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For many people, their love affair with the Chevrolet brand was passed down from their father. Mike Allen of Mesa, Arizona, tells us, “I’ve been a Chevy lover for as long as I can remember, which I’m sure rubbed off from my dad. He raced cars back in the ‘70s at Beeline Dragway in Arizona.”
Over the years, the Chevelle underwent many changes.
When Mike was a Senior in high school, his dad came across this 1964 Chevelle SS that belonged to a co-worker. At that time, Mike had been working odd jobs and saving every penny he could to buy his first car. Mike says, “We looked the car over, and ended up paying $700 for it in 1988.” When young Mike purchased the car, it was all original with black paint and a red interior. The 283ci V8 and four-speed were still in place. The black lacquer paint might have been original, but Mike says that it was far past its life span, and badly cracked.
The car was in drivable condition, so Mike used it as his daily driver until the little 283ci engine seized. It was at this point that he and his dad decided to build what he calls “a radical little 327.” Mike continues, “With that engine, the car was unbeatable at Coronado High School. The car was ugly, but fast.”
After graduation, he drove the car for a year or so, and then parked it when he needed a truck for work. It didn’t take long, about six months, and he and his dad decided to take the car out to the local dragstrip. Mike bolted some slicks to the rear, and they went racing at Firebird Raceway’s Friday Night Drags. Soon after, the upgrades started. According to Mike, “After a few visits to the track, we decided the gearing had to be changed. We installed a set of 4.56 gears and a mini spool, and the car started running 12-second e.t.’s. At this point we were both hooked and spent almost every Friday night at the track, and working on the car over the weekends.” The pair began removing anything unnecessary to reduce weight, and replaced the four speed with a Powerglide. Mike and his dad frequented the track for the next couple of years, and then finally, a big change was on the menu. Mike says, “My dad built a 468 cubic-inch big-block for the car, and we had the car painted in that retro ‘90s style.”
With the new big-block in the car, it was now racing in the 10.90 Super Street class with small 26×10.5-15 slicks on the back. Mike tells us that the ride was scary, and he eventually passed the driving chores off to his dad. After a couple of years, the senior Allen built another big-block for under the hood. This time, dad had his sights set on racing in the Super Gas class. The new 540ci monster forced the pair to realize that more changes were required. Those small tires were woefully inadequate, and the duo decided to “back half” the car — add larger wheel tubs and four link setup with a 9-inch rearend. While they were cutting, the car received the now-required rollcage to satisfy the tech inspectors. After returning to the track and running a best of 9.63 seconds at 132 mph, in 2003, the car was put in storage, as the requirements of life began calling Mike.
The interior consists of aftermarket seats, door panels, headliner, and carpeting from OPG to cover the inside.
In 2007, Mike pulled the car out of storage, and took it home. Unfortunately, the outdoor storage was not friendly, so Mike had some rust repair he needed to do. He joined a car club in Mesa, and started driving the Chevelle to local cruise nights. Mike says, “It didn’t take long for me to realize that the 540ci engine was way too much to be driving around, so I pulled it out and installed a 383ci small-block. The small-block was milder, but still a bit too radical for my intentions.
I’ve put over 3,000 miles on the car with the LS1 engine, and I will never install a carburetor on one of my cars again. – Mike Allen
In 2012, he found a low-mileage LS1, and started searching for a Tremec T56. When he eventually found one in San Diego, he and his wife packed up the kids and turned the trip into a weekend vacation to the beach. He installed the LS1 using adapter plates from Dirty Dingo, and notched the crossmember the stock 2002 Camaro oil pan. Unfortunately, Mike says the transmission was not so easy to install, “I had to cut the floor tunnel open 3 inches to widen it enough for the six speed to fit.” With the engine and transmission mounted, he then focused on upgrading the steering system. The manual steering box was replaced with a power steering unit from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. With this new drivetrain, he and the family were really enjoying the car, and driving it to car shows all over Arizona, and getting over 20 mpg in the process.
Mike realized that the body of the car needed some attention, and he replaced both lower rear quarter panels, covered the car with primer, and then sanded it down for paint. He built a makeshift paint booth in his garage and sprayed the car with Eastwood’s Pro Street Red and Boulevard Black paint.
A true Homebuilt Hero, Mike works on his car in his home garage. He even turned it into a paint booth so he could paint the car.
Looking to the interior he modified the dash to accept new Autometer gauges, and he constructed a custom console to house the engine’s PCM, a stereo, and cup holders. There is a something special about building a car yourself, as Mike can attest, “What I’m most proud of about my Chevelle is that with the exception of having my center console upholstered, I’ve done everything myself. If I didn’t know how to do something I started researching and watching videos so that I could teach myself how to do it. This car is not perfect, but it’s all me, and I’ve learned so much over the years building it and rebuilding it again.
Since we’ve started the Homebuilt Heros segment, we have received a few candidates, but we need more. Send us a few pictures of your car with all of the pertinent information, and we’ll make you Internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected].
