Gorgeous Chevelle Restomod Runs on 5.7 Liter LS1 Power
It took a mere five months to build this amazing Chevelle before it debuted at last year's SEMA show.
Impressive Feat
It's hard to beat the combination of a timeless classic muscle car with a modern drivetrain. And this 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle built by Ricardo Lopez from Customs by Lopez is certainly proof of that. What's even more amazing about this particular build is that Lopez put it together in just five months before it wound up making its debut at last year's SEMA show, an impressive feat indeed.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
Top Notch
You'd never be able to guess that the classic Chevelle was put together so quickly by looking at it. Everything here screams top-notch, with an arrow straight body, perfect paintwork, and incredible attention to detail. The orange part of the orange and black paint is actually a Lamborghini color with a bit more richness thrown in, and it looks simply fantastic.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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Smooth Power
The engine bay looks equally perfect with a modern 5.7-liter LS1 nested perfectly in there. The engine itself is a mild build, with a hotter cam, intake, Magnaflow exhaust, and around 420 or so horsepower. But it's also ultra-clean, with a host of bronze accents and that oh-so-smooth firewall and inner fender liners.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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Perfect Stance
The stock suspension on this Chevelle was ditched in favor of a modern Ridetech coilover setup, with Wilwood brakes thrown in to slow the big-bodied muscle car down in a hurry. That stance also nestles it down perfectly over a set of bronze Budnik wheels that fit perfectly in the wheel wells.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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Smooth Operator
Little touches help further modernize this classic, including a set of custom side mirrors from DMP, along with black bumpers and a black center stripe that's punctuated by a bronze centerpiece on the hood. Throw in a set of LED headlights, and you've got a smooth combination of new and old that's hard to beat.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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Even Nicer
As nice as the exterior of this Chevelle is, however, the interior is arguably even better. Here you won't find anything that remotely resembles an old car - just a slew of comfy-looking and thoroughly modern touches. The seats are reworked and reshaped Mercedes pieces, and there's a custom center console holding a tablet that controls the modern stereo system.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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Soak It In
Add it all together, and you've got one of the nicer Chevelle restomods (or any restomod, really) that we've seen in some time. We can't imagine the number of hours Lopez and his crew put in to make this thing happen in five months, but we're certainly glad that they worked overtime to get it done so we can soak it all in.
Photos: Customs by Lopez
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