Swaddled under two tarps for nearly 18 years in a forgotten farm field in Tennessee was this 1970 Chevelle SS454. Enough foresight existed in the former owner's mind to put the Chevelle up on blocks. That simple move may have saved this SS from sinking into the earth and rusting away.
As the story goes, when Shannon Brickey came into contact with the potter's field Chevelle, it still begged for several new body panels when he brought it home. Salvation was at hand for the Bow Tie and Shannon Brickley was out to prove that you can do a lot for the least amount of money.
The wearisome teardown was underway and all parts were tagged and then bagged. Those that could be salvaged were and those that could not were discarded. With the help of his father and friends like Mike Brummitt, Eddie Brewster and Jeff Oliver, the Chevelle came together bit by bit. At home in the garage, the frame was sanded down and painted with POR-15 semi-flat paint. Once the chassis was in satisfactory condition, the entire vehicle was taken to Robbie Lyons Custom Collision. While Lyons replaced many of the panels and massaged the rest of the metal, Brickley was busy re-building the 454. After all the machine work was done, the big-block was sitting at 468 cubic inches. The rotating assembly is comprised of a GM forged steel crankshaft and GM LS6 connecting rods, while the pistons that were chosen are JE Pistons running 11.2:1 on the compression.
The cam is a Comp solid roller with an intake and exhaust lift/duration of .640-inch/280 degrees. The solid lifters are opening the valves in the Edelbrock RPM cylinder heads. Fuel and air collide together through the Holley model 4150 800cfm carburetor. From there the Molotov mixture passes through the Edelbrock RPM Air Gap manifold and into the hungry cylinders awaiting detonation from the ACCEL HEI distributor. With an estimated 547hp and an estimated torque of 570, the Rat has plenty of street prowling power.
The suspension of the Chevelle retains much of its original GM components. From the brakes and spindles to the upper and lower A-arms (which were powder coated), the Chevelle stays mostly GM. The stance of the vehicle comes from the 2-inch dropped small-block springs, which are from OPG. The Chevelle that Shannon built represents the very best that any builder can do while spending the least amount of money possible. The 17-inch American Racing Torque Thrusts, Nitto 555 tires, the color, and the stance all set this vehicle apart as American eye candy.