Casey Cottrell's 1970 Chevelle 300 Deluxe -- This 25/25 color-coded (Astro Blue, Medium Blue Interior) 1970 Chevelle 300 Deluxe was given to me as a gift from my Grandfather in 2004. He purchased the car in August of 1972 as the second owner from Hansen Motors in Roseburg. He drove it as his primary transportation for nearly 30 years until he decided that his vision was too poor to continue driving safely. I remember riding home from pre-school and kindergarten in Grandpa's Chevelle and it has always held a special spot in my heart and memory. Upon receiving the car, I cleaned it up, replaced the brakes, and gave it an oil change as it had been sitting unused for several years. I drove it off and on until April of 2006 when I tore it apart for paint and restoration. The car was remarkably rust free as it had been parked under cover since 1972. It did require a new right rear quarter panel and smoothing of a few body panels that had borne cruel witness to my Grandfather's diminishing sense of sight. Unfortunately, my vision was also not so clear when faced with the decision of a body/paint shop. I chose poorly and lived a paint and body nightmare on this project. This taught me several valuable lessons for which I am ultimately grateful. With those lessons learned, I decided to attempt as much work on my vehicle as I possibly could. Fortunately, I have been able to complete everything beyond paint and body on my own, saving a great amount of money and gaining confidence and experience along the way. I wrestled with the idea of original restoration over “rodstoration” but ultimately decided to change a few things in the rebuild process to make the car more my own but still retain some 300 Deluxe originality. The exterior of the car was treated to an attitude adjusting cowl hood and fresh original color paint with white stripes. I replaced the original inline and three on the tree with a nice low mileage four-bolt main 454 and a B&M Street/Strip Turbo 400. The entire front suspension was rebuilt, converted to power steering and the drum brakes were replaced with stock disk units provided as leftovers from a friend's ‘68 Camaro project. The original wheels were replaced with Coys C5 17" models with a polished outer lip and painted grey center. The suspension was also treated to a larger sway bar upfront and Hotchkis lowering springs all the way around. The rear axle is a stock drum brake 3.08 open diff 10 bolt that I hope to upgrade in the future when my bank account recovers! The interior appears to be that of a nearly stock 300 Deluxe. I replaced the three-speed column with an auto-tilt unit and the correct PRNDL panel. The original bench front and rear seats were covered in medium blue vinyl original style replacements. The floor and doors were treated to multiple layers of sound deadening material to keep the cabin quiet. I have retained the original 300 Deluxe door panels which are in great condition. I also replaced the headliner as it was showing wear in the seams. At the 2006 Canby show swap meet, I picked up a rear defroster and switch that I installed according to the assembly manual. One splurge was to install a Shiftworks tachometer in the stock clock location of my sweep style dash. It looks original and most people don't notice that it's actually a fully functional tach. I created braces under the rear parcel tray area that allow for parcel tray mounted reel type three-point belts as a safety measure for my young children. After countless hours in the garage, the car was worked to driving shape by August 2007. After a few local shake down runs and small fixes, I decided it was time for a "go big or go home" shake down. I drove the car from Portland to Roseburg to show my Grandfather, who is now 94 years of age and going strong. He was thrilled that I had taken his tired old car and brought it back for the next generation to enjoy. I strapped him in for a ride and after the first taste of acceleration, he looked at me wide-eyed and said with a huge grin: "Well that there is above and beyond the call of duty, is all I got to say!" That moment, as well as my kids’ requests to "punch it Dad" which are always followed by copious amounts of laughter, make completion and enjoyment of this project all the sweeter.