1970 Chevelle Custom Paint Job - Stars And Stripes Forever: Project American Heroes III

Want to read all the great stories online covering the build of Project American Heroess III? Then just click the links below. As more stories are posted, we'll add the links.

PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART I
PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART II
PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART III
PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART IV
PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART V
PROJECT AMERICAN HEROES PART VI

Project American Heroes III is the latest in Super Chevy's series of cars built for the purpose of raising money to benefit the Armed Forces Foundation, an organization that helps wounded soldiers returning from overseas and their families.

Our '70 Chevelle spent the last month getting straightened, gapped, and dressed up for an exciting future. Building on the success of last year's red PAH II '69 Camaro, the latest edition shows a maturing of the concept. This year's Chevelle embodies the execution of the ultimate in aesthetics, technology, and performance. Because of the quality of parts from our generous vendors, and the craftsmanship of the crew at Route 66 Motorsports in New Lenox, Illinois, this car would certainly hold its own among any street machine competing at your local Super Chevy show.

The car is first primed with PPG NCP271 primer/surfacer. The 271 is perfect as a self-etching primer/surfacer for bare metal panels, and is a staple at the shop. Jason Johns and others at Route 66 Motorsports spent hours block sanding every inch of the Chevelle. 3M paper progressed from 800 grit, then 1000, then 1500, and finally 2000.

The car is first primed with PPG NCP271 primer/surfacer. The 271 is perfect as a self-etch

One look at the General Motors Performance Products supercharged LSA motor would stop even the most hurried pedestrian dead in his tracks. Out of the ordinary only begins to describe GM's phenomenal crate engine, found exclusively in Cadillac's CTS-V (and soon the Camaro Z28). The PAHIII chassis does not disappoint either, with state-of-the-art suspension technology from Detroit Speed and Engineering. Baer Brakes is calling in its best binders, and Strange Engineering is making sure we can get horsepower to the ground. TCI is handling shifting duties, and PPG is our paint supplier.

The maturing of the PAH concept is a reference to the signature look of the third brother. Like the special offerings from Nickey, Yenko, Motion, and Berger, the three Project American Heroes hot rods have established their own signature look. Eric Brockmeyer's rendering of the Chevelle was not a groping in the dark for creating some new image, but more of a continuation of the two previous cars that had been created (PAH I was a blue '57 Chevy convertible). Once again, Brockmeyer nailed it. You, the readers, overwhelmingly decided to paint the car black, so round three is black with red graphics.

Coincidentally, or providentially, Route 66 Motorsports owner Bill Jelinek personally owns a bad-in-black '70 Chevelle SS street machine, so it goes without saying that he's having fun building PAH III. Bill's son Nick got the nod for applying the PPG Deltron 2000 DBC9700 Black. In any craft, the measure of talent is drawn when someone is so good at what he does, he makes it look easy. That's how Bill Jelinek applied the Project American Heroes signature stars and stripes graphic ... he made it look simple. For my money, nobody does graphics and artwork better than Jelinek, so take a few tips from the master as we progress on PAH III.