A little about me and my $EE '69 Chevelle…..

[n0t2l8]

well here goes for my first post.

My '69 Malibu. I love it!i was fortunate enough to get a complete '95 Caprice. i went ALL out and took every last electrical component from the caprice and implanted them into the Malibu! talk about reliability, i have been driving this car as much as possible for over eight years and have NOT had a lick of problems like flooded carbs, and the such. Sure is nice being able to jump into the car, not even have to touch the accelerator pedal, turn the key and have it start EVERY time!!!!(well, except when the battery did go bad because of the killer stereo - oops, oh well, sacrifices LOL). with the combo of EFI/Overdrive, i can get over twenty MPG on the highway, all the way down to loosing a new set of tires in a day!

the car is set up with: P/S, Power 4 wheel ABS Disc, Tilt Wheel, Power Lumbar Seats, power mirrors, power door locks, power windows, remote trunk release, A/C, with Electronic Temp Control, dual vanity visors, compass rear view mirror, delay wipers, cruise control.............. hopefully you get the idea - EVERYTHING from the donor! I was even able to fit the 24 gal fuel tank under the trunk pan in place of the old 'too small' tank. Everything that i installed into the car was bolted in. yup, thats right. everything. no cutting or welding necessary!(except when adapting the power window motors to the original regulators)there was a little massaging in the tunnel near the converter housing area of the trans (prob. because of it being much bigger than a powerglide).
I was fortunate enough at the time of surgery to have worked as an auto tech in a shop so that I was able to get complete wire diagrams for it all. Turned out to be a rather thick book when all was gathered!! Also, While all was under way, i had gotten a handfull of disposable cameras and placed them all over the car. Now that i have spoken so much of my baby, i'm going to have to scan a buttload of pics to show it off.
God Bless General Motors(lol). Seriously, the wire colors between the '69 VS. '95 turned out to be virtually THE SAME throughout the WHOLE CAR!!! From Ignition to Turn Signals....Everything. I was thrilled to see it work out so well!!!

one thing way cool of GM about the accessories on the Caprice engine. On the engine mount crossover, there just so happened to be a 'relief' in the frame for the original mounted '95 A/C compressor to fit without worry. almost as if GM was thinking ahead(oooohhh, ahhh) lol

the whole project from the time i had gotten the Caprice(already had the Malibu), to the time i felt it was time to drive the Chevelle was approx. six months. I was between jobs at the time of doing the wiring duties(thank God!!) and that took almost one month alone!!! I knew what was in store for the finish(wait, who am i kidding - it will Never be finished LOL) and stuck with it. just ask my girlfriend and she will say that i love that car more than her without even flinching!!!!

Someone asked me why i went to such extremes with what i did to my car. I said 'I wanted to customize this car in such a way that 'I' wanted it to be the way I would have bought it with all the options it now has. I want to be comfortable driving it, and I love driving this car so much, that when i go places with friends or buddies, i like to share the joy and let them drive(what a pal, huh??)
Of course, living out of town has not treated the exterior well, but at least it is 90-95% dent free! Now for some fresh paint and a carpet kit. Then I'll prob not want drive it anymore so as to keep it scratch free! lol
I hope that while being involved with this group, I can offer some hints and possibly some advice to others as well as learn a little also. As you can prob figure, I'm rather comfortable around wiring. If I can be of assistance to anyone with questions, please feel free to message me and I will try my best to help out with whatever it may be.

[EagleMark]

:welcome2:

Well you sir are a true GearHead at heart and I'd love to see your pride and joy! Very cool, congrats on the work!

:welcome:

[RobertISaar]

now that is one hell of a build!

i can't believe you even got the ABS system from the B-body to work.... i never would have thought it would be even remotely similar.

[1project2many]

Nice job. Plenty of work, for sure. GM has used the same wire colors for many, many years. I built a '55 chevy truck when I was 15 and taught myself to read wiring diagrams. When I went to get a job in a garage at 18, I was able to walk up to the 80's GM car on the lift and point out various lighting circuits just by the wire colors. Only one of his techs was able to do the same thing so I got the job.

Once upon a time a person could by a a fiberglass '55 chevy body on a new Caprice chassis and it would come with a full GM warranty on the chassis. Those cars had much of the electronic present as well. That was maybe 1991 vintage? And there was a great article about a guy in NY that used an LT1 Caprice to build a Gremlin. He also kept all the original electronics including ABS and traction control. Like this, very kewl. That car had vacuum muffler cutouts on the exhaust which would open to bypass the mufflers at WOT.

Have you switched to 5 X 5 bolt pattern?

[85Z28NOS]

Thats GREAT! I did almost the same thing with my 69 chevelle but used a 89 formula 350 to steal everything from. Hardest part for me was getting the dashboard to mount nicely.

[dave w]

:welcome:

Thanks for sharing the details of your project! X2 on seeing the pics.

dave w

[n0t2l8]

hey, thanx all for the replys. it's such a great feeling to see others as interested in what i have accomplished. i tell ya, not too many folks truly understand the ramifications that one has to go thru to have a vehicle done up like this on thier own. most people just think they can call MTV and say 'yo, pimp MY ride'. wouldn't that be kool. but one things for sure, they would get it put together the way someone else think its kool. thats whats sweet about DYI, you get it to be the way YOU like it.


still workin on scanning some of the many pics that i was able to take along the way of the build. the hardest part i would have to say, other than having ALDL-interface issues, was the ABS. from here on out, i have to have rotors modified to have the reluctor wheel set into the back inside. not too tough, but still the same. the rear sensor wasn't too bad, just drilled a hole and welded a bung to the rear cover and am using the ring gear as my reluctor. oh so nice being able to stand on the brake pedal and come to a halt, without the tires leaving skids everywhere(or the ever so dreaded steer pull).

be back soon with hopefully some nice pics to share. ctys

kenski

[EagleMark]

most people just think they can call MTV and say 'yo, pimp MY ride'. I don't think I would want anything built by them in a week? :rolleye:

I'd like to see a follow up show on what those rigs look like in a year?

[n0t2l8]

you know it!!! aint that the truth!!! knowin' how i treat my own stuff, you only can guess like i will on how hard they would drive thier shit thinking there might be some kind of warranty...LOL

[1project2many]

I'd like to see a follow up show on what those rigs look like in a year?
Thay've had a couple. One girl sold her car. She said it only made everyone in her neighborhood want to steal it so she might as well get something for it when it goes.