Hi from Pennsylvania !

[Killain]

Hello everyone. I'm new here, I admire all the work you folk are doing. It's a craft, I think will only last a little longer, Not too many young folks much of American car people, they like ricers or their in love with their cell phones. Crazy, when I was a teenager it cost $00.15 to make a phone call. I loved cars, even now I'm still crazy for anything GM. But the Chevelle is such a thing of beauty, I was just watching Mecum Auction and down came a Black on Black 1970 Chevelle Malibu with the white hood graphics ! Beautiful, just beautiful !

These years Chevelles and all of the same bodied cars are becoming so rare, no matter what you see, it's gone in a few weeks. Are the prices are shown that level of work put into bring one back from the dead. It's wonderful, My father had a 1969 Malibu green two door hardtop no post with a black vinyl top. And shortly after he bought it, it developed a slight miss. I knew right away what it was, The engine was a 307 and as most of you know, the cams weren't hardened right and sure enough, it wiped out the cam.

My dad wasn't a car guy, but for some strange reason, to this day I never figured it out, but he was so enthralled with this Chevelle after the cam job was complete and he had used it, he was sitting in the living room one day and he could see the Chevelle from here, and he asked my what I thought of the paint, well you all know what the paint work was in the sixties, it was lacquer paint which had a life of a few years if left out in the weather. But I said it looks like an old car with shot paint. And thus he set out to have the car repainted, but he wasn't done there. after the paint was done and he had it back in front of the house. I came home and he asked what this was ? The chevelle had a black vinyl top and it had a lot of bubbles in the back down by the trunk line. I said the body shop should of striped the top of and fix the rust under there.

My dad wasn't so mad as he was disappointed. Back to the body shop and he stopped over while the guys undid the chrome moldings and off came the top and there was all the rust. they said they could fill in the rust with filler, but my dad said he wanted it leaded in, the shop said that wasn't do-able. So off my dad went in hunt of a shop who could do it. and he lived in New Jersey and after a few days of hunting for the right shop, he found a old guy who owned his owned his little body shop. The guy was about my dads age, they got to talking about where they had served in WW2 and once they got started I told him I pick him up later.

Well I picked him up and I have to hand it to my father, a guy who didn't care about cars at all. But that 69 Chevelle was in the guys shop for close to a month. they had done the car so well it was better than it had been new. They stripped all the moldings and took the car down to primer and then they fixed it right. the back where the rust had been they cut it out and got one from a junkyard and welded it back into place, grind-ed everything down and then started to do the rear window area in lead and they used a tiny amount of filler to bring the panels up to perfect alinement. The two doors had a little rust at the bottom, they came off and grinded down to clear solid metal and leaded . I had a 68 Nova and I have to admit, as I took my father over to the body shop every couple of days, he loved to see the work being down. The car was down to just metal and a little primer. ell three weeks later, he got the call and i drove him over to the shop. It was magnificent, a 1969 Chevelle Malibu hardtop in a subtle metallic green with a Black vinyl top and black vinyl interior. The only flaw was the door panels at the bottom. The vinyl was a little shappy, but the shop had done a really good job of reworking the black panels and to the normal driver you'd never notice them. Back then there wasn't a 'Classic Industries to get parts from.

I wish I still had some of the photographs to post. but that was a long time ago. It was 1979 and my dad was 71 but he loved that Chevelle. I was in the service and I only got to see it when I got leave. I was in Guam, working in the Naval station and ordinance magazine up on the mountains, or what they called mountains there. I got a call and my CO had me into his office and the Chaplain was there, so I knew this wasn't a chew my as out session. but the Chaplin said my dad had died. It took a full days flying to get to Philadelphia. Meet my sister and went over the bridge. never saw that chevelle again. don't know what happened to it, but whoever bought it got one hell of a car. Sold my 69 Nova, which I'm still kicking my ass thirty five years later still. Sometimes you don't know how good you got it till it's gone. I think there was a song that had the same name or licic.

[Ms Grumpy]

Killain what a wonderful story. It is always a pleasure to talk with anyone and everyone about cars. My kids tell me that I will walk up to anyone and talk about anything, especially if it is cars. I am not the most mechanically inclined person. But I am a person who has a passion for cars and the people who own or have owned them. I am sure that you have many more wonderful stories to tell.

I have to say welcome to the site. And I cannot forget to say Thank You for your service.

[grandsport]

Hi Killian,welcome.

[flash]

Hi Killian ,welcome from Georgia .Great story and thanks for your service .

[SS Shaun]

welcome also from PA!

[69chevelless]

What a good story, welcome to the site!

[shadowgray396]

Welcome to the site from Oregon. Great story also.

Ray

[Hank70SS]

Nice introduction Killain, welcome to Chevelle Forums.