With the frame-off resto now in progress, Carey was firm on keeping the sleeper scene in check. The flat hood, original green paint, bench seat, and column shift were there to stay. Friends and family thought he was crazy for keeping the “granny” bits, but when the car was finished, even the naysayers were swayed to agree that the combination just worked. “I wanted above-average power with new-car driveability. To me, this car came out perfectly on target,” Carey says. “I wondered how people would react to the plain-wrap Malibu sleeper look with extreme horsepower, but hearing so much positive response while out on the 2011 Hot Rod Power Tour, I realized I wasn’t crazy after all.”
As with most builds of this caliber, a support group tends to play a major roll. “I really want to thank my family and friends for all their help and support,” Carey adds, “especially Ryan Sullivan, Cale Kern, Kyle Ray, Greg Rollins, and Cary Pangrac at ProCharger.”
With most folks looking for a fat monetary return on their investments, Carey has no problem watching his money go up in smoke … tire smoke, that is.
By design, the underpinnings of Carey’s Chevelle consists of off-the-shelf GM components. The stock shocks conduct business with the addition of Eaton springs and PST sway bars, which were brought on board to keep body roll in check on those rare occasions when turning is an absolute necessity. With Carey’s Nitto 555 tire-smoking mind-set, he wisely loaded an Eaton posi unit stuffed with 3.73:1 gears into the stock 10-bolt rearend.
For stopping performance, C6 Corvette brakes massaged by Kore3 Industries reside on all four corners and peek through a set of Intro Ram wheels—8x7 up front and 20x8.5 out back.
Cale Kern Automotive Specialties performed a great deal of fabrication in order to get the intercooler to fit behind the grille. A stock Chevelle radiator was sliced and put back together to cover the ’02 Camaro radiator and electric fans. It was Carey’s idea to have the engine compartment appear as though the supercharged LS1 had been dropped into place with very little effort. The compression ratio sits at 10.5:1 in order to accommodate the necessary boost provided by the ProCharger P1-SC LSX A-body transplant kit. A COMP Cams stick comes in at 0.224/0.230 at 0.050 and 0.581/0.558-inch lift and 114 LSA. Stock pistons, crankshaft, and connecting rods manage the task at hand. Livernois got the nod with their LS 243 cylinder heads, valves, dual coil valveprings, titanium retainers, and Super7 locks. A set of 17/8-inch ceramic-coated BRP Muscle Rods A-body LSX headers make quick exit of the supercharged waste and a Cale Kern Automotive Specialties exhaust system does a valiant effort in taming the decibels. Fuel storage comes via a Rock Valley stainless steel tank loaded with twin 255 fuel pumps to keep the 60-pound Siemens injectors quenched. An Aeromotive boost referenced fuel pump regulator manages the swill through the stock GM LS1 fuel rails. Jim Moran at Speed in Schaumburg, Illinois, dyno-tuned the combo to 563 hp at 6,350 rpm and 478 lb-ft of torque at 5,600 rpm. To coincide with the exterior’s rather pedestrian demeanor, Carey went with a long-haul–friendly 4L60E transmission and a Coan 2,500-stall torque converter.
With the “sleeper” motif in full swing, the interior showcases the stock bench seat, column shifter, and steering wheel. The original, unrestored upholstery adorns the whole enchilada. Only the Shiftworks ’70 Malibu tach conversion (housed in place of the original clock location) and Vintage Air A/C center vents in the original radio opening give a hint of interior upgrades. A small number of Chevelle gurus will take notice of the [stock-appearing] Shiftworks column shift overdrive indicator lens perched on top of the steering column.
Jim Corey at Stone City Service & Collision in Bedford, Indiana, took charge of the frame-off restoration. As is generally the case with garage-kept, low-mile, classic, automotive gems, minimal bodywork was required to complete the job. With the car blown apart, the firewall was smoothed and cowl vents closed in—more subtle nuances, not easily recognized by the average Chevelle connoisseur. Corey, dead set on keeping the car as original looking as possible, had the Stone City crew replicate the Green Mist pigment worn by the A-body just as it exited the GM factory back in 1970. CHP