SEXY SALLY - Shawn White's '70 Chevelle

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STA

z Story and photos

With a 4-link coilove front, the tubbed SS

by Eddie Maloney

W

hat is your choice for the ultimate muscle car? In the heydays of the muscle car era, there were many options coming from the factories of the “Big 3�.

When Chevrolet redesigned the Chevelle for 1970, it was game changing. The 1970 Chevelle Super Sport (SS) came with the 454 cubic inch, V8, LS6 engine option. This high compression bullet produced a conservative 450 horsepower and 500 lb. ft or torque. At the time, it was the most powerful production car made in America. To this day,

The custom red with matte black stripes and cow hood throw off an amazing vibe and the combo i a favorite among the Chevelle crowd. And the blac vinyl roof is icing on the cake!

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ANDOUT

er rear-end and 2” drop up S has the perfect stance.

the 1970 Chevelle and in particular the LS6 model, is one of the most popular and sought-after muscle cars on the market, and Shawn White took his version of the ’70 Chevelle several steps further with a Pro Street genre-dedicated build, a nitroused 565inch big block, 8.50 certified cage and whole bunch more go-fast goodies.

GEARHEAD IN THE MAKING

“I started racing moto-cross at 4 years old,” explained White. “I raced a lot early on and then dabbled with it in high school while playing football and everything else I could play. After I got out of the Marine Corps, I started road racing motorcycles, a Suzuki GSXR1000, and had some success with that.” And while he eventually gave up orga-

wl is ck

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BIG

Fats and skinnies a Street ride, and W

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G BUNS

are the mark of a true Pro White has both covered.

nized racing, Shawn has always kept some horsepower in his garage. He had an L-78 1966 Chevelle and a ’67 Malibu through his school years and then a big block 4-speed ’72 while in the Marine Corps, but he always wanted that coveted 1970 model.

AND SO, SEXY SALLY IS BORN

Then it happened, one spring day his wife gave the go-ahead to start looking. Shawn explained “My wife

asked me what I was looking for, an original Chevelle or something to build, and I told her that I definitely wanted a beast that we could build into something special.” After months and months of research, Shawn found a red 1970 Chevelle on Craigslist about 60 miles away from his home and bought it a few days later. It was a small tire street/ strip car with no backseat, a small store bought 4-point roll bar and a

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HEARTBEAT

The heart and soul of Shawn White’s ’70 Chevelle SS is the Beck Racing Engines built 565-inch big block which pushes in excess of 1200 horsepower on a conservative hit of nitrous oxide.

496 stroker in it, but more than anything it was a solid original body car with lots of potential. After extensive research, Shawn found out that the car was actually a fairly rare original SS LS-5 model.

Now that might be considered a good thing, however, it actually threw a bit of a wrench into White’s plans. “When we found out the original roots of the car, my wife and I started to discuss which way to go with it; restore it to original or go performance,” he added. “Then I remembered the L-78 4-speed ’66 Chevelle that I owned in high school and how 34

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The BRE mill started with a Dart Big M block that is filled with bling from Mahle, Scat, Bullet and topped by Dart Pro 1 heads, a Super Victor intake and QFT 1150 carb.

PSSSST

A plate nitrous kit set up with 300hp jets was added and purges through this lighted purge kit peeking out from the back of the right fender.

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I hated driving it because it was so original. We finally decided that since this was a race car pretty much its entire life anyway, that I would go ahead and build the Pro Street car of my dreams.”

BUILD AND REBUILD

First, Shawn added drag radials, a different intake, a small nitrous kit and just had fun with the car. Then, he eventually decided to cut it and go ahead and make it into that big tire brute that he always wanted.

The first order of business was the chassis and Shawn ordered a Chris Alston Chassisworks unwelded back-half and began cutting the Chevelle’s original frame. Next up was fitting the new 15”X15” Weld Pro Stars wrapped in Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires under the body.

The body itself is remarkably still the factory 1970 Chevelle steel except for a fiberglass lift-off hood.

The stunning red skin is a custom mixed red paint with matte black stripes and, of course, the cooler than cool black vinyl top sets it all off.

With the chassis and cage work in-hand, Shawn

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IT GOES LIKE LIGH

The Lightning Rod styled shift that control the FTI Turbo 400 transmission are in your

HTNING!

ter handles automatic face!

The interior sports a factory dash pad and door panels mixed with an array of Autometer mechanical gauges and race seats with 5-point harnesses.

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NO ROOM TO MOVE

Wheel tubs, a fuel cell, battery and twin nitrous bottles fill the truck.

suspended a narrowed and braced 12-bolt rearend with 4.11 gears, Moser 35 spline axles and big Ford bearings from a Chris Alston 4-Link with VariShock adjustable coilovers. To match the rear stance and give the Chevelle the rake (and weight transfer) it deserves, 2” drop spindles and drag shocks were installed up front.

Now, as the roller began to take shape, Shawn turned his focus to powering the car and contacted Frank Beck, of Beck Racing located in Phoenix,

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Arizona. “Frank and I spoke at length about what I was looking for and how I would be using the car.

Eventually we decided on a nitrous assisted, 565 cubic inch big block Chevy engine.”

A Dart Big M standard deck block was stuffed with a Scat 4340 steel Nitrided large radius 4.250 stroke crankshaft, Scat 4340 H-Beam rods, Mahle forged coated pistons and Mahle rings, and a custom grind Bullet roller cam and lifters. continued on page 41

MORE IS BETTER

Four more mechanical gauges are hidden under the cowl hood, visible only to the driver.

NIP & TUCK

The big 33x22-inch Mickey rear meats are tucked up under the original steel quarters of the Chevelle. The only non-OEM panel on the car is the lift-off fiberglass hood.

EXTREME PERFORMANCE

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Shawn Robert White’s Pro Street 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS Chassis Type & Mods:

8.50 Certified cage and chassis. Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Battle Cruiser back-half.

Suspension (Front and Rear):

Factory GM A Body front A-Arms with 2” drop spindles and drag Shocks. Rear, Chris Alston 4-Link with VariShock adjustable coil-overs.

Tires and Wheels :

Mickey Thompson Sportsman 26”x6”x15” Fronts on Weld Pro Star and 15”x4.5”, Mickey Thompson Sportsman 33”22”15” Rears on Weld Pro Stars 15”15”.

Body & Paint:

Power Adder:

NOS 300 shot of nitrous.

Electronics:

MSD Crank trigger and billet distributor, MSD 6AL2 programmable ignition and MSD Blaster coil. Hurst Line lock.

Transmission & Converter:

FTI Performance Stage 5 TH400 manual reverse valve body w/trans brake. FTI Performance 10” Billet Pro Mod Converter 4,000 stall. Custom built Kilduff Lightning Rod style blackout shifter.

Rear Differential:

Factory 1970 Chevelle body is all steel except for fiberBraced and narrowed 12 bolt 4.11 gear. WaveTrac bilglass lift off hood. Custom mix red with matte black let posi. Moser 35 spline axles with big Ford bearings. stripes and black vinyl top. Pro Car by Scat seats and SPECIAL THANKS Stroud 5-point harness and drivers net. Autometer To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! My wife Trina who gauges. Larry Jeffers Race Cars removable steering has stuck with me through thick and thin. She has wheel. backed me and this car 100% and is always there to lend Engine: a hand whether it’s holding a light, passing tools, or even Beck Racing Engines 565 ci big block Chevy Nitrous cleaning it! My Dad that passed away unexpectedly in engine. Dart big M std deck block, Mahle Forged 2017 gave me my love of all things with an engine. From Coated Pistons and Rings. Scat 4340 H-Beam rods.

Scat 4340 Steel Nitrided large radius 4.250 stroke Semi Trucks to muscle cars to motorcycles. This build is crankshaft. Custom grind Bullet roller cam and lifters. to honor him as much as anything. I also would like to Dart Pro 1 aluminum heads 2.300 & 1.880 polished thank my buddy Branndon Scott who has helped me valves. Comp Cams Ultra Pro Magnum Rockers & build Sexy Sally every step of the way! I need to thank Comp Cams Billet true roller timing set. my friend Frank Beck of Beck Racing Engines for not just Milodon kick-out style oil pan black billet valve covers. building me a monster but for also always being there to ATI SFI Super Damper. Custom built Lemons headers answer any questions I have day or night, and I ask a lot with Black Widow Neighbor Hater mufflers. of questions!

Induction:

Edelbrock Super Victor Intake Manifold QFT 1150 4500 carb. Aerospace Components Fuel System.

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SS stands for Sexy Sally, right?

Topping the healthy Rat are Dart Pro 1 heads with 2.300 & 1.880 polished valves and Comp Cams Ultra Pro rockers. The engine alone made over 900 horsepower on the dyno at Beck Racing Engines. But, as we know, there’s always room for more…

“Once I got the engine, I added a 300 shot of nitrous,” White said with a smile. An NOS plate kit has been plumbed in below the Quick Fuel FX-4711 1150 CFM carb that sits atop the Edelbrock intake. “I told Frank about the nitrous and he simply said, ‘well if the 300 shot gets old don’t be afraid to up it, the engine will take it all!’”

Inside, the Chevelle is clean with a mix of the original dash pad, console and door panels complemented by a

I would go ahead and build the Pro Street car of my dreams... pair of well-padded race buckets (for those long drives) and 5-point harnesses (for other uses). An array of 6 dash-installed gauges is backed up by 4 more hidden in the cowl scoop outside the car, and the black billet-handle Lightning Rod style shifter setup and black billet steering wheel complete the package. Trunk space

is filled with, of course, the wheel tubs to hold those big Mickeys in, an aluminum fuel cell and twin Nitrous Supply nitrous bottles.

From there it was smooth sailing as White started to break the car in on the streets in around Bakersfield CA. “The hardest thing has been finding that balance between street car and race car, but I think we found it,” added White.

So why Sexy Sally? Well, when the car rolled into its new home and Shawn’s wife Trina saw the SS badges, she named the car Sexy Sally, and it just stuck. “It’s more than just a car to my wife and I, it’s a member of our family and she has a personality of her own! We even drive her to Church sometimes!”

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