my ongoing project. It is a ’71 Chevelle that I planned on swapping an LS2/T56 from a 2006 GTO into. This is my first time building a car and I’ve learned a lot during this process. Here is what I started with.”
Quite a rough start, we must say. But the OP wasn’t phased by the tough road ahead, nor by his lack of experience.
“I ended up using the Holley 302-2 pan and their stock position brackets. I also adapted the tunnel cover from a 1st gen Camaro to save time fabbing up the floor for my T56. It took me a year to remove all the rust from the car. After I was satisfied with the floor, I removed the body from the frame and coated it in SPI epoxy. I sprayed UPOL Raptor Liner on the under body and I coated the entire interior with lizard skin.”
Even more amazingly, all of this hard work was being done in a two-car garage that was half full. So the OP wound up putting the completed body on a cart to make it easy to move around. Then, he got started sandblasting the frame and attaching his new suspension parts.
Soon, the engine and transmission were in the frame as well. So now, it was time to test fit the body. And since the front of the Chevelle was pretty much toast, the OP decided to go ahead and replace those panels with those from a 1970 model. He also got to work on the interior, which he wanted to modernize a bit. He accomplished that mission by scoring a center console from an Acura TL.
But then, as they often do, plans changed. For the better this time.
“I was going back and forth on building an engine or using the stock LS2 block that I had. Really wanted to build a big bore engine, but I didn’t want to spend too much while the car wasn’t finished. I ended up getting a new LS3 block with Mahle 2cc dome pistons, with a custom cam spec by Pat G. With my L92 heads shaved .010, the compression ratio should be around 11.2.”
Next thing we knew, the engine was installed and the Chevelle was running. Unfortunately, it soon dropped a valve and needed to be replaced. So the OP found a suitable LS2 and swapped them out. At the same time, he was preparing the body for paint. Soon, it was all shiny and looking absolutely awesome.
Since then, the OP has been driving his killer Chevelle and sorting out various issues along the way. His years of hard work are certainly paying off, and we can’t wait to see this classic muscle car finished. So be sure and head over here to catch up on this build and stay tuned as it inches toward completion!
Photos: LS1Tech forums
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