We’ve been overdue for a Turn One shop build. When we first started kicking around the idea, deciding on a pro touring car was practically a no-brainer.
Autocross is one of the perfect hobby/sport avenues for car enthusiasts. It’s easy to get started in, there is a wide variety of event classes, ranging from competitive to pretty laid back, and there are events all over the country. Having a Turn One company build is also a great way for us to demonstrate the benefits of performance steering upgrades on a dual-purpose car that sees both street and track use. A pro touring build fit the bill perfectly for what we wanted!
A large portion of our customers use their vehicles for autocross because they need power steering components that hold up to higher wheel loads from large, grippy front tires and demanding driving conditions.
Choosing the Car
Plenty has already been written about picking the ideal car to autocross, so we won’t dig into many of the common considerations. There are several classic and modern platforms that can be found tearing up courses, but ultimately, it’s a very personal decision that depends on the individual.
So why did WE choose a ’71 Chevelle?
A few factors were key to this decision. First, we needed and wanted to keep it American muscle. Even though non-US cars can make for solid autocross platforms, we’ll be mostly driving in circuits that have American-made requirements. Second (and probably the biggest factor) was that we simply have a deep, deep affinity for ’71 and ’72 Chevelles.
However there are some other practical reasons for using the GM 68-72 A-body platform. Overall, it’s a pretty solid choice because cars can be sourced fairly inexpensively if you’re willing to travel, there are loads of factory and performance aftermarket parts available, and the quality of upgrades on vehicle performance have a good cost-to-benefit return. The combination of these factors lead us to choosing the 1971 Chevelle as our car.
Our particular Chevelle was found after a few months of searching online and was a rough-running, but very clean vehicle, purchased from the New Jersey area. We trailered it back to Michigan and sent it to our friends at ABC Performance to get going on body and chassis work!
This is not a budget build, but it’s not a blank check build either. We’ll try and cut expenses where we can, but we want to invest in quality parts and labor where it will make the most difference. At the end of the project, we’ll end up with a customized restomod that is not only fun to drive around town, but can also drop respectable track times on cone courses in 2020!
We invite you to follow along with our build, as we post updates, photos, and build articles!
Coming soon!
- Wheel decisions (posted!)
- Body modifications
- Engine details