Never Satisfied

Perfectionism can hold a negative connotation. In the world of building custom vehicles, the word really just boils down to never being satisfied and always making upgrades. Squeezing extra horses from a block, getting the right stance down to the last millimeter, or spending hours cutting and shaving a body panel to make it fit just right are all good things. But so is being done and being able to drive the damn thing so there is that.

Mike Cutherbertson is the proud owner of this beautiful 1967 Chevy Chevelle, and can be defined as just such a person. A bit of a perfectionist, a bit restless, always wanting to make his vehicles better, but the flipside of that is we get to share an awesome build.

Inner Beauty

The interior is a full set from TMI starting with Pro-Classic Universal Sport XR Low Back Buckets in Sport XR pattern, with a combination of Grey Vinyl and Grey Suede with Black Vinyl inserts playing off the black stitching and signature TMI grommets in silver. A rear bench was done up in the same pattern with matching door and quarter panels, full-length center console with cup holders, custom shift boot, and dash pad made this transformation easier for Mike’s perfectionist habits, due to all the TMI products being done for him. Keeping the cabin cool is a Vintage Air setup tucked up into the dash, while Mike’s friend Scott Davies crafted a custom gauge panel and stuffed it with Auto Meter products.

Race Ready

For the powerplant, Mike chose to start with a 355ci small block that was then sent to Rapp Racing in Huntington Beach to be beefed up. Owner Mark Rapp started with a Holley 750-cfm Double Pumper carb, added Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold, an MSD Ignition, some TRW Pistons, Air Flow Research 195cc Heads, Comp Cams Hydraulic Roller Cam, Doug Thorley Shorty Headers, and Flowmaster Exhaust. Mike wanted his ’67 to be fast (see above) but streetable as well so he chose his suspension set up very carefully. First the chassis had been lovingly cleaned to highlight all the work and new parts that were then going to be strapped to it. A set of 2-inch drop spindles from SSBC were installed to get the front a little lower, Viking Performance was then called upon to provide shocks as well tubular upper and lower control arms, with UMI Performance sway bars. A quick ratio steering box from Classic Performance Products was also chosen to help the driving experience; while UMI's four link suspension system helps keep the tires planted to the pavement.

Bright and Shiny

Where Mike’s perfectionism worked in his favor was the body. The drip rails were shaved, while each and every body panel had to be meticulously worked to get their surface absolutely perfect. It was then taken to Hunter Paint and Body to be sprayed in Mini Cooper Thunder Blue. With the interior, engine, and exterior sorted out, it was time to finalize the stance and get some brakes. Mike was still going with his opulent theme, but he wanted to not only drive the car on the roads but to rip some cones every now and then on the autocross course. To finalize the stance, Mike chose a set of 18x8 and 20x10 Budnik Hawk Wheels wearing Hancook Ventus tires in 245/40R18 up front and 285/30R20 out back. To give this rocket ship some stopping power are a quartet of 13-inch discs from SSBC.

Work in Progress

With Mike being never satisfied with what he has, he already had some plans in mind to change up the Chevelle. And as of this writing he has done just that. The short window of time from start to when the car was supposed to debut at SEMA 2013, he was happy with the turnout, but knew the direction he wanted to go in. So as of this writing, he already had an LS swap in mind, a full stereo install, and probably some more body mods and maybe a new paint scheme. Just like a lot of builders out there, a vehicle is never really done it just keeps evolving. Yea, that is what we’ll call it. Mike’s vision for his ’67 is ever evolving, something other builders can relate to.