1964 Chevy II — Race to Street

This car came to us with one purpose and one purpose only: go fast in a straight line. When it rolled into the shop, this 1964 Chevy II was a dedicated drag car through and through. Full funny car roll cage tying the chassis together, stripped to the bone, and built for nothing but quarter-mile passes. The cage was serious hardware. Cutting it out was the first real statement of intent. This car wasn't going back to the strip. It was going to the street.

The Chevy II platform earned its reputation the hard way. In 1964, Chevrolet dropped a lightweight, no-nonsense unibody into a market that immediately recognized it for what it was: a blank canvas for speed. The owner came to us with a clear vision: lose the race-only hardware and build something that could sit in traffic without drama and still hit hard when the road opens up.

At the heart of that vision sat a 468 cubic inch big block Chevrolet, the result of taking GM's legendary 454 and boring it 0.060" over, opening up the cylinders for more displacement and more breath. We're not talking about a crate motor somebody uncrated and bolted in. This was a built engine. Behind it, we bolted up a GM Turbo 400 three-speed automatic, the transmission that earned its stripes behind big blocks in everything from Chevelle SS396s to COPO Camaros.

Getting that power to the ground meant rethinking the entire driveline. The factory rear end wasn't going to survive the first hard launch, so we put a Ford 9-inch under it. Out front, we installed a bolt-on front suspension kit with an aftermarket subframe, visible in the build photos where the black frame section meets the body, to give the car a modern stance and geometry that the factory never intended. A full Chevy II disc brake conversion replaced the original drums. An aluminum radiator keeps the big block cool whether it's creeping through traffic or winding out on a back road. And the headers? We built those right here in the shop. Custom-fabricated, tucked to fit the chassis, and tuned to let that 468 breathe the way it was meant to.

We don't build cars to fill a portfolio. We build them so that five, ten, fifteen years down the road, the person behind the wheel still grins when they fire it up and still trusts the shop that put it together. This 1964 Chevy II is proof that a race car doesn't have to stay a race car.

Build Highlights

• Engine: Chevrolet 468ci big block. A 454 bored 0.060" over for increased displacement, built in-house for reliable street power.
• Transmission: GM Turbo 400 3-speed automatic. The legendary heavy-duty automatic that earned its reputation behind GM's most powerful big blocks. Built to handle the torque of a 468 without breaking a sweat.
• Front Suspension: Bolt-on Heidt's kit with aftermarket subframe. Transforms the factory front end geometry for modern handling and stance while keeping the install clean and serviceable.
• Brakes: Full front disc brake conversion. Replaces the original drums with modern stopping power.
• Rear End: Ford 9-inch. The industry standard for strength in high-horsepower applications. Chosen because a factory 10-bolt doesn't stand a chance behind a big block.
• Cooling: High-capacity aluminum radiator. Essential for keeping a bored-over big block at safe operating temperature in stop-and-go street driving.
• Exhaust: Custom-built headers, fabricated in-house. Designed and welded to fit this specific chassis and engine combination.