John Devine and So-Cal Speed's LS7-powered '66 Chevelle...

A former GM-exec and a well-known rod shop build an LS7-powered Chevelle

Hot Rod magazine makes more than a sound point when they talk about the pros/cons of doing a custom conversion on an already-clean car. The pros are that not nearly as much money and labor are spent on bodywork and repairs; the cons are that a rare car that’s already straight to begin with is being cut-into, and money value on any car is automatically lost as soon as you replace the drivetrain, depending on what factory options the car came with.

But let’s not get any misconceptions as to how this whole thing works; when it comes to converting original cars, some pro builders just know how to do it the right way. Take former GM executive John Devine and So-Cal Speed Shop’s LS7-powered, ’66 Chevelle. The story behind this car is stunning. The car was actually bought in Portland, Oregon from the nephew of the original owner, the car having 15,000 original miles on it with a stock 283. The car would find its way to So-Cal Speed in 2004, where it would eventually be decided by Devine and So-Cal’s Pete Chapouris that an LS7/6-speed swap would be best for this standard but clean, 283-powered Chevelle.

The LS7 that would eventually find its way into the engine compartment is bone stock out of a Z06 ‘Vette, but as Hot Rod points-out, why would anybody need much more than 500-horse from a completely stock motor that’s meant to be driven daily just as much as it’s built to perform, and within the walls of a passenger car that was originally meant for everyday transport?

As evidence of the fact that clean, original cars have been being chopped and converted for years, Hot Rod cites Rod Saboury as a solid example, Saboury himself having had, during the early ‘80s, chopped and pro-streeted out a ’63 ‘Vette. At the time, Saboury had also encountered a great deal of flack for chopping-up an original car,

 but considering that it was also the early ‘80s, Saboury and other rod-builders of the time would not have had nearly as nice of a powertrain available as the LS series that has become so prevalent in hot rodding today. With that considered, and the observation from Hot Rod that spending a bit more on an already-clean platform is more efficient overall than restoring a beater

, doing an LS-swap on even a low-mileage car just doesn’t seem like that bad of an idea.

- Sal Alaimo Jr., B. A. (7/9/11)

S. J. A.