By Tommy Parry
In my opinion, the most respectable artists are those who aren’t happy showing their work publicly until their project is up to a certain standard. Rather than subject the public to their ‘genius,’ they retain enough humility to wait until the piece is finalized, convincing, pretty, or perfected—at least to a minor level.
Corey seems to think the same way. After a few years working in secrecy, Corey finally felt confident enough with his Chevelle to begin showing it to the rest of the internet. The progress he’d made was the result of levelheaded thinking and the help of some capable friends, but it seemed like more than that.
Remaining aware of the practical limitations and keeping the basic end goal in mind, Corey filtered through a few rougher examples before he decided on a freshly restored ‘64 SS. His time and mechanical expertise kept him from doing certain things; a realistic way to go about a big project like this.
There was plenty to be proud of with this lightly-modified car, but that didn’t keep him adding his own personal touches. An Accuair e-Level kit came first, which provided an athletic stance and a comforting ride.
Soon after, Corey came to accept that this Chevelle wouldn’t be quite right without a modern powerplant. Looking around, he realized how the abundance of swap kits would make adding a reliable, smoothly operating, and very powerful LS a relatively simple upgrade. As long as you have a few thousand laying around, it’s not too tough making this modern motor look and operate like it should’ve left the factory in this car.
He first found a low-mileage LS3 out of a 2015 Camaro SS with a Tremec 6060 six-speed gearbox, then set to finding the right ancillaries to complete the swap. Using the stock 2015 Camaro shifter worked well as it was within an inch of the factory shifter location. With a little extra work, he could have even retained my stock console—but that was all he could muster with his schedule.
The only other modified bits needed were the custom driveshaft from the Driveshaft Shop, a custom rear trans crossmember from GForce, some Russel AN lines and fittings, as well as an Earls oil cooler mounted up front for the transmission.
It wouldn’t be a proper Pro Tourer without a little extra power. A list of modest grunt adders came next: a GM 525-horsepower crankshaft, Hedman headers, and an air intake. For a casual cruiser, this 450 horsepower would be more than enough.
Everything had been running smoothly until he wanted to try and order a set of custom billet wheels for his beauty. The fit and finish were horrendous for the thousands of dollars they cost him. Undeterred, he sought a cheaper, if not less exclusive, alternative.
Once the resulting month-long headache ended, he found a decent, reputable, responsible company who could supply a set of something a little less special, but no less easy on the eyes. A five-spoke set from Hot Rods by Boyd satisfied the owner’s sense of aesthetics and kept him comfortably within his budget.
As gorgeous as it was, it still needed a few touches to make it totally his own. Corey replaced the aging black vinyl inside for caramel and black leather covering nearly every square inch of the Chevelle’s cabin. Gorgeous inside and out, fast, comforting, and reliable, this Chevelle is the stuff that teenage boys lose sleep over.
To keep tabs on this beauty, you can visit its build thread here.
