{"id":25311,"date":"2013-12-04T14:33:19","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T21:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/?p=25311"},"modified":"2013-12-29T11:47:47","modified_gmt":"2013-12-29T18:47:47","slug":"1965-l79-chevelle-300","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/","title":{"rendered":"Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 &#8211; Perfectly Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2F1965-l79-chevelle-300%2F&amp;media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F12%2FIMG_0292-Medium.jpg&amp;description=Original+Owner+1965+L-79+Chevelle+300+%E2%80%93+Perfectly+Restored\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\" rel=\"lightbox[25311]\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" data-text=\"Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored\" data-desc=\"2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals- Sleeper 1965 L-79 Chevelle \u00a0 1965 Chevelle 300 sedan with L-79 option package \u00a0 Gordon Rohde looked over his plain-jane 1965 Chevelle 300 like a proud papa and said \u201closing just 17 points in judging sure isn\u2019t too bad.\u201d Particularly when you\" data-image=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium.jpg\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><h2>2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals- Sleeper 1965 L-79 Chevelle<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25313\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[25311]\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25313\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-25313   \" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"1965 Chevelle 300 sedan with L-79 option package\" alt=\"1965 Chevelle 300, chevelle muscle car, L-79 Chevelle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium.jpg\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0292-Medium-575x383.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25313\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">1965 Chevelle 300 sedan with L-79 option package<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gordon Rohde looked over his plain-jane 1965 Chevelle 300 like a proud papa and said \u201closing just 17 points in judging sure isn\u2019t too bad.\u201d Particularly when you find out this car has a racing history which many times can complicate a restoration. \u201cI left some of the parts on the car from when I originally raced it,\u201d said Gordon. \u201cJust couldn\u2019t see taking them off for a few extra judging points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On display at last month\u2019s 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, the 38,000 mile L-79 equipped two-door sedan looked almost out of place among the surrounding muscle cars and Corvettes. Plain Jane and super subtle, you bet! Gordon brought it to the Rosemont Convention Center to see how he had done in bringing the little street terror back to life. \u201cLost some points for some incorrect bolts on the flywheel cover and the homemade driveshaft loop plus I still have the mounting pads welded up front for the tow bar.\u201d He just didn\u2019t have the heart to pull them off.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gordon knows this car extremely well. He bought the L-79 equipped Chevelle brand new when he was 18 years old and admits he got it for one primary reason\u2026 to race. Even though the low level Chevelle sports none of the glitz and glamor of its more heavily endowed brethren, it had the goods that were important and that is all Gordon wanted when he sat down to order it at Bob Johnson Chevrolet in Wausau, Wisconsin where he also happened to be working at the time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d already gotten into some trouble for street racing,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI\u2019d lost my license while driving my Dad\u2019s \u201965 Oldsmobile, but he (Dad) signed for the loan anyway. I think he was hoping I\u2019d take my racing to the drag strip.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25323\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0300-Medium.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[25311]\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25323\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-25323  \" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"The L-79 327 CI V-8 - perfectly restored\" alt=\"L-79 327 V8, L-79 327 V8 Chevelle, 1965 L-79 Chevelle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0300-Medium.jpg\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0300-Medium.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0300-Medium-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0300-Medium-575x383.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25323\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The L-79 327 CI V-8 was available in either the Corvette or B-body Chevelles in 1965.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gordon unloaded a \u201959 Studebaker Hawk to claim the Chevelle which came with virtually nothing more than the L-79 package, which was brand new that year for the 327 CI V-8. At 350 horsepower young Gordon knew he\u2019d have something special and never even bothered to order a radio for the beast. \u201cEventually I installed a radio and antenna when I figured out laying a little transistor radio (which he still has, by the way) on the back seat simply wasn\u2019t very cool with the girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25316\" style=\"width: 585px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0296-Medium.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[25311]\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25316\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-25316  \" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"1965 L-79 Chevelle - fully restored\" alt=\"1965 L-79 Chevelle, Chevelle Muscle car\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0296-Medium.jpg\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0296-Medium.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0296-Medium-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0296-Medium-575x383.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-25316\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gordon Rohde&#8217;s original Chevelle was purchased for one primary reason&#8230;to race!!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Chevelle is all black with a red cloth interior, which Gordon managed to replicate using fabric from SMS Auto Fabrics in Oregon. \u201cThe hardest part of the entire restoration was finding the right black rubber mat material for the flooring,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we went to pull out the old covering, it just disintegrated.\u201d But he managed to not only track down correct flooring, but he and son Seth were able to completely rebuild the original engine block and 4-speed transmission, neither of which ever let him down during the car\u2019s racing days. \u201cSeth and I even found the original pipe I had rigged up into the front springs so I could push the front end up a bit,\u201d he explained. \u201cLeft those there as well which makes the nose of the Chevelle just a bit higher than stock. I couldn\u2019t afford fancy shocks or special spacers so I just made \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A few years after buying the Chevelle Gordon found himself having to sell it in order to finance a truck purchase. \u201cSold it to a buddy who used it to race for money at one of the local bars in town,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cI ended up buying it back again about a year later, though I wasn\u2019t sure what I was going to do with it.\u201d The Chevelle sat for a number of years before Gordon and Seth decided it was time to bring the sedan back to its street form.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0299-Medium.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[25311]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-25320\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"1965 Chevelle with L-79 option\" alt=\"1965 L-79 Chevelle, chevelle musle car, restored L79 Chevelle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0299-Medium.jpg\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0299-Medium.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0299-Medium-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_0299-Medium-575x383.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The black body is flawless and nosing under the hood shows some excellent details that reflect exactly the way the Chevelle looked when Gordon had the car on the drag strip. But you can\u2019t help but wonder, how come no hubcaps, Gordon?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, they\u2019re in the trunk, stashed just the way I did it back in \u201965. This is the way I drove it. Can\u2019t see any reason to change.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2F1965-l79-chevelle-300%2F&amp;media=&amp;description=Original+Owner+1965+L-79+Chevelle+300+%E2%80%93+Perfectly+Restored\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/1965-l79-chevelle-300\/\" data-text=\"Original Owner 1965 L-79 Chevelle 300 \u2013 Perfectly Restored\" data-desc=\"2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals- Sleeper 1965 L-79 Chevelle \u00a0 1965 Chevelle 300 sedan with L-79 option package \u00a0 Gordon Rohde looked over his plain-jane 1965 Chevelle 300 like a proud papa and said \u201closing just 17 points in judging sure isn\u2019t too bad.\u201d Particularly when you\" data-image=\"\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><p>Email 2013 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals- Sleeper 1965 L-79 Chevelle &nbsp; &nbsp; Gordon Rohde looked over his plain-jane 1965 Chevelle 300 like a proud papa and said \u201closing just 17 points in judging sure isn\u2019t too bad.\u201d Particularly when you find out this car has a racing history which many times can complicate a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[384,1814],"tags":[1843,1819,2534],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25311"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25615,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311\/revisions\/25615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}