Restomod ’69 Chevelle Is An Epic Blend of Old and New
Chevelle maintains iconic vintage looks, but brings serious firepower with a boosted C7 Corvette heartbeat.
Creating the perfect car may not be entirely possible, but this thing is as close as we could imagine. Efficiently blending the styles of old with the performance of modern engine technology can net a lot of issues. Including chassis strength issues, parts availability, and practicality. However, with the right minds and skillsets available, anything is possible.
Bill Dickinson drove a 1969 Chevelle in high school, and clearly the memories of that car stayed present in his mind over the years. In his desire to build his perfect car collection, he commissioned this amazing piece of machinery. In a recent Hot Rod article, he explains his reasoning for the creation of this car, as well as his others.
“I started collecting cars over 20 years ago, and my goal was to start a collection that everyone wanted back when I was growing up. My dream has come true, as I have in my opinion one of the best trios a guy would want to own: a 1953 Chevy 3100 five-window pickup, a 1957 Bel Air two-door hardtop, and now this 1969 Chevelle,” says Dickinson.
Dickinson decided to use the iconic Chevy LT4 for his powerplant. You read that right. The LT4 you find in the C7 Z06, CTS-V and Camaro ZL1 powers this lead sled. Featuring a 1.7 liter Eaton supercharger, this engine puts out a whopping 650 horsepower. Obviously, the chassis was not built to withstand this kind of power. However, modern tech does not stop under the hood!
Roadster Shop outfitted this monster with an entire IRS setup built around a Ford nine-inch rear end and capped it off with a 3.70:1 gearset. The handling capabilities are now a far cry from the original four-link. Obviously, there is a lot of car with a lot of power needing to safely slow down, here. That’s why it sports 14-inch rotors up front, and 13-inch rotors in the rear. A set of staggered 19 and 20-inch wheels clear those big brakes.
This thing is all style inside and out. The interior sports a complete custom overhaul with billet aluminum everything. Even down to the crazy custom air vents.
Overall, this car is spectacular from end to end. Dickinson and the team at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff in Escondido, California knocked it out of the park.
Photos: Hot Rod
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