CHEVELLE SS

The 454 LS6 engine was the only part of the car that would remain untouched throughout the restoration

STRAIGHT OUTTA DETROIT

‘CHEVELLE’ MIGHT SOUND LADYLIKE BUT THE ‘SS’ STOOD FOR ‘SUPER SPORT’; BIGGER MOTOR, MORE CUBIC INCHES, AND MORE HORSEPOWER — 454 AND 400, RESPECTIVELY, TO BE EXACT

I— n the 1970 Stoplight Grand Prix, there were the big dogs

and then there was everyone else. Anything less than 400 cubic inches (6555cc) was no longer cutting it, so, if you had to pick a regular-production car from the bowtie camp to go up against a street Hemi or run from the cops, it would’ve been a Chevelle. Every good police chase has featured a Chevelle; in fact, the two go together like butter popcorn and a movie.

In 1970, the muscle car era was at its peak. After a time of following Coke-bottle styling, Chevrolet introduced a more squared-up stance to the Chevelle. That was the year that Chevrolet excited the masses by lifting the ban on 400-cubicinch motors being installed into intermediate bodies. The 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6 was born and was marketed to buyers with the tag line “In ten seconds, your resistance will self-destruct”.

Car nut

Fast forward 47 years, and the tag line penned in 1970 would resound loudly for Peter Beauchamp, who has been a self-professed car nut all his life. The car bug bit Peter early on in life — although, despite wishing to work as a mechanic, he decided on a different career path, while keeping his early formed interest in tinkering and pottering with cars. Throughout 30 years focused firmly on work, time for restoring cars was rare, although a few found their way into the garage here and there. The latest car in that line-up is a 1970 Chevelle SS 454, which is Peter’s sixth classic car.

“I have a car from every decade starting from the ’20s, and this one completes my ’70s slot,” Peter reveals.

Born in the USA

The story of how the Chevelle ended up in Manawatu begins 12,500km away in Colorado, while Peter was holidaying in the US.

“Initially, the plan was to fly to the US for a holiday, buy a car, and then drive it around while we were over there,” Peter explains. Armed with his phone and an app that tracked classic cars for sale, Peter had only two options on his shopping list, and coming home empty-handed wasn’t one of them. While Peter was scouring the States for a 454-optioned Chevelle or Corvette, the app flashed up with a hit. The next stop on the tour would be Worldwide Vintage Autos in Denver, and, just as the tag line claimed in 1970, this Chevelle would indeed make Peter’s resistance self-destruct.

Peter’s dream was to acquire a 1970 SS LS6 model Chevelle with a 454-cubic-inch (7440cc) motor, and it happened that this car was exactly that. The SS looked to be in amazing condition, and Peter fired all the questions that he had at the dealer. After the engine was cranked over and Peter had his first trip around the block, he was hooked beyond the point of no return. With a tight time frame in which to inspect the car and the inability to put it on a hoist for proper inspection, any worry over possible issues that might arise were shelved; Peter was happy to deal with them back home in New Zealand.

After acquiring the Chevelle, Peter’s initial plan was to insure it, then enjoy his newly acquired piece of Americana while exploring the States. Unfortunately, insuring the car from either the US or New Zealand proved too difficult, and the Chevelle was loaded onto a truck and shipped to Los Angeles, where it would start the journey home to New Zealand.

Shock discovery

On arriving in the land of the long white cloud, Peter paid a visit to Terry Price of Restorations Unlimited in Whanganui. It was at this stage that the dream turned into a bit of a nightmare, with the discovery of much more rust than was anticipated. After a careful investigation, Terry and Peter discovered a lot of the red rot on the floorpan, firewall,

and in the rear quarter panels, which, Peter says, “had been bogged with foam in behind — although it was a very good bog job.”

Restoration begins

The price reflected the condition of the car overall, so the fact that the Chevelle required some work wasn’t a huge issue, even though the turnkey situation had turned into a body-off restoration. In preparation for Terry to work on the shell, Peter dropped the engine and gearbox out and sent the car to Restorations Unlimited, where a new floorpan, firewall, and rear quarters were installed into the body lines. True to form, the immaculate appearance did reward Peter, in that he was able to keep the original doors, bonnet, boot, and roof. Terry then sprayed the body in its original Cortez Silver paint with black stereo stripes down the hood.

“From start to finish, the bodywork took less than one year, so the whole restoration happened very quickly,” Peter reminisces.

While Terry was working his magic on the body of the Chevelle, Peter set to work on the bones of the car and began prepping the chassis for its own restoration. After sandblasting it and adorning it with a brand-new coat of black paint, Peter tackled the suspension. The front was left factory; however, the rear was changed up with adjustable suspension from a Land Rover, and then lowered a little for the perfect stance. As with the suspension, the brakes were freshened up; the front retained its discs, and the rear its drum setup. The 454 LS6 engine was the only part of the car that would remain untouched throughout the restoration, after a dyno tune produced healthy power figures. It was decided, though, to rebuild the gearbox and install a new limited-slip differential (LSD) to ensure longevity.

Factory perfect

As soon as a rewire had taken place, Terry finished with the body, and it was time for the final assembly. After the body was reacquainted with the chassis, the immaculate interior went back in, with brand-new factory-original hood liner and door cards keeping the black-on-black General Motors (GM) interior period correct. The Chevelle was now as good as the day it rolled out of the factory; while it wasn’t a total rebuild, it was a total restoration. Peter and Terry carefully attended to every inch of the car, resulting in one of the cleanest

’70 Chevelle 454 LS6 examples out there.

For Peter, it is the perfect muscle car. “The 1970 twin headlights and its fastback-esque shape are great. I have always loved the Chevs of the ’60s and ’70s; they were big cars with big boots, and you can’t go past the sound of the V8,” he enthuses.

After the extensive work that had gone into the car, the certification process was made silky smooth thanks to Terry, who is also a certifier, being able to deliver the car all buttoned up so that Peter could go straight out and enjoy it.

Idyllic cruising

“The car is a great summer cruiser, and I use it as much as possible — Cruise Martinborough, Beach Hop; I really enjoy driving it,” says Peter.

He notes that driving the Chevelle since its restoration is a very different experience from driving it during his test drive around the block in Denver, saying that, “The car now sits perfectly on the road and drives really well. When I think back, it was initially a bit of a nightmare.”

He adds that the bonus of power steering makes the driving experience all the more enjoyable: “There is no need for strong-arm steering like in my ’55 Chev.”

Now that this car is back to its former glory, the next step is for it to end up being a family heirloom.

“I have a bit of a collection for the kids now,” Peter says. Besides, a wise friend once told him: “You never lose money on cars if you don’t sell them.”

The best thing about this Chevelle is that it is a time capsule from an era when brute force was mixed with strikingly good looks. In 2019, the ’70s tag line still rings true: “In ten seconds your resistance will self-destruct”.