Project Shovelle...We're Diggin' It!
Story and Photos by Dean Washington
Drawing by DYCK Design
It is a given that there are many of you reading this who, at one time or another in your youth, had “the car that got away.” Maybe you had to sell it to make space in the garage, or you lost interest, or your new wife gave you the “me or the car” routine. Whatever it was, at some point I’m sure you said to yourself, as I did, “if I ever get the chance again….” Well, you know the rest.
My story is no different.
In 1982, I was seventeen-years old and purchased a 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle 2-door hardtop for a thousand dollars off a friend named George, who owned a body shop. It had a 307 motor mated with a two-speed Powerglide transmission and a fresh paint job. A year later after the engine packed it in, another friend, Todd, had just had an unfortunate incident with his big-block 396 Beaumont (I think we called them road conditions in those days!), so I ended up picking up his drivetrain, tires and wheels, Hurst shifter and the full interior for I think around eighteen hundred bucks, if memory serves me correctly. Then it was off to the legendary Buck Kinney to have it all installed. It was very exciting, as I’d always wanted a muscle car to rip up and down the streets of my hometown. But it turns out the thrill didn’t last as long as I thought it would.
As I quickly found out, these are not your regular turnkey vehicles. I’m eighteen years old with this car that is no less than a beast, at best, to drive as it had no power steering, I’m not mechanically inclined, and I'm unable to fix the many challenges that come with owning a car like this, as I don't have buckets of money. So after six months, I park it at the back of my family home and became one of the guys who fell under the “lost interest” heading. But I still loved my car, and one day when I had some extra money, I would fix it up so it would drive as good as it looked.
Fast forward three years, and I am now in a relationship and expecting our first child, oh, and not working as we’re in the middle of a six month strike! All of a sudden, I need money to survive and really only have one asset besides the house I live in. You guessed it - the car had to go before the house! I won’t mention how much I sold it for as I still have nightmares every time I think about it. All I can say is, whoever the fellow was that bought it, he must still have a smile on his face.
Fast forward another twenty-three years, and I sit in Performance Plus offices with the staff pondering what kind of vehicle we should do as our first project. We decided we wanted to build a practical vehicle that looked real cool, but wouldn’t break the bank. Practical because not everyone has one hundred grand or more to sink into a vehicle that they might drive 10 to 12 weekends a year. Something that you could load up the wife and kids, start every time you turned the key, was enjoyable to drive, eye-catching and still be able to send the kids to college without robbing a bank. We also thought that whatever we chose, it would be really neat if we found it within the pages of our own magazine making it a true Performance Plus project. So we began scanning through the classifieds of the magazine and identified some vehicles that we thought had great potential for our first project.
A few nights later, I was at home calling some of the ads that were fits as a potential project when my friend Dave called and asked what I was doing. When I told him, he informed me he intended to sell his car as he had lost his job. I responded how ironic it was, as I was calling ads from the magazine looking for a project. I couldn’t believe he was selling his baby as I had gone with him when he bought it just two years ago and he absolutely loved his car. He said he had made up his mind and it was the right thing for him to do at this time. I knew right then this was the perfect vehicle for several reasons.
First and foremost, Dave is a great friend and he would know that his baby would be in good hands. Secondly, and I’m sure you guessed it, his car is a 1968 Chevelle 2-door hardtop with that same 307 motor and two-speed Powerglide tranny I had those many years ago. Talk about coming full circle!
I know what you’re thinking. “I thought you had set the criteria of selecting a vehicle from the pages of this magazine to make it a true Performance Plus project?” Well, technically this fits the criteria as it was featured back in the July/August 2007 issue when we chronicled upgrading the old front drum brake system to discs. Add that we were all familiar with the car and Dave had also completely upgraded the front suspension and also had extra parts including a power steering kit not yet installed (thank you!), it made it a no-brainer decision by the team.
Project Shovelle “I’m Diggin’ It” was born.
The name and exterior design concept are the brainchild of Paul Dyck of DYCK Design in Pitt Meadows, B.C. who, after listening to how we wanted to build a car for the average guy with better than average looks, created a drawing that hit on all cylinders.
Even though the car’s paint is in decent shape, we weren’t all thrilled with the colour, and some wanted to change it. Paul suggested we highlight it instead of diving into a costly colour change that would require stripping the car completely down and would in no way fit into the budget we had established for the build.
Oh, yes, the budget. We have set out with a total budget of $40,000, including the $7,500 purchase price of the car. Although we intend to receive some of the parts and labour at a discount for coverage in the magazine, we are going to document every dollar spent on parts and labour at the retail rates to see how close we come to our initial budget prediction. Some of the numbers may seem low at first glance, but keep in mind that we are starting with a solid car and many items will not have to be replaced. As well, we plan, as you would, to upgrade items after we finish the initial build that wouldn’t fit within the budget.
The breakdown is as follows:
Chevelle Purchase Price: $7,500
Engine & Transmission: 9,000
Suspension & Brakes: 2,000
Rear End: 2,500
Interior: 3,000
Electrical: 2,500
Body & Paint: 8,000
Exterior Trim: 1,500
Wheels & Tires: 2,000
Exhaust: 2,000
In the next issue, we will begin the year-long process of transforming this standard 1968 Chevelle into Project Shovelle “I’m Diggin’ It.”
We hope you will too![PSGallery=qaxgfn79i]
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