1966 Chateau Slate L78 Chevelle

[OneStopRestoration]

Ive decided to depart some from original on the rims and tires. The original size of rim and tires on these cars is laughable at best for a muscle car. Because of that I went with some new 14x6 rims, and redlines from the 67 model year. Im going with body colored rims and dog dishes.

[OneStopRestoration]

After a very long drawn out process to get the bumper chromed, the place i worked with actually destroyed the original from the car. I spent several phone calls back and forth to discover they took my perfectly formed bumper and reformed the angle it makes to match the front end because they claimed to have a form, and my bumper didnt fit it. In the end i sent them another core and told them to stop putting in there form. What ended up with was a nicer bumper that perfectly fits the lower splash pan under the grille. The car is really coming together now.

[Too Many Projects]

Wow, beautiful.
If you aren't going to save the reject grille for future use, I might be interested in it. I, also need some trunk paint, if you are still making that. I'll send you a PM. I could swing by your place to pick it up on my way back from SCR on the 22nd.

[60sStuff]

Hi Rick,

This thread of your beautiful ‘66 396 Chevelle restoration is awesome, not to mention it’s being done in my old stomping grounds of central Illinois.
I was born in ‘54 in Springfield and traveled to just about every town including Washington/Peoria area in my good old days. Many corn fields.

The time, money and sourcing parts that’s required for a high end restoration like yours is exhausting. Congratulations to you for this undertaking.
This old muscle car was very fortunate to have found you!

Factory vinyl (Cordova) top.
I’m a GTO (65-67) guy and the Cordova tops on these cars always received a flexible retainer. I’m not sure if the Chevrolet models used this item?
Shown below is this retainer on my ‘65 GTO Survivor.
This retainer was also used on the 66-67 Tempest Series cars with this fabric top, but in a different translucent material opposed to the chrome retainer on my 65.

Looks like you’re on the downhill of this project and it looks fantastic!!!.

Thanks for sharing this restoration.

Chris.

[OneStopRestoration]

Hi Chris,

Really appreciate the comments. I have noticed that for those that really get into the hobby, passion and obsession become a blurred line.

So my car did have those inserts when i was in the disassembly process. I have heard/read that some others have had success in removing them for reuse. I was not one of those people so i just glued the top down and installed the drip rail moldings.

Where did you get the page from? That something produced by Body By Fisher?

[OneStopRestoration]

After the flat tappet fiasco, thankyou Comp Cams. I yanked the engine put an erson roller and started the engine on a run Stand. I have determine engine run in stands are the only way to go from now on. All worked out great. The erson cam is most to the stock specs with just .010 more lift on both intake and exhaust. Opening and Closing valve events plus duration are pretty close and it sounds Excellent! As soon as the hood is on and i square away an alignment i will post final pictures for this project.

Engine running in the car
https://youtu.be/4_kYUOM9U1Y?si=bCC3UKCk0J3PiQTM

[scuncio]

Can you share the source for your engine run stand?

[jeffschevelle]

Car looks great!

Those vinyl top drip gutter retainer strips were stainless steel in 63 - 66. Then in 67, depending on the assembly plant and the time frame, they were either black plastic, or clear plastic with an embedded mylar chrome strip.

The stainless strips are indeed very hard to remove without destroying them. I've been successful a few times, but you need to plan on about 2 hours per side to get it done!!

The mylar 67 version shows up on eBay fairly frequently. It is not "correct" for a 65 or 66, but lots of people use them as a substitute for the original stainless strips.

Here's a set on eBay now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/19572653927...Bk9SR7jOyI74Yg

[dykstra]

Sounds great Rick!!!

[Xplantdad]

Originally Posted by dykstra

Sounds great Rick!!!

It sure does!!