The first-generation Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro are cool and all, but the Chevelle is definitely hotter. Argue all you want, but a 1970 Chevelle with its sexy quad-headlamp design and muscular body lines will stand out at any muscle car meeting.
The only issue with this car is that not all of them were fitted with the big-block 7.0- and 7.4-liter mills that Chevrolet was offering at the time. But that's an easy fix. Just drop a modern mill or a crate engine under the hood and your good to go, smoking tires and all.
This restomod build is a good example of how you can bring an old Chevelle back to life. A clean restoration, this Chevy doesn't stray far off the classic muscle car recipe. Sure, the aftermarket wheels are larger than usual at 22 inches in the front and 24 inches in the rear, but everything else is as classic as it gets. From the dark green paint with white stripes to the high-sheen chrome around the front and rear fascias.
The interior feels a bit more modern though. It sports digital gauges in the dashboard, a new center console with an infotainment display, and USB ports for added convenience. It also features a modern audio system with a pair of 10-inch subwoofers in the trunk. It's all about the bass, baby!
But things become even hotter under the hood. Even though the 1970 Chevelle was no stranger to big and powerful engines, the owner of this coupe went with an LT4 swap. Chevrolet introduced this supercharged, 6.2-liter V8 back in 2015 in the C7 Corvette Z06, but the engine also found its way into the Cadillac CTS-V.
It's still on offer in the current-generation Camaro ZL1, while the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing features a beefed-up version of the same mill. But Chevrolet is also offering the LT4 as a crate engine, with the exact power specifications of the C7-gen Corvette Z06. That's a solid 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, figures that make the LT4 quite the potent powerplant.
On top of that, it sounds tremendous too. It burbles like a proper LS when idling and growls like a race-spec V8 when the gas pedal hits the floor. Sadly, there's no high-revving footage of this Chevelle in the video below, but it's still worth watching if you're into unassuming restomods.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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