Young Again

Like so many Roamin Angels, Doug V. spent a lot of time in his youth tinkering with cars and enjoyed it. Like many of them, he also later found that time and money became short with the pressures of work and family. The last time he did any serious “fixing-up” of a car was in 1970. When he retired, he gave up golf and needed a new hobby. So he returned to that love of his youth, performance cars. Having had a ‘66 and a ‘68 Chevelle Super Sport in years past, he began to search for that model Chevrolet. This time he wanted a convertible. Prices for a restored one were quite high, so when he found one in 2005 at a reasonable price that needed work, he bought it. This ‘72 Chevelle SS clone was well on its way to completion, with the drive train and paint already redone. It had a 427 CID engine that mated to the original Turbo 400 auto trans and 12-bolt rear end. The main problem was the interior. The “rag” top was appropriately named and described the rest of the interior as well. Doug found he had forgotten a lot in 35 years since he had last tackled serious automotive work. His Roamin Angel father-in-law had spoken highly of the club, so Doug joined and found a treasure trove of information. With a little help, he redid the seats, console, carpet, dash and top. Now his Chevelle is on the road and racking up the miles. Last year, he and wife Rosanne went with fellow Roamin Angels to Scottsdale, AZ. Although she was never a car person, Rosanne has fallen in love with the Chevelle and enjoys riding in it on club activities. And Doug feels like a kid again when he drives it.

This popular Chevelle body style changed little from 1968 until 1972. The wheels are Cragar chrome ones.

This L72 427 CID/ 425 HP fire-breather came from a ‘66 Vette. With only P/S, there is little under the hood that’s a drain on that power. Doug has been dressing up the engine with polished aluminum and chrome.

Doug did a lot of the work on the interior, but fellow Roamin Angel Duke from Gin’s Little Valley Auto changed the stock Malibu panel to a fully-instrumented SS model. Tunes come from an 200 amp FM/multi-disc CD player.

Story & Photos by Ron C. © 2008