We're celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Cheap Street Chevelle. You know-it's the old yellow project car at our sister publication Car Craft. You may remember it from its green-on-green beginnings all the way through a low-buck redo with a PAW 350 small-block. The stripes came later, then a cross-country road trip at the hands of CC staffers John Kiewicz and Miles Cook. Later a GM 502 found its way into the car, and it eventually ran high 10s on nitrous.
Even though we work at HOT ROD, we and the car have both been around the publishing company long enough that three- quarters of the HOT ROD staff has wrenched on the '70 Malibu at some point, as have a dozen other editors. Consequently, rock chips, half-finished installations, pilfered fan belts, and general neglect became its legacy as it was passed between an ever-rotating staff. The Chevelle is one of only two magazine-owned vehicles left from the days of Petersen Publishing. It's charmed 'cause no one wrecked it, it narrowly escaped the Pro Street treatment, and when it was stolen in 2000, it somehow came back. But it was scarred and broken, and was left to sit and leak for four years in the Car Craft garage. It needed a makeover. It needed oil, plugs, body, transmission...it needed those happy guys that show up at your house and force you to remodel. It needed help.
We weren't too upset when the company flung the car to HOT ROD as the giveaway project for the 2004 Power Tour. So we flatbedded it away from its shallow grave at Car Craft and sent it to Steve Strope at Pure Vision Design. We only gave Steve five months to redo the car, and the task was tough because he was aware of the vehicle's popularity and didn't want to stray from the original look. At the same time, he needed to fix the problems and add some upgrades so we could raffle it off to a new owner on the 2004 Power Tour. There were many decisions to be made. Here is the vision.
A. Suspension: This photo was taken right after the sway bar came unhooked and smashed a brake line. We drove home on the e-brake.
B. Vinyl Top: We're stuck with it. It would be too much hassle to remove the POR-15 rustproofing slathered by Kiewicz.
C. Cowl hood: Looked great until criminals forgot to pin it down and it Frisbee'd into the windshield while being stolen.
D. Bad Stripes: Editor Freiburger was responsible for this mundane addition when he helmed Car Craft. The black paint began to fall off before the car was even back from the paint shop.
A. Wheels: Big 17-inch Draglite XPs mark the end of the beginning of Pro Touring.
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