If you're a gearhead with kids, then you better believe they'll eventually grow out of the cartoons and bicycles and find their way into a street machine. For the Hecker family out of Machesney, Illinois, it came a little later than sooner, but nevertheless it allowed the elder, Ron, to enjoy every aspect of being a father and having the chance to share his enthusiasm for the hobby with his son Josh.
Ron's passion for street machines began when he was only 13. You see, rather than paying attention to his high school shop teacher, Ron was sitting in the corner of the classroom reading Car Craft. By the time he was 15, he saw his first '64 Chevelle at a local dealership and has never been the same.
Over the years, Ron tinkered with '67 and '68 Chevelles, and eventually purchased the blue '64 seen here, only he decided not to build it and instead later sold it to Josh. At the time, Ron and Josh worked on the car whenever Josh came home from college, unfortunately Josh later opted to sell the car back to his father after graduating in an effort to pay off bills. Here's where the twist really begins. Now that Ron had the car back, he finally decided to assemble the big-horsepower small-block mill that he wouldn't build for Josh.
Fast forward a couple of years: Josh had settled into the working world as a police officer and decided that it was time to get into another street machine. And with the help of his father, they located a new project Chevelle in Wisconsin with only 30,000 miles on the odometer. Since the newly acquired Chevelle was in fairly decent shape, the decision was immediately made to restore the vehicle back to its original showroom condition rather than laden it with high-performance aftermarket components. So what you have here is a Chevelle one-two punch-with class.
The Details
Car: '64 Chevelle Malibu
Owner: Ron and Andi Hecker, Machesney, Illinois
Engine: 350ci small-block
Heads: Dart Iron Eagle, 2.05/1.60-inch intake/exhaust valves, Crane Cams 1.5:1 roller rockers
Induction: Edelbrock Victor Jr. manifold, Demon 850-cfm carb
Camshaft: Comp Cams solid-roller, 250/260 degrees duration at 0.050 inch, 0.532/0.555-inch lift
Transmission: TH400 by B&C Transmission, Mid West 9-inch 3,800-stall converter
Rearend: 9-inch Ford, Moser 35-spline axles, 3.90:1 gears
Front suspension: Moroso springs, QA1 adjustable shocks
Rear suspension: Custom-built lower control arms, adjustable upper control arms, airbag on passenger side
Brakes: 11-inch disc front, drum rear
Wheels and tires: 15x5-inch Weld Pro Stars with 165R15, front; 15x8-inch Weld Pro Stars with 27x10.5x15 Hoosier Quick Time Pro, rear
Paint: PPG Blue by owner