Like so many others in my generation growing up, my mind was glued to MTV. I don't know what it was about it, but I could sit and watch music videos all day long. When I was in sixth grade I remember a bunch of artists who covered "School House Rock" tunes and put out music videos. One of my favorite ones was "Three is the Magic Number" by Blind Melon. Although you hear people say three is the magic number day in and day out, every time I hear that saying I think of that cartoon video blaring from the TV's speakers. But the truth is, three often is the magic number. Just ask Art Alvarez.
Unless your name is Clark W. Griswold and you're headed across the country with grandma strapped to the roof, wagons aren't the most popular Chevelle on the road. But on the flip side, if you ask wagon aficionado Art Alvarez, wagons should be the only thing on the road. This '65 300 Chevelle two-door wagon is the third wagon that Art has owned. His first wagon now resides with his son and the second one was hawked in order to purchase this Cameo Beige hauler. When Art bought the wagon a few years ago, the car was pretty much complete. A friend by the name of Dick Eytchinson previously owned it. Art had watched Dick build the wagon over the past few years and knew the quality and detail that was put into the car. When Dick decided to relocate to Denver, the last thing he was going to do was watch his prized wagon rot away in the Rockies. Art figured he'd be a fool to let this wagon get away, so he decided to sell wagon number two to pick up wagon number three.
The day Art brought the car home he swapped out the 15-inch orange rally wheels for a set of Intro Vista rims. In the back resides a 20x9.5 billet wheel wrapped in Falken 285/30/20 rubber and up front 18x7 rims with Falken 225/35/18 rubber. After the new rim/tire combo Art added a 13-inch Eradispeed Baer brake system with cross-drilled rotors. But he still wasn't done. Hotchkis 2-inch drop springs with upper tubular A-arms replaced the stamped steel arms. Isolating the frontend from the road is a set of performance Bilstein shocks. The same Hotchkis and Bilstein performance touch was given to the rear of the car with new drop springs and shocks.
Although the brakes and suspension are cool, Art's pride and joy rests between the front framerails. Replacing the original, mild 350 is a GM Performance Parts ZZ383. But the most unique feature to the new GMPP 383 is the motor that Art had blacked out with powdercoated and black-anodized parts. He also threw on a Vintage Air front-runner serpentine system. Besides looking way cool, the motor boasts 425 hp at 5,400 rpm and 460 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm! Relieving the motor of some pent up horses is a 700-R4 tranny with an Edge torque converter. Drivelines Incorporated built a custom driveshaft to link the tranny to the Ford 9-inch Currie rearend. And there you have it. Three is the magic number. . .at least for now.