Kindig 1970 Chevelle
From Dakota Digital


K.I.S.S.
The devil is in the details, and the details make it heavenly
By now you’re familiar with Kindig-It Designs in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve brought you countless features highlighting some of their more notable builds. Today I’d like to share a perhaps lesser-known car, this 1970 Chevy Malibu. Just because this ride isn’t sporting myriad of handmade body panels and one off wheels, don’t mistake it for a run of the mill Craigslist resto.
No sir, owner Ken Brower likes to keep ‘em simple, so the body was treated to shaved side marker lights and Kindig-It flush-mount door handles before being block sanded into oblivion. While they were on the outside of the car, the stock front and rear bumpers were narrowed slightly and tucked closer to the body. I never noticed that stock ’70 Chevelle bumpers were excessive, but gosh, the Dave Kindig versions do look better!! With the canvas prepped, the stock trim was installed and SS-style stripes in Audi silver were applied atop the PPG Ford Mineral Grey paint. It’s all very understated and easily overlooked at a car show, but studying this car can be quite satisfying.

Inside you’ll find the handiwork of J.S. Custom Interiors. “Berry leather” covers almost everything, including the modified original seats. The stock dash has been adorned with a VHX-70C-MAL instrument system, which is a good fit for this mostly original car; a mild clean up of the original design. You’ll find an ididit steering column poking through the dash with a Billet Specialties steering wheel perched atop. The wheel matches the Fury wheels and has been two-tone-half-wrapped to match the interior. Looking closely, you’ll see a trio of pedals and a floor shifter sporting a big black ball.
That stir-stick coming through the floor is linked to a Tremec 5-speed transmission. Many car nuts insist that it’s not a muscle car unless it’s a stick shift, and a modern overdrive box from Tremec affords low cruising RPM and hair raising launches; the best of both worlds. Keeping the driver on their toes is a 468 Chevy wearing some quintessential speed parts. The Holley carb sits on an Edelbrock intake, and the waste products are routed through Hooker headers. A custom built three-inch system lurks below the car and has been ceramic coated. A Billet Specialties accessory drive hangs on the engine and huffs life into the Vintage Air AC system.

With big block power on tap and a manual transmission fit for roughhousing, the Kindig-It crew knew this thing needed to roll on rails. Global West was tapped for a set of tubular upper and lower control arms and matching sway bars. Wilwood discs hang at all four corners; four-piston calipers up front and two-piston units in the rear. For rolling stock, Billet Specialties supplied their Fury rollers, spec’d at 19s and 20s, and all four are wrapped up with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. What, no Polyglas F70s?

For the past week I have had the engine bay picture up on my computer, studying the details and the thought that went in to this build. It’s an inspiration for me with my own projects; Ken’s bruiser outshines many other flashy show cars thanks to an elevated level of refinement. It looks good with off the shelf parts, and is a great example of doing more with less.
