’71 CHEV CHEVELLE GLEN EGGLETON
Purchased at Repco Beach Hop 2019, Glen’s ’71 Chevelle, then white, returned a year later a completely different animal. First up, the bodywork was reworked — as a result of idle hands during Covid — and then sprayed in Kona Blue by Robs Auto Spray in Rotorua. The suspension was also reworked to include CPP control arms, fabricated rear arms, QA1 coilovers, Wildwood brakes, and a much shorter 12-bolt diff with Moser Engineering axles. The diff was required to be much shorter to allow room for the new big-dish custom ordered 20x12-inch Simmon FRs from Heads Racing. There was also a reworked engine combination, good enough — or should we say, loud enough — to grab a top spot in the Thunder Cruise on Thursday at this year’s event. Built by Lindsay Hay, the engine is 510 cube and based around a GM Generation 6 block. It includes a steel crank, Eagle rods, JE pistons, ARP studs, Promax CNC port heads, stainless steel valves, Crane roller rockers, and Franklin Cams custom blower camshaft. Sitting on top, you’ll find a pair of Holley 850cfm mechanical Track Warrior carburettors, The Blower Shop 8-71 billet case supercharger, and Weiand supercharger manifold. Ignition is handled by a MSD 6AL, and the exhaust consists of custom headers with two-inch primaries and dual three-inch system with Spintech mufflers and dual resonators. The combination is untested, and Glen is yet to return to the strip to see how much faster it will go compared to the old engine combination’s best ET of 11.4. With the rebuilt M&M Transmission built TH400 with manual valve body and 3000 stall backing the big block the combination is built to handle it.
The finishing touch to the rebuild was a completely retrimmed interior in black to appear stock, although there is a hidden audio system to fight with the blower for ear space on long drives. Since its completion the night before Repco Beach Hop 20, Glen’s clocked up some 4000 miles, and picked up a few awards over the summer months as well, all credit to how immaculately presented this driver is. Every time we see it, the presentation is near perfect, but then again, Glen is a car detailer by trade.