Sometimes, projects don’t go as planned. Even the simplest changes can send things spiraling out of control. Jayson Durden’s 1970 Chevelle showed up at PSI Customs in Lakeland, Florida, for a new wiring harness, a stereo installation, and some new carpet. To say it left with a whole lot more is an understatement: It got all that, plus new floors, a supercharged LT swap, flush glass — and that was just the beginning!
How did things veer so far off path? Well, the car looked OK until Turbo, the owner of PSI, started pulling up the carpet and found a bunch of rust and other poorly done work. It snowballed from there.
Said Turbo: “The radio, wiring harness and carpet turned into a three-year project!”
(Photos by Jim Campisano)
The Chevelle’s previous owner purchased it at an auction and it looked great — so long as you didn’t look past the surface. It was silver with a black vinyl top, a fairly pretty SS clone with Rat power. It didn’t come cheap, but it was hiding a ton of flaws.
The look of the Chevelle is classic stock body lines, but with everything blacked out. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
The first step for PSi was to replace most of the floor, then came the installation of minitubs. The frame was boxed and powder-coated, so there was now a good foundation to work with. No one expected things to go as far as it did, but we’re sure glad they did.
“The current owner’s first car was a 1970 Chevelle and he had the means and desire to build another one, and that’s what we did,” according to Turbo. “We just started building it however he wanted. He wanted something reliable and good on gas.”
Classic Auto Air was added to the Chevrolet Performance Connect & Cruise LT4. (Photos by Jim Campisano)
It is not a factory big-block car, so there is far less guilt for purists to suffer through. Of course, nothing built in 1970 could come close to the power of the powerplant it received.
Punching Up The Pony Count
The Chevelle was the recipient of a Chevrolet Performance 6.2-liter LT4 Connect-And-Cruise powertrain swap. That means everything from the 650 net horsepower supercharged LT4 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission to the computers, harnesses, two O2 sensors, etc. was included per one part number. Insane torque — 650 lb-ft at 3,000 RPM comes at no extra charge. The blower checked off another box for the owner.
Halo headlights add a little color to this murdered-out Chevelle. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
A Rick’s Tank helped facilitate the conversion to electronic fuel injection.
This means his hope of a modern, reliable, fuel-injected hot rod that got good fuel economy accomplished.
Meaty Continental Extreme Contact radials wrap around Forgeline wheels. The Wilwood brakes (13-inch/6-piston fore, 13-inch/4-piston rear) are necessary to stop this beast when all 650 horsepower are galloping at 6400 RPM. (Photos by Jim Campisano)
Make It Stop! And Turn!
Harnessing all that power requires a chassis that knows what to do when the road turns or you have to stop. Ridetech got the nod for its Air Springs and Shocks at all four corners. There’s a four-link out back and full Ridetech tubular control arms up front.
The front crossmember is factory with no mods necessary for the engine swap. The steering is a Unisteer rack-and-pinion setup.
Ridetech air suspension can drop the Chevelle three inches with the front wheels pointed forward. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
A set of gorgeous Forgeline RB3C Concave wheels in satin black hold the sticky Continental Extreme Contact Sport summer tires. The rims measure 18×12 front and 18×9.5 rear, while the tires check in at 335/30 out back and 275/35 up front.
At one point in the build, the car was sent out to another shop for a color change, from silver to black and removal of the vinyl top. That shop also painted the stripes on the hood and decklid. When PSI got the car back, it rebuilt the window frames to give the Chevelle flush-mounted glass.
PSI did the flush glass from scratch rather than relying on a kit. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
The final alteration to the A-body’s appearance are the Dapper halo-style headlamps and Easy Performance LED taillights.
(Photos by Jim Campisano)
Modern Comfort In A Classic Package
The interior is mainly goodies from TMI —headliner, door panels, etc. Only the seats were not from that company. They came from ProCar and were recovered by Peg’s Upholstery in Lakeland. PSI fabricated the package shelf, the custom console, and the kick panels, then installed all the MMATS Audio speakers and a Sony double DIN head unit.
(Photos by Jim Campisano)
Power windows, cup holders, Classic Auto Air climate control — you name it — ensure the owner lacks for little when it comes to modern accoutrements and the supercharged LT4 under the hood means he has enough suds to leave most other street cars in his tire smoke.
