1972 Chevy Chevelle - RRG Weekender??

Cool. Get the V55/5 sent off as soon as you can in that case.

First job was to get the thing running and see what does and doesnt work. It was sold as a running and driving car, but the shippers couldnt get it running in the UK. It ran on brake cleaner, so I chucked a couple of gallons of fuel into it and she fired right up! Next was a quick drive around the housing estate - again all seemed good, transmission works, brakes work, even the parking brake works well! Checked all the lights and they all work as well! so far so good then. Heres a few more pics of it sat on the drive in the sun.






So first impressions are pretty good, but time to dig a bit deeper. The engine looks pretty good, the air filter is brand new, as is the oil filter but the oil, although I doubt its done many miles, looks decidedly old so a service is clearly required. The distributor has been replaced with a later HEI unit from any number of 80s GM vehicles, and has some good quality leads fitted, so we'll call that good enough. On the running gear front, the brakes look to have been replaced recently, including the hardlines, flexis and parking brake cables, but I did find this very dry looking front wheel bearing, so added that to the order list.



Also, all of the weatherstripping around the side windows is crumbling away to nothing. Since it does occasionally rain in the UK i figured this was a fairly high priority so ordered this as well. Amazingly there is a company that still makes weatherstripping for a 72 Chevelle 4 door hardtop, but man, it aint cheap!



Next step is check for rust - I knew it needed a boot floor (the seller provided a boot floor patch panel), so I thought that was probably a good place to start.















That is some fairly advanced weight reduction... The patch panel will cover most of it, but the very outside edges will need to be fabricated, as will several parts near the boot catch. I have ordered the rear tail panel (bit that holds the boot seal along the rear edge) as honestly there isn't enough left to make a template from! It would be nice to take luggage to goodwood and not have half of it fall through the boot floor, so i've started stripping the rear for a mini weldathon. Onlt 1 bumper bolt needed some persuation, but annoyingly both tank strap bolts will need cutting off.






That is about it for now, i'll update you as parts arrive/things get done...

" nurse, bhp at 140, give me 300 horses stat!"

😁

Simply put.

100% loving this.

I am on my way.....

You can make the 307 sort of respectable for not a lot of cash - grab a cold snack and watch Derek show you how....



Rare to see a pillar less 4 door chevelle in the uk, would look epic with an adjustment in altitude and a set of big wheels.

Along for the ride.

P.

[/quote]Big fan of vice grip garage! I've already been collecting parts to fix the horsepower issue, just trying to get all the boring stuff out of the way first.[/quote]

Probably one of my favourite shows on YouTube.

Nearly 300hp and the over that number on torque for $700 is a bargain. Or you could just gap the rings and add a turbo as the compression is so low....

P.

Epic buy, and ambitious timescale! I'm in for the ride.

I've been hankering after an 70s/80s/90s American pickup for a while but prices in the UK are stupid for what are basically scrappers. Consequently, I have also been thinking about buying and importing myself. Can I ask where you found this car advertised and how much it cost to ship?

I actually bought this from Ebay.com, but was looking on craigslist and facebook marketplace as well. Facebook definitely seems more popular for selling cars over there compared to ebay or even craigslist, but really you need a contact to go view and make the sale on your behalf. I found very few people willing to deal with an overseas buyer directly, one guy even thought i was trying to scam him!

For shipping I used CFR Rinkens, but it turns out ShipMyCar are their UK agent. I found both companies very easy to deal with and would happily use them again. For this car from Massechusetts to New Jersey to Milton Keynes shipping was roughly £1650. From the west coast you'd probably add another £500 to that price. And bear in mind that shipping the car from its location to the US port can add up quite quickly, so shopping for cars realively near a shipping port can save some money.