[1]It doesn’t matter whether you call it a Reader’s Ride or a Home-Built Hero [2], when it comes to seeing the cars that literally drive you guys, we can’t get enough. Although the make of the car is the same with everyone reading this, there are so many different models built by Chevrolet [3] that all enthusiast can find one that gets their blood pumping. We regularly get readers sending in images and information about their car(s), and we wanted to put a few together and share the eye candy with the rest of you.
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Anthony Rondolone’s ’69 Chevelle
Anthony told us, “In 1995, I found this 350 horsepower ’69 Super Sport in the local car trader flyer in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It had been the recipient of an older restoration but needed some TLC.”
Anthony purchased his Home-Built Hero, and immediately had it media blasted and repainted the original Fathom Green. The engine was rebuilt by the previous owner, but Anthony did “tweak” it a little by removing the Quadrajet [5] and cast-iron intake, and installing an aluminum Edelbrock [6]intake and Holley [7] 750 cfm carburetor. He also updated the ignition system and rebuilt the Positraction-filled 12-bolt rearend, and added 3:73 gears.
The interior is black and uses stock bucket seats with a console that has a Muncie four speed shifter handle poking skyward.
[8]It’s tough to beat a big-block SS car.
Anthony finished by saying, “These cars came out when I was 8-years-old, and after being exposed to Hot Wheels, when I first saw and heard these cars on the road – and the sound they made – I said one day I will have one.”
Chad Phillips And His ‘67 El Camino
Chad has owned his ‘67 El Camino for approximately five years. He told us, “It previously belonged to my neighbor, and his son drove it to high school. I was 8-years-old when I first saw the car, and I immediately fell in love with it.”
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Before and After
When he turned 15-years-old, Chad tried to buy it. But, it wasn’t until 10 years later that he was finally able to talk the owner into selling it. Chad continued, “I drove it for a year and then decided to restore it. It was red and had a 25-year-old paint job on it that looked decent from 20 feet away.”
The restoration took three years and 98-percent of the work was done by Chad and his father in Chad’s two car garage. One friend did apply the paint and another friend rebuild the rearend and exhaust.
[11]We’re diggin’ to bare foot gas pedal!
The car has a 355 small-block with Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake with a Holley carburetor. Inside is a Comp Cams [12] 284 XE camshaft, and the exhaust uses shorty headers flowing into a custom crossover pipe and Mangaflow [13] mufflers. The car has a 700R4 transmission with a 3,000-stall converter and a 10-bolt rearend with 3:73 gears.
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Chad also told us about the upgraded suspension, “It has UMI Performance [15] 2-inch drop spindles with tubular upper and lower control arms. I also added sway bars and a disc brake conversion up front. The wheels and tires are 18×8 and 18×9.5 Ridler [16] model 650 wheels and 245/40/18 and 285/35/18 Nitto [17] NT555’s.
Bruce Monsrud And His ’74 Nova
Bruce started his email by typing, “I purchased this beauty in April of ‘86 from my banker’s daughter-in-law. I went to him looking for a repossessed car that I could buy to drive to work and ended up with this.”
Bruce purchased this car as a daily driver not planning to do anything too special to it. That all changed when he added the ET wheels [18]. Bruce told us, “I purchased the car for $800 and drove it for about six months, I then foolishly purchased the wheels. After that, there was no way to stop me. LARS’ Auto Body in West Fargo did the body work and paint.
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When that was done, the interior looked shoddy so I had Deke at Elite Trim in Fargo, North Dakota, restore it. Then it looked great but underperformed. That’s when I had a friend help me install a dual exhaust, mild camshaft, and a four-barrel carburetor. Other than basic maintenance, what you see is a 31-year old build.
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Do you want to read about more Home-Built Heroes? All you need to do is click here [2]. If you own a Home-Built Hero, we want to hear about it. Since we’ve started the series, we have received more than a few candidates, but we still want to see more – we can never get enough. If you want to see more cars built by you the readers, send us a few pictures of your car showing the engine, interior, and exterior, along with all of the pertinent information, and we’ll make you Internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected] [21].