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1968 Chevy Chevelle

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TMI Products

2021-09-03

1968 Chevy Chevelle

Adam Skiver is the proud owner of this 1968 Chevy Chevelle and he built this to have a cool car to cruise around in with his wife and kids, take to show, and generally have fun with but as is the case with most car guys, the story goes a little deeper. Back in high school, Adam fell in love with the sleek lines and exhaust note of the ’68 and bought one for his very first car, which served him well for a few years when he sold it to purchase, well, another ’68.

The second Chevelle came around the time when his kids were just in their crawling stage and he felt an an expensive and time consuming complete restoration was just out of the question as a father to two young kids. So he sold his Jeep and the 2nd Chevelle to look for another ’68 that was further along in the resto process. He found one in Bakersfield, CA, and trailered it back to his home in Phoenix, AZ. He then started the transformation into the beauty that it is today.

Sitting Pretty

For the interior, Adam chose a set of Black Madrid Pro-Series seats in Sport-R pattern, with black carpet, three-point seat belts in the front with a child seatbelt conversion kit for the rear by Morris Classic. Billet Specialties supplied the Formula steering wheel, which sits in front of a set of Autometer American Muscle Series gauges. Adam took a stock center console designed for 4-speed and modified it to house some cupholders and a USB charging port. In a testament to the TMI ethos of shipping ready-to-install interior components, Adam tackled the interior install himself with plans to order a matching rear seat to match the front buckets.

That New New

The previous owner had done a good job outfitting the Chevelle in the short amount of time that he owned it and chose to do a restomod-lite style upgrade to give modern power, modern suspension, and stopping power from a donor car. In essence the former owner wanted to make the Chevy into a modern runner that could get up and go, handle some serious corners, and stop when directed. Best part about doing an underpinning upgrade is that all the parts are plentiful and available when needing replacement.

A poor woebegone ’98 Z28 had its entire drivetrain including the 5.7L, 4l60E transmission, driveshaft, and Chevy 10 bolt rear forcibly ripped out and transplanted into the ’68. But that ‘98 Camaro was not done being cannibalized for it lost its front hubs, exhaust, steering column, as well as the 10-inch disks and calipers. Adam added his own his flair and dropped in a Comp Cams rocker arm trunnions kit into the 5.7L after it was discovered to have a broken bearing. In the near future, Adam plans to pull the engine and trans for a rebuild. The 5.7L will have an LS6 intake, as well as receiving LS6 heads and a bigger cam. Adam chose to keep the suspension stock for right now, but when he purchased the Chevelle there was a set of eBay-sourced no-name lower control arms that dropped the front 2-inches and will be installing a full suspension kit from UMI Performance.

Big Red

The ‘68 was painted a beautiful Matador red (it is just coincidental that he is Firefighter), and Adam replaced the bumpers, did a complete replacement of the trim and chrome, as well as the grille. The windshield, rear glass, and the passenger and driver window chrome surround also got changed. Adam then capped off the exterior with a set of Digitails tail lights.

Rolling True

To make sure the Chevelle was sitting right, Adam chose to go with American Racing Torq Thrust II wheels in 17x8 up front and 17x9 in the rear wearing a set of BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2 tires in 245/45 R17 and 275/40 R17, respectively.

Inside The Build
Builders
Spring Valley Automotive in Spring Valley (Brakes)
CA and Max Power Automotive in Bakersfield
CA (LS1 and 4L60e)
Adam’s Driveway and Garage (Interior)
Interior
Pro-Series Sport-R in Black Madrid Vinyl and Suede with Three-Point Front Belts and Child Seatbelt Conversion Kit for the Rear by Morris Classic
Billet Specialties Formula Steering Wheel
Autometer American Muscle Series Gauge
Black Carpet
Stock Center Console Modified with Cupholders
and a USB Charging Port
Engine
1998 5.7L LS1 V8
Holley Oil Pan
Spectre Performance Air Cleaner
Comp Cams Rocker Arm Trunnions Kit
will Upgrade to LS6 Intake and Heads Plus Bigger Cam
Suspension
Tubular Lower Control Arms Lowered Car 2-inches
Will Be Installing a Full Suspension Kit from UMI Performance
Exterior
Matador Red
replaced bumpers
complete trim
and chrome replacement
replacement grille
and Digitail LED Taillights
Wheels
Front: American Racing Torq Thrust II 17x8
Backspace 4.5
BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2 245/45 R17 Rear: American Racing Torq Thrust II 17x9
Backspace 5
BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2 275/40 R17
Brakes
10-Inch Disks and Calipers from a 1998 Camaro Z28
Vehicle
1988 Chevy Truck
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