Some will love it, some will hate it, some won’t care. I’m starting with a rough 1964 coupe that was originally a 365HP tuxedo black with black and silver leather interior, 4 speed, power windows, off road exhaust beauty. Now it is painted ermine white, but looks like it might have been red at one time, black interior with the original leather seats, crate engine of some unknown displacement (sounds like a truck engine), that may have been hit in the back as the rear valance is twisted, there is a small crack in the body under the right rear bumper and the same bumper has 5 or 6 shims between the bracket and mount.

The rear valance is being replaced anyway and once I get the spare tire carrier out of the way I can figure out what else is going on and fix the small crack.

So, the victim:



I put the 15” ARs that were on the convertible on the coupe (the rear is sitting funny only because I lowered it off the jack and haven’t moved it yet.

You can see how jacked the rear valance is, but the frame and birdcage are rust free. I will clean up and treat the frame inside and out.

There are a stack of shims between the bumper and mount, yet the bottom is pressed against the valance.

The plan:

Big, giant wheel flares (Jeff did an awesome job on these and they fit well, but will require a lot of work)
1965/66 big block hood
No exhaust hole rear valance
Undercar exhaust with turn downs just before the valance
Flat black bumpers, trim and wheels
Wheels that fill the wheel well with big dish
Four wheel disc brakes
Borgeson power steering
New suspension, shocks and sway bars
427 sbc with TKO 600 and 3.70 posi
Return the interior to black and silver with C5 sport seats and some custom touches

Please don’t expect some polished restomod. I’m not capable! But, I will have a road car that hopefully looks as good as it performs.

Fat Boy flares:

I’m sorry but that is one good way to ruin the perfect lines of a mid year. The rest of the mods will make it fun for sure

Those are big. Going to be fun build to watch.

I know it’s not for everyone, but this car was run hard and put away wet and requires a bunch of attention (a pig in lipstick really). Judge it once I’m finished and then let me know what you think. In the mean time, follow along if you wish.

I tried to remove the rear valance and had to pry the right bumper away in order to slide it out. Then I removed the spare tire carrier and discovered my first real challenge. The carrier tube was cracked where a previous rear hit had mangled the rear cross member. I removed the two long bolts with the unusual heads and was able to pull it out. As I did, the rear cracked even more and then a big chunk fell out. I’m not going to use it, but if it has value to someone I will fix it. It is complete with all parts accounted for and in good shape, well, other than the rear edge of the tub. It has some issues.i will need to straighten and reweld the rear crossmember. Fortunately the gas tank is pristine and was spared and there is no unusual contact with the frame.






I also measured the flares from the edge of the tire. They are both 5” in the middle and fairly straight across the wheel.

The current wheels are 15x6 with 3 1/2” backspace. This means once I convert to discs, an 18x11 with 4 1/2” backspace should be about perfect. Of course I’ll measure carefully before committing.

(Edit: quote removed)

I am not old or grumpy. small tasteful flairs look good on a mid year. those on the other hand look cartoonish and ricer boy image. if you want wider wheels then the wider panels that retain the great lines is the answer.

with all that said I say good luck and since none of my money is on the line my opinion means nothing

Good question! This style of flare allows the wheel to sit a bit higher in the wheel well, so it will be lowered 2” via Ridetech coilovers all around, C3 spindles/hubs up front with Global West control arms, Ridetech trailing arms in the rear and wilwood 14” discs all around. I hope to get 20x12 w/5” BS wheels with 325/30-20 tires which are 27.7” in diameter. It is important to fill the wheel wells and have significant dish to achieve the look I’m after. Everyone said I couldn’t put 245/45-17 tires on all four corners of my 1964 convertible, but I did with no issues. I will need to measure carefully before I finalize the wheels.

However, because it will look like a clown car, I will only be able to drive it at night! Kind of like Andy’s black car “Shinola” which cannot leave the garage as people may mistake it for the...um...other stuff. Some people can’t tell the difference.

Andy, here is a link I found of a black/silver.

http://www.superchevy.com/features/4...orvette-coupe/