1970 Chevelle SS owned by Michael and Kristi Gilbert

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Issue

April 2019

Owner

Michael & Kristi Gilbert

Photographer

Captured by Megan Photography (Megan Peterson)

Ride Details

Original Cost

2500

Build Cost

a lot. What my wife thinks or what it was? Probably $60k without my labor.

What was the inspiration?

I was born in 1970 so the year has always been one I gravitate toward. The stance and appearance were in the back of my mind for many years. I have always wanted a 572. This crate motor showed up the same week I welcomed my 5th child into the world. I built this car for myself. I didn't build to sell and make money (obviously). I am a car appreciator. I would never look at someone's build and point out flaws although that is exactly what I do when I look at my own builds. My inspiration was to add a modern flare to a timeless car and try to include my family on the build as much as I could.

How long did it take you to build?

Honestly...I don't know that it will ever be finished in my mind. I am always looking to improve the build An example is adding a pro charger or changing up the wheels. I own and operate a body shop and customer cars always seem to come first. It probably took a decade from the time I drug it out of a barn to the day I let people see it on the street. I like to keep things under wraps when I build.

How long have you been building?

My father had a body shop so I was exposed at a young age. I would say I started really getting into cars when I was 12...so around 1982. My first car was a 1973 Nova. That started it all.

Club Affiliations

We live in very rural ND. The closest car clubs are 45 miles away. I guess I would say my family is my club.

Your future plans?

I am working on a '53 chevy 3100 and also a '70 Nova. Don't tell my wife, but I will have a project forever. I would like to acquire a tri 5 at some point and build a gasser. My wife bought her grandfather's 1998 Sonoma pickup. I am also working on dropping that and restoring.

Thanks to

Accuair, Intro wheels, Chris Alston Chassisworks and Dakota Digital: your products are superb. Your customer service was great. Have to thank my wife. She manned the household with our kids, cooked meals & ran to sporting events. Through the build, she supported what probably felt very crazy to her. She knew how to fill with gas, fill windshield washer fluid and turn the radio up if there was a bad sound when I met her. She has committed to learning as much as she can about cars & has developed quite an opinion about them. She runs the office of our body shop writing estimates, ordering parts, etc. She is my second set of hands in our shop. She goes to car shows with me, listens and humors me with all the ideas I have. She prefers a fastback mustang over anything...but we both would like a '55 or '57 chevy so there is still compromise.

Previous Rides

Owning a body shop, we purchase a lot of wrecked vehicles and fix them. I had a Duramax that was black and knowing how much work goes into keeping black looking nice, my wife asked me to paint it any other color. I painted it white and added a 9-11" CST lift (among other mods). That was in 8 Lug magazine and Diesel Power a couple years ago. We sold that one about a year ago. I also built a 1979 prostreet Malibu with a 468 BB chevy with a blower. We sold that one on ebay & it went to the east coast (it's '57 chevy tropical turquoise in color) . I bagged and body dropped a red 2002 chevy extended cab pickup...and painted that blue. Lots of other modications. We also sold that one on ebay. My wife picked up the buyer at the airport and drove him to ND to pick it up. I built a 2003 Harley Soft tail with a custom frame (orange with green flames). I have a hard time letting go of my builds even though it might not seem like it from my sold list. There are probably some other ones, but these are the last 10 years.