new guy needs tips.
 

last summer i bought my first muscle car. my dream car actually. a 71' chevelle. Wanting to turn it into an SS clone car and im not sure where i should start. I do know i want a 454 BB though! any tips or advice?

Hi Whitey,welcome! You have a good looking car as it sits,why make a clone SS?

stickers and badges ... lots of em!

The SS package in 71 was offered all all V8 cars except 307, so not having a 454 would be ok. Badges and a Cowl hood would be a good start and not that expensive to do. If it has a sweep dash then I would change it down the road to round gauge dash when you can afford to do it. I agree with Grandsport you have a good looking car already. Just enjoy your car. Also Welcome to the site.

Ray

Nothing at all wrong with it being a Malibu ,there are too many fake SS cars already .

its not a malibu. its a chevelle its just not an SS

You sure its not a Chevelle Malibu ? Malibu was just a trim level .

Welcome Whitey. I agree you already have a nice looking car but if you want to clone an SS, go for it. You already have a cowl hood. Some SS badges, black grill and hood pins would go along way. Not all SS's had strips so they're not necessary but they are kind of the trademark of the SS.

For 1971, the base Chevelle was called just that, a Chevelle. VINs started with 133xx (6-cyl) or 134xx (V8). Malibus were 135xx and 136xx. The Malibu was an 'upscale' Chevelle. All 69 to 71 SS cars were based on the Malibu but there's nothing in the VIN or on the trim tag (except Canadian cars) that denote the SS option.

Some people use Chevelle and Malibu interchangeably and that's technically not correct. The line is CHEVELLE, one of the models in that line is MALIBU. For model years 1964-1972 all Malibus are Chevelles, but not all Chevelles are Malibus.

So if it is just a Chevelle then the vin starts with a 133 or a 134

Ray

To most people outside of "the know", all you'll need is some badging to give it the appearance. Those are cheap "mods", that can be followed by suspension and performance upgrades.