Building a car these days is much more than perfecting body lines, choosing the right paint color and deciding what fabrics will adorn the interior. Weather they're classic hot rods or modern machines, the idea is to enjoy them, and as crazy as it may seem to some, drive them!
This requires a powertrain that's reliable, a suspension system that's decked to the nines and a driver that isn't afraid to get behind the wheel and go for a ride. For Jim Meyer, owner of this stunning 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle, he's got all these things and more checked off the list.
Built Not Bought
Jim's car is a dream come true for the diehard Chevy fan. Introduced to the car scene by his family, who has always had nice cars, like a '57 Chevy wagon and a '63 Impala when Jim was growing up in Northern Colorado, and perpetuated by his older brother Don, Jim has had an affinity for classic cars since his early teens. While he started out working on farm equipment back in the day, wrenching on cars quickly became second-nature as Jim learned to drive, and then maintain, his first car, a 1960 Impala. Fast forward 50 years and Jim has seen his fair share of car projects, but this impressive Chevelle remains one of his all-time favorites (and we don't blame him!)
The car, which debuted at the Goodguys Colorado Nationals last September, took Jim and his younger brother, Marvin, about two-and-a-half years to complete. With the major part of the car built in Jim's 3-car garage, the entire project took on a new life after Jim decided he wanted to compete with the big guns and prove that a home builder can build an award-winning show car that rivals professional builds.
With help from a couple of friends' shops, Jimmy's Customs in Wellington (body and paint) and Gooding Performance in Fort Collins (wiring and tuning), to be exact, the Chevelle came together beautifully and has been taking home awards ever since. In fact, the car even took home a Builder's Choice Award at its debut show, the 2015 Goodguys Colorado Nationals.
Kicking It Up a Notch
So what makes this Chevelle the award winner it is? Well, that's simple-- a plethora of performance parts, a ton of man hours and the inclusion of finite details that only scouring over the car for hours would reveal.
Built atop a fully boxed and narrowed (by 2 inches on each side) frame, complete with an ABC Performance frame kit, the Chevelle features nothing but top-of-the-line components from the ground up.
CPP Stage IV tubular A arms, QA1 coil overs and C5 spindles up front give the Chevy the maneuverability and handling qualities of a modern sports car, while the CPP Stage IV adjustable 4-link with Viking coil over shocks help keep the GM 12-bolt, limited-slip rearend with 3.55 gears and narrowed 3 ¼-inch Moser 31-spline axles floating effortlessly above the pavement and pushing the performance car to top speed.
Planting the car to the pavement are 18x8" (front) and 20x12" (rear) American Racing Torq Thrust wheels with 4 ¼" and 4 ¾" backspacing, accordingly. Behind those you'll find 14" slotted and cross-drilled Baer brakes with 6-piston calipers on all four corners.
Under the hood of the Chevelle, you'll find an iconic Chevrolet V8 in the form of a 2014 GM Performance crate 427ci engine with a Holley 780cfm carburetor, March revolver-style serpentine belt system, Hooker headers, a 3-inch PYPES exhaust system and much, much more.
Backed by a Tremec TKO 600 manual transmission with an 11-inch RAM clutch, this mighty powerplant produces upwards of 500hp and 480lb-ft of torque.
Beauty AND Brains... So to Speak
While performance is certainly a major part of this Chevelle, so too are its undeniably good looks. Additions like a custom fiberglass “Stinger” hood scoop, custom aluminum grille insert, smoothed drip rails, fitted and shaved stock bumpers, custom rear spoiler, custom front air dam, and custom exhaust flares which all combine to add a little something extra to the classic body lines of this car. Topping it all off is a custom PPG paint mix, which Jim calls Bourbon “N” Ice, laid by Jimmy Poole of Jimmy's Customs.
Inside, the car is just as posh, featuring custom black Berkshire leather/ hazelnut Chatham leather upholstery by Auto Weave, a custom center console done by Jim, and a smoothed dash with a custom insert and Marshall Comp II LED White Face gauges. Of course, we can't forget about all of the creature comforts you could ask for, including “Vintage Air” conditioning and a full stereo system with Pioneer amplifiers, Infinity speakers and Bluetooth connectivity.
One amazing car that runs and, yes, drives like a boss, Jim Meyer's Chevelle is certainly one impressive performance machine! Be on the lookout for the Chevelle in the show near you this summer, as Jim works to complete his first year of show competition!
