Chevrolet has a lot of reasons to be proud of its muscle car heritage. A major chunk of this pride comes from low-volume, high-performance classic cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Three years after the iconic Plymouth Barracuda and Ford Mustang launched, Chevy jumped in to make things fierce with the Chevelle.
Today plentiful used Chevy Chevelles can be found on the internet. Prices start at an average of $66,681 and go up all the way to $572,000. And so, Chevelle Restomods are not a surprising sight today. And when you plan on getting a Chevelle Restomod done from West Coast Customs for restoration, it’s bound to look cooler and feature modern mechanicals, like this LS3-powered Chevelle Restomod.
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West Coast Customs Chevelle Restomod Packs A Modern Punch
Troy always dreamed of having a Chevelle. But he approached West Coast Customs with the idea of converting the original car into something that’s more practical and easy to live with. So a used Chevelle is hunted down to create Troy's dream car. And with this build, West Coast Customs aren’t leaving any stones unturned. Everything is being customized, including the engine, interior, suspension, paintwork, and every other element, to make it look like a dope custom Chevelle.
Musa is the first man to approach before things get started because he’s the one coming up with a digital render of the car and what it’s going to finally look like. The designer quickly looks up the internet for a picture of the car while Ryan Friedlinghaus, founder and CEO of West Coast Customs, gives him an outline of what the customer wants. They intend to plonk in an LS engine, air suspension, and huge wheels to the Restomods to be done to the Chevelle. One of the mods even includes the conversion of a bench seat into two separate buckets.
1966 Chevy Chevelle Restomod Takes Shape
After the design is approved, they finally start taking it apart; and painting it white. Once painted, Mosko, the guy in charge of fabrication, shows us multiple mechanical components laid out on a table, which include upper arms, over arms, sway bar, air ride suspension, airbags, Wilwood brakes, Continental tires, a Magnaflow exhaust, and Savini wheels.
Now, while they’ve successfully painted the car white, they forgot to shave the door handles. Mosko will attend to it, however, while the other guys work on the roof and get the whole interior laid out. The man on this job is Alex, who will get in and build the console, followed by the audio system. Once the console is meticulously fabricated, it is fitted in place. And the car is once again slid into the West Coast Customs paint booth.
While the paint is left to dry, Marcos is busy getting the carpeting ready for the Chevelle. He mentions it is the same carpet Mercedes-Benz uses, thus adding a German touch to the build. After the carpeting is done, the seats are fitted in place; so is the console that receives a full blue trim.
The Ridetech suspension is then installed, followed by a rebuilt axle. We’re shown the rear differential and the four-piston brakes. Now, coming to the most exciting part - the installation of the new LS3 engine, which is fuel-injected. This also means the owner won’t face any issues during a cold start. Once the engine is completely done, they fire up the Chevy - and without a delay - the engine starts to rumble.
Troy finally receives his Restomod Chevelle and looks very excited about it. He mentions he is a car guy and that the Chevy has been one of his dream cars. Troy has a slew of cars but states that it is the custom Chevelle that turns heads all the time. This Chevelle is one of the cleanest Restomod jobs we have come across, and West Coast Customs have done a dope job at it.
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Is Chevrolet Making A New Chevelle?
Earlier this year, we mentioned that the Chevelle SS is making a comeback, all thanks to a company called Trans Am Worldwide. It was showcased to a lucky few recently. It will be a re-imagined classic, similar to what Singer does with classic 911s. This modern Chevelle SS will be based on the Chevy Camaro but uses a heavily modified body to mimic the proportions and flair of the iconic Chevelle.
The entry-level Trans Am Worldwide Chevelle SS is said to come with a 5.7-liter LT1 engine capable of making up to 450hp. For those looking at more power, a 6.5-liter V8 engine will send 900 hp to the rear wheels alone. And if 900 hp still sounds "dull", there is a twin-turbo 7.4-liter LS6/X engine pushing out a whopping 1,500hp.