"The Roadster Shop was looking...
"The Roadster Shop was looking for a '68-72 Chevelle to use as a model to build a production chassis to complement their '64-67 chassis line."
Green Machine
A '70 Chevelle is probably not the first car you think of to take to the road course or autocross, but The Roadster Shop thought it would be just perfect. The Roadster Shop of Mundelein, Illinois, is well versed in the art of building custom cars. There is very little they haven't or can't do. They build full frames for pretty much anything from the 1930s through the mid 1970s, stock bodies for a handful of roadsters, and they also have a full-scale custom shop. Their 30,000-foot facility lends itself to building and showing off their accomplishments, the most recent being a Corvette that garnered the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year award for 2009.
This '70 Chevelle started its custom life as a solid front-axle gasser drag car which ultimately landed at a car show swap meet, which is where they found it. The body was in really excellent shape, but car show goers weren't biting because of its unique chassis style. Gassers usually used light bodies like early Novas and Falcons, not their heavyweight A-body cousins. The Roadster Shop was looking for a '68-72 Chevelle to use as a model to build a production chassis to complement their '64-67 chassis line. They brought the '70 home and started the build. It was going to be a simple resto-mod build after the frame was finished. They really wanted something to use as a test mule and to show off their products. They went wild and built the car in a short four-month period, just in time for the summer events. Their latest events were the annual Run Through The Hills and Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge where it placed high in the ranks against some of the most expensive and remarkable cars of recent years.
| BY THE NUMBERS |
| 1970 CHEVELLE |
| Roadster Shop Test Car Mundelein, IL Skidpad .98g, 630 hp |
| ENGINE |
| Type: |
GM LS7 by Turn Key Engines |
| Exhaust: |
3-inch custom exhaust |
|
with Borla XR1 mufflers |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: |
T-56 six-speed manual |
| by Bowler Transmission |
| Driveshaft: |
3-inch aluminum |
| Rear axle: |
Ford 9-inch with 31-spline axles, |
| Strange nodular third member, 3.90 gears |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: |
Roadster Shop Performance |
| Chevelle chassis, Penske D/A |
| remote reservoir coilovers |
| Brakes: |
Wilwood 14.25-inch rotors |
| and six-piston calipers |
| INTERIOR |
| Seats: |
Cobra seats by Upholstery Unlimited |
| Dashboard: |
aluminum dash |
|
with Race Pak gauges |
| Stereo: |
Rockford Fosgate |
| and Pioneer components |
| Wiring: |
Ron Francis |
| Column: |
ididit |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: |
custom lower front spoiler, |
| fitted bumper, |
| custom heat extractor hoodscoop, |
| rocker moldings |
| Paint: |
Porshe GT3 green |
| with matte black stripes |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: |
Forgeline ZX3 wheels: |
| 18x10 and 19x12 |
| Tires: |
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2: |
| 295/30R18, 325/30R19 |