Words: Tommy Parry

He’d wanted one since high school. Days as a sophomore spent dreaming of cruising around in a ‘67 Chevelle, with a Mötley Crüe cassette in the tape deck, motivated Lance to save and plan out the perfect build. Fast forward three decades, and he found a ‘67 roller he could make his own - one for which he traded his running ‘70 Chevelle.

The first step in making this car his own was building a livable engine. As he was going to drive it regularly, it couldn’t be too harsh or too thirsty. He picked a 6.0-liter LS from his friend's ¾-ton truck, then modified it with ported heads, an LS6 cam and an LS2 intake - enough for 400 horsepower.

After adding shorty headers, 1” setback mounts and a smaller power steering pulley, Lance was able to install the junkyard engine without much fuss. His wiring expertise helped him create the harness himself and by using a 302-2 oil sump, he saved himself a nasty headache; the pan clears the tie rods and provides excellent ground clearance. The only real adjustment needed was a little modification to the mount for the 4L80E.

Once the engine was sitting comfortably in the Chevelle’s bay, he started on the exhaust. He connected the shorty headers to MagnaFlow 2.5" stainless exhaust with X-pipe and polished mufflers, which fit great and dump right behind the tires.

With the help of his son, Lance began fixing the dash. Getting the car back together cleanly after it was completely stripped was a chore, to say the least. After fabbing up a lexan mold he baked in the oven, he had a flat surface on which to mount his digital display.

After dealing with what felt like several miles of wiring, he sorted out the harness, installed the PCM in the driver’s side fender and turned the key. Success! He could release that long-desired sigh of relief.

He rolled the ‘67 out of the garage and took a long look at his creation, finally running nicely. The clean lines were complemented by the beautiful stance, which is the result of small block springs, 2" spindles and the right choice of wheel: Rocket Racing’s 18” Booster Grey wheels wrapped in 235- and 275-section rubber.

With the motor running well, he reinstalled the interior from carpet to headliner. For the first time in the 10 years he’s owned the car, Lance could sit comfortably in this Chevelle.

Then he went to the rear of the car, where he inspected the 3.36 10-bolt Posi. It was quite a complete setup, with tubular lower arms, adjustable upper arms, frame mount ties, Lakewood traction bars, a rear sway bar and Sensatrac shocks. Once he’d added Speedway’s weld-on disc brakes, he was in good shape for running the hard laps on the autocross or simply testing the car’s potential on freeway offramps.

There’s a lot ahead for this long-going build, but Lance’s got plenty of ambition and a little more time available to him these days. To keep tabs on his progress, you can view his build thread here.