Body On!

The '66 Chevelle body is back on the frame! After more than 15 years of being apart, the body and frame have been reunited once again. Zach and I got an early start today by taking the body off the blocks, rolling it outside, hoisting it up and allowing the chassis to roll under it. We did have to let the air out of the front tires to gain a little extra clearance and to keep it from rolling around, and you can see in the photo that I attached the #6 and #7 frame mounts to the chassis. This way I made sure that they were exactly lined up, and once the body was on, I welded them in. The body was lighter that I thought, as Zach and I were able to lift it around by hand.
The rear sits a bit high due to the upper control arm brackets, which we may remove if the car does not look right. We also still have the big block springs in it, so those too will have to come out. Before I weld in the quarter panels, I want to hang the doors and front end on to see how everything is lining up. I also want to see how our new cowl hood looks too!

My Car Timeline - 56 Chevy

So I drive the '73 Stingray for a few years daily, and have lots of fun with it. Then we decide to start a family, and a two-seater isn't very practical anymore. I end up trading the vette for a 1956 Chevrolet 210 sedan (with a couple of $ thrown my way), which I thought was a great idea. My pregnant wife wondered why I left in the vette and returned in the "taxi". It had the origional inline six and a three speed on the column. I eventually swapped in a 350 and 4 speed, and painted the car bright red.

On Valentine's day, as I am driving home for lunch, I am blindsided by a woman in a Volvo who ran a stop sign. She smashes into the passenger side and sends the car spinning like a top. Luckily the judge was a car guy, and I am able to repair and repaint the car red with a white top. I also throw some fiberglass bumbers and a new 4.10 posi rear into the car. At this time we decide to buy our first home, and the '56 Chevy is the first to move into the South Hill garage.

My Car Timeline - My First Corvette

So I drove my first 1966 Chevelle to college, when I got married, and to my first real job. It was there that I slip off the road one morning and dented the fender. My wife found me a replacement vehicle, a 1973 Corvette Stingray! It needed paint, but was all original and good running L-48 small block with a 4-speed.

I paid to have the car painted sapphire blue, and my 1973 Harley XLCH was painted to match. I read an article on how to clean up your engine bay without pulling the motor, so I pulled most of the engine accessories off and painted and detailed everything...it really came out nice when it was done.