Big-Block Powered 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS

Hard Candy: Function Over Form and a Pragmatic Approach to the Car-build Story

Everybody loves their cars the way they are, don’t they? Yeah, sure they do…until the next inspiration becomes a blast broadside. Yeah, too many magazine articles, too many bitch-forums, too much mean-spirited rhetoric spewed on the “social media” often hurts more than it helps the cause, coercing changes that were never part of the original idea. Time is the enemy, too. It’s like writing a story and then having too much time to hand it in; the longer it hangs around, the more changes you’ll make and make until the sun burns out. Best to button it up timely and kick it out the door.

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Some hot rodders work from an entirely different perspective. They strive to recreate an entire era…or just a moment. Sophomoric silliness gives way to life’s hard facts. Adolescence is abandoned for the path to manhood. The transition is gritty and resinous because no two individuals ever see the same thing the same way. At 33, young Ben Chase is experienced. “This car was the first one I ever purchased. I was 16. I built it according to my vision of how I always wanted a Chevelle; clean, simple, old school, with a carburetor and a manual transmission. Yes, many friends have helped along the way.

“I think the unique thing about this car is that it isn’t an ultra-modern build. It doesn’t have a custom interior; it doesn’t have 20-inch wheels; it doesn’t have custom body modifications. It’s just a simple, clean car. I wanted a timeless, cool hot rod.”

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Impetus came from the 1993 movie “Dazed and Confused.” The protagonist drove a black 1970 SS Chevelle. Ben wanted to pattern his Malibu in a like manner, and was urged immediately when he damn near crashed the first night he drove it because he didn’t realize how poor the drum brakes were. Suffice that Ben tooled the original small-block for a while and when he no longer felt that excitement wriggling in the pit of his stomach, he put a 468-inch big-block under his foot. And so it went for a while.

Then Ben called in the shock troops. Keith Zimbauer did the metal fabrication, welding up the transmission tunnel and mini-tubs, smoothing the firewall, constructing the exhaust system and putting patch panels in the front fenders. Vic DeLeon, Jr. did a lot of the wiring and finish-work, plumbed the fuel system, did the seat covers, and got the motor ready to fire. Once on the rollers, Vic, Sr. at DeLeon Dyno Service in Santa Clara, California, put the magic wand over it.

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The object of his attention was the 496 in the Chevelle’s maw. Larry Klein at Speed Merchant (San Jose) had performed the machine work and the heralded Paul Caselas at Dyno West assembled the bullet with a forged rotating assembly, AFR 325 cylinder heads, a Crower hydraulic stick (0.636/0.659, 253/260 at 0.050-inch) and Edelbrock double-row timing gear, Moroso 7-quart wet-sump, Melling pump and peppered it with ARP fasteners throughout. The 950-cfm Holley sources fuel from Race Pumps mechanical system. The ancillaries include a Powermaster alternator and a Be Cool aluminum core. Ceramic-coated Lemons headers dump into a 3-inch stainless steel Magnaflow system incorporating an X-pipe and genteel Magnaflow mufflers.

Torque transfer begins at the 11-inch Kevlar/organic clutch disc and a QuickTime bellhousing accepts the Tremec TKO600 five-speed. Steve at South Bay Driveline in San Jose, provided the 3-inch diameter prop shaft that hooks to a GM 12-bolt. Keith at Z-Fab Off-Road in Rapid City, South Dakota, buttressed the axle with 3.73:1 cogs and a Detroit True Trac differential.

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Regardless of the owner’s fealty to function, the car’s setting represents form undeniably. Though there are several methods to set the stance, Ben stayed completely mechanical, outfitting his A-body with B-body spindles (1-inch drop), Global West negative-camber controls arms with Hotchkis springs (1-inch drop), non-adjustable Bilstein dampers and a Hotchkis 1 3/8-inch anti-sway bar. He set the rear end up with Hotchkis coils (1-inch drop), boxed lower control arms, Bilstein shocks and a 1¼-inch anti-sway bar. One look at Ben’s Big A says he got it right. On the side of that critical friction quotient, he gathered Baer 13-inch brakes all around and he capped them with shining 17x8 and 17x11 Billet Specialties hoops holding 255/40 and 315/35 Pirelli P7000 skins.

Things in the office space are pretty much like they were when the Chevelle cleared the assembly line 45 years ago. But certainly there are small departures: the Grant GM Corvette Tri-Spoke steering wheel, the minimal audio range set up by Vic DeLeon, and the staid vinyl upholstery put there by Top Notch in San Jose. There are no distractions, nothing superfluous simply because function guys don’t need anything more. If there were dollars with wings on them, they would only be for mechanical advantage.

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As for the exterior, the theme was make it straight, make it clean, and maintain the vibe original, which Michael & Company, Inc. accomplished without fail. “At first, I thought I wanted a black car with white stripes, just like the movie, but realizing what bodywork and upkeep would take on a black car, I changed my mind on the color,” Ben opined. The stripes are not white and the livery is Volkswagen United Grey Metallic.

Any regrets, anything he would have done differently? “Since I’ve gotten older and my tastes have changed a bit, I think I would have gone milder on the motor. The [big-block] engine keeps getting less and less user-friendly. If I were to do it over again, I would put a mild fuel-injected motor in the car, maybe an LS3, and definitely air conditioning.

“These projects that are supposed to take a year or so to complete inevitably snowball into five, ten or more years, but the car is literally the embodiment of a vision I had for it many years ago. I had a picture in my mind of its appearance, its attitude and couldn’t be happier with the result. In the end, it didn’t turn out being the Dazed and Confused car, but I’m more than okay with that. To quote Matthew McConaughey’s character, I think the car came out ‘…Alright, alright, alright.’”

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Tech Check
Owner	Ben Chase, Corona, California
Vehicle	1970 Chevelle
Engine
Type	Mark IV 454, Dyno West, San Jose, California
Displacement	496ci
Bore	4.310 inches
Stroke	4.250 inches
Compression Ratio	9.9:1
Cylinder Heads	Air Flow Research 335
Rotating Assembly	Scat 4340 crankshaft and H-beam rods, SRP pistons
Valvetrain	Isky lifters and pushrods, Crower rocker arms
Camshaft	Crower hydraulic roller
Induction	Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, Holley 950cfm Ultra HP carburetor
Ignition	MSD 6AL box
Exhaust	Lemons headers, 21/8-inch primaries, 3-inch system, Magnaflow mufflers
Output (at wheels)	610hp at 5,825 rpm, 583 lb-ft at 4,675 rpm
Drivetrain
Transmission	Tremec TKO 600, custom clutch assembly
Rear Axle	GM 12-bolt, 3.73:1 gears, limited-slip differential
Chassis
Front Suspension	Global West control arms, Hotchkis springs and anti-sway bar, Bilstein shock absorbers
Rear Suspension	Hotchkis springs, boxed lower control arms and anti-sway bar, Bilstein shock absorbers
Brakes	Baer Track 13-inch rotors, 4-piston calipers
Wheels & Tires
Rims	Billet Specialties GTX-01, 17x8 front, 17x11 rear
Tires	Pirelli P7000, 255/40 front, 315/35 rear
Interior
Upholstery	Top Notch, San Jose, California
Material	Vinyl
Seats	Stock
Steering Wheel	Grant
Shifter	Tremec with Hurst handle
Dashboard	Stock
Instrumentation	Stock
Exterior
Bodywork/Paint	Michael & Company, Inc., San Jose, California
Paint	VW United Grey Metallic
Hood	Super Sport steel
Grille	Stock
Bumpers	Stock