This 1946 Ford Tudor street rod stands tall after a cosmetic restoration at the V8 Speed & Resto Shop! The car was already sitting on a Mustang II front suspension with a Chevy 350 and Turbo 350 transmission combination when it arrived at the V8 shop, and the owner was happy with how it drove. But he didn’t like the peeling black paint, the beat-up trim, and the rust around the edges. It was time to strip it and start fresh.

Down to the bare bones

Once the paint was stripped, it was obvious that the old Tudor needed some love in the metalwork department. The trunk floor was badly rusted, and the rear fenders were also rusted thin with pits. Nice 1946 Ford rear fenders are hard to find, so the V8 crew created new ones in the metal fabrication shop. Once TIG welded in, you can’t tell there were any repairs ever made. Similar treatment was done to the trunk floor.   

A whole new look

The body shop crew took it from there, sanding the Tudor’s curves and prepping the body for paint. Once in the paint booth, the ‘46 was treated to multiple coats of Mercedes Graphite Metallic basecoat color and several layers of clear. We think the polished and replated trim looks dynamite against the subtle metallic silver color.

Inside, the seats, carpet, and headliner were reupholstered, and the dashboard chrome was restored adding a brilliance to the interior not found on modern cars.

The 350 was tuned up, Rocket Racing wheels were added, and this super clean ‘46 Ford is ready for another ¾ of a century of cruising fun.

We invite you to contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop for all your fabrication and paint needs, no matter how old your ride!

Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop with all your Classic or Muscle Car needs today!

817 S. MAIN STREET – RED BUD, IL 62278

We recently did some work on this clean 1969 Chevelle for a cool customer who’s become a good friend over the years.     The car came to us with most of the pieces in place, but just not playing that well together.    In fact, it’s been a repeat visitor over the years getting better upgrades each time. 

Round One

The first time, we did some driveline repairs, but the fun project was creating and installing a custom contoured firewall we made in our fabrication shop.  It was made from 18 gauge cold rolled steel, and the design added strength and a style that didn’t look out of place on the Chevelle.  Once that was body worked and painted, we moved on to the engine.   

It originally arrived sporting a crate big block Chevy, but we eventually installed a Fast Times Motorworks built 460 cube torque monster for more laughs from the right pedal.   This one started as a 454 with a 4-bolt block, but was bored and stroked to 460 cubes with Scat I-beam rods, Keith Black pistons, and ARP hardware throughout.    The top end relies on a Howard’s roller cam and Edelbrock heads and intake inhaling the mix from an MSD Atomic EFI system.   

Stirring The Gears

It’s bolted to a Tremec TKO-600 6-speed manual transmission shifted by a Hurst stick and a hydraulic clutch for smooth action.   We installed 3.55:1 Motive gears in the 12-bolt housing along with a Detroit TruTrac differential for better grip.    We love the sound of a rumbling big block through the stainless x-pipe Borla mufflers.  

Handling is improved with a QA1 tubular coil-over suspension system up front for adjustability, a nice ride, and a lowered stance.   The upsized QA1 sway bar resists body roll when you whip the Grant steering wheel and Delphi quick-ratio steering box around.    The rear is hung with more QA1 coil-overs, tubular arms, and sway bar.  We added Wilwood disc brakes all the easy around, which hide behind 17” Rocket Racing Booster wheels.   The calipers are squeezed by a Hydratech hydraulic brake assist unit.  

Inside, you’ll find Dakota Digital Gauges, a tilt steering column, Scat seats, and a Vintage Air A/C unit with it’s compressor and belt held in place by a Vintage Air Frontrunner serpentine accessory drive system.  

Stripes For This Star

The Chevelle wears a handsome shade of metallic charcoal gray, but it really came to life when we added some custom-made silver SS396 stripes to the sides.    It’s a sharp car that drives like a champ.  

You can see more photos of the work on this one by clicking on the link in the description, and please don’t hesitate to contact us if your muscle car needs some upgrades, tuning, or a complete do-over… we’re happy to help!

Contact The V8 Speed and Resto Shop

Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop for all your restoration and performance needs!

314.783.8325 https://www.v8speedshop.com

The V8 Speed & Resto Shop is a full-service classic car and muscle car restoration service ready to perform everything from simple maintenance on vintage cars to full frame-off restorations and modifications.    Whether you are seeking a stock restoration, a pro-touring muscle car, or a custom restomod, the V8 Speed & Resto Shop in Red Bud, IL, can help.   Contact us today to put the V8 crew to work for you.      Transport services are available.

Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop with all your Classic or Muscle Car needs today!

 

817 S. MAIN STREET – RED BUD, IL 62278

 

We enjoyed refreshing this 1979 Chevrolet Bonanza Pickup!  This one is still in it’s original family, and we’re honored to have had the opportunity to give it a repaint and make it look new again. We fixed some rust in the floors, rockers, and cab corners, and resprayed it in it’s original color. Lots of restoration parts form Classic Industries helped make it fresh. New interior items include Dynamat sound deadener, new dash pad, door panels, carpet, and weatherstripping. It’s not a high-profile show truck, but it means the world to our customer, so it means the same to us! Thanks to the owner and to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop crew for returning another classic to the road!

Click “Read More” for the complete photo gallery!

Continue reading “1979 Chevrolet C10 Bonanza Pickup Restoration At V8 Speed & Resto Shop”

 

Our customer wanted to drive this clean 1971 Chevrolet C-10 pickup as a daily driver, while improving performance, economy, and reliability.      

In this 3 part video series, we swap in a fresh LS3 485 HP GM Connect & Cruise engine and 4L60E automatic overdrive transmission into this sweet 1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup truck.   The benefits include reliable performance, 485 horsepower, better fuel economy, and more.    The engine came from Weir Chevrolet, our supplier for GM crate engines and such, and we tuned it with an HP Tuners suite.     

We used a Hooker engine mount set to bolt the LS3 into the truck.   A Holley accessory drive was added to mount the alternator, power steering pump, and A/C compressor.       The whole rig is kept cool with an Entropy radiator and Spal cooling fans.     The crew was able to connect to the existing A/C system in the truck and make it functional.   

The fuel system starts with a reproduction fuel tank from Tanks, Inc., which comes redesigned to house a high-pressure EFI fuel pump, and an internal pump matched to the requirements of the LS3.   The truck’s vitals are monitored by a set of Dakota Digital VHX gauges, and a Dakota cruise control module is also used for easy highway cruising.     A new rear gear set with 3.08 gears works better with the 4L60 overdrive transmission for snappy acceleration and economical highway cruising.     Click “Read More” for the complete video and photo gallery!

Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop with all your Classic or Muscle Car needs today!

 

Continue reading “1971 Chevrolet C-10 LS Swap Gallery and Videos at V8 Speed & Resto Shop”

The COMP Cams 40th Anniversary 1969 Camaro will be on display at the 2016 SEMA show in Las Vegas in the COMP Performance Group booth #23043.      The Camaro was restored by the V8 Speed & Resto Shop in Red Bud, IL., and the complete restoration will be featured on several episodes of V8TV, airing on Rev’n, TUFF TV, The Action Channel, and online.

This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro came to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop to have the body panels properly installed, then go through the bodywork and paint departments ultimately receiving a new paint job.   The color is a custom mix Axalta paint we named “Midnight Magic”, and looks awfully close to black, but actually has a purple hue with flake.    It turned out sharp!  The customer will be completing the assembly of the car.    

Continue reading “1969 Chevrolet Camaro Sheetmetal, Bodywork, and Paint Photo Gallery”

 

The V8 Speed & Resto Shop crew recently completed the restoration of this very cool and subtly modernized 1965 Chevrolet Impala.    Today, it drives better than any stock ’65 ever drove, thanks to a Ridetech suspension system, and it is powered by a retro-themed 6.0 LS V8 engine and a 6-speed manual gearbox.     The look is sharp thanks to a load of OER restoration parts from Classic Industries.   The V8 crew started with a bare shell and brought this sweet Impala back to life, completing metalwork, suspension and chassis repairs, all the body and paint work, and final assembly.    

Check out the Build Thread of this slick ’65! 

 

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817 S. MAIN STREET – RED BUD, IL 62278

 

Continue reading “1965 Chevrolet Impala SS Restoration Photo Gallery”

Sometimes it’s advantageous to take over a project than to start from scratch.   In this case, the customer wanted a cool ‘69 Camaro, and we happened to find him one that was already undergoing a restoration.   The owner of this clean Arizona car changed his mind and decided to sell his project, so we had the car shipped to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop in Red Bud, IL, where it transformed into the Pro-Touring Camaro the new owner has always wanted.     Features include a Holley Terminator EFI system, Vintage Air A/C, Scat seats, restoration parts from Classic Industries, Axalta paint, ARP engine hardware, COMP cam, and much more.   

 

 

 

Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop with all your Classic or Muscle Car needs today!

 

817 S. MAIN STREET – RED BUD, IL 62278

This 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL rumbles thanks to a 460+ cubic inch 428 fed by two four barrel Holleys on top, and is shifted with a 4-speed manual transmission.    The car came to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop for some basic maintenance, as well as bodywork and a re-spray.   Follow the progress here!   

 Click “Read More” for the complete photo gallery!

 

 

Continue reading “1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL 428 Dual Quad 4-Speed Restoration Photo Gallery”

This cool old 1951 Chevrolet pickup truck was bought by our customer’s Grandfather and put to work on the family farm from day one.   We were honored to have the opportunity to restore the body help the customer return the truck to the road with modern Chevrolet power under the hood.    

Continue reading “1951 Chevrolet Pickup Restoration at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop”