Road Tour Episode 4: More Adventures On The 1500 Mile Road Trip In Epic Hot Rods Like This 1966 Chevelle.


Road Tour Episode 4: More Adventures On The 1500 Mile Road Trip In Epic Hot Rods Like This 1966 Chevelle.

You can kind of classify a Chevelle as little, mid sized, or big. Well, sort of. In reality, a 1964-1972 Chevelle were way closer to the same size than it seems when looking at them. I always look at a 1964-65 Chevelle and think of them as little. In fact, they have the longest wheelbase of any two door Chevelle and at 115 inches are only one inch short of the bigger 4-door wheelbase of the later cars. I consider the 1966-67 cars as mid sized, because they just look a little bigger than the early ones. In truth, they are the same size, wheelbase, etc as the 64-65. The big years, 1968-1972 have the shortest wheelbase, at just 112 inches, but are very slightly longer and wider. We’re talking barely.  They do weight a few hundred pounds more though, so I’m going to use that as my excuse for thinking of them as big. They just look bigger. My favorites, in order of size, are 1965, 1966, and 1969. Of those three, I’ve only built a 1966, and it was awesome. I loved that car.

The one I built had a legit 500 horsepower 9.0 to 1 compression, 406 cubic inch small block, backed up by a built 700r4 and a 12 bolt with 4.10 gears. It had a brake upgrade, improved but not crazy suspension, and 17 inch wheels and tires. Vintage air, a stereo, and Flowmasters made it a fun car to drive. Four of us road tripped that car across the country on Hot Rod Power Tour one year and it did everything well. These cars are great at being fast, great at cruising, and comfortable as hell. They road trip well.

There is no doubt that this one, although more sedate looking, is even better.


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