The project
The owner specifically wanted the car's honest, well-aged original paint left alone — a rare survivor-quality finish that a repaint would have permanently erased. The 390 big-block was fully rebuilt with correct-casting-number replacement parts sourced from a parts network specializing in date-code-correct FE-series components, and the original 3-speed automatic was rebuilt rather than swapped for a more common manual conversion, preserving the car's as-delivered factory configuration.
Dyno-verified output and a full drivetrain shakedown were the only acceptance criteria — no bodywork or paint was scoped for this project.