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Day one is in the can as we feverishly work to transform our stock 1967 AMD Chevelle into a Chevy that can handle, brake, and perform like a modern ride. For the CPP Week To Wicked Chevelle build, presented by Super Chevy and Axalta, a key player in this transformation is the suspension. Our title sponsor, Classic Performance Products (CPP), showed up with their Pro-Touring Stage III kit and a host of other upgraded goodies. This system included front and rear tubular control arms, billet single-adjustable coilover shocks, brakes, spindles, front and rear performance sway bars, and all the hardware needed for the installation. Our 1967 AMD Chevelle was rolling on stock front disc and rear drum brakes, and its ability to stop was marginal, even on a good day. Fortunately the Stage III kit came with CPP’s Big-Brake system, which includes rotors, calipers, C5 bearing hubs, C5 spindles, parking brake cables, brake lines, brackets, and everything else needed for a high-performance four wheel disc brake system. The large twin-piston calipers use easy-to-find, off-the-shelf, pads that come in a variety of friction materials from low dust and quiet to super aggressive track pads. The slotted, zinc-coated rotors are drilled and look as good as they perform. In the kit are TIG-welded tubular control arms, which are considerably stronger than what GM stuffed under the car over 40 years ago. The arms are made from 1.25-inch 0.120-wall DOM tubing and have thick 1.5-inch 0.188 wall pivot barrels. This ensures the pivots stay true even under stress. The arms came preassembled on new billet chromoly cross shafts and pivot sleeves. These sleeves capture both sides of the bushing, unlike the stockers that are only retained on one side. As a result they’re much stronger and better resist flex. As a safety measure, they incorporate an interlocking shaft and sleeve design so that the bolts can’t work loose. The fact that they came with new ball joints already installed will save us time. And, when you’re trying to rebuild a car in a week you need to save time whenever possible! The kit came packaged around CPP’s AFX-Body Tall C5 spindles. According to CPP they have a raised the upper ball joint mount for better camber gain and they will work with all of their tubular control arms (and even stock control arms if you want). They also utilize CPP replacement steering arms. But, the two big items are that they work with any brakes designed to fit a C5 Corvette’s spindle and that they accept 1997-2004 C5 Corvette hub bearing packs! Yep, no more packing wheel bearing grease!

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The coilover Viking shocks will allow us to dial in the Chevelle’s handling as well as its ride height. Rounding out the front parts is a CPP 14:1 close-ratio 500 steering box and a new set of tie rods and billet adjusting sleeves. For power assist we opted for CPP’s Hydra Stop system, which uses fluid pressure from the power steering system to create braking assistance. They come in a chromed-out version called the “Show Stopper” or the more sedate natural finish we chose.

The back of the Chevelle received tubular control arms for the triangulated four-link suspension. Aside from being much stronger than the stamped steel stock stuff, the upper arms are adjustable, which makes fine tuning pinion angle possible. The rear will get a matching pair of double-adjustable Viking shocks and to install them we’ll use CPP’s coilover conversion kit. We’ve used this kit before and it’s a slick way to get coilover shocks under the Chevy with a minimum of fuss. The rear brakes have single-piston floating calipers that will clamp down on 12-inch slotted, drilled, and zinc-washed rotors. Lastly the Chevelle will get one of CPP’s rear sway bars with billet bushing mounts instead of the commonly seen U-bolts. They’re stronger and look a ton better. The bar itself has three points of adjustment so the roll stiffness can be tuned for how we will be driving the car.

Today’s a big day for Week to Wicked and there is a ton of work left to be done. Don’t miss a second of it at SuperChevy.com

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What is CPP Week to Wicked Presented by Super Chevy and Axalta?

It all begins the morning of April 18 when our stock 1967 Chevelle will roll into Super Chevy’s Santa Ana Tech Center for a full teardown and rebuild. We’ll be pulling the car down to its bones, replacing steering, suspension, powertrain, drivetrain, and just about everything else you can possibly imagine; all with the goal of bringing the performance of a 1967 Chevelle up to par with modern muscle cars. It’ll be a mad rush till the very last seconds of our timeline. And if that wasn’t enough, immediately following the build, we’ll be driving the car on a 1,000-plus-mile road trip to prove its road readiness. We’ll be hitting the drag strip, the engine dyno, and a few scenic local sites!

How can you follow along from home? The entire event will be covered on SuperChevy.com via daily video and story updates, as well as on all of our social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Stay tuned for what is sure to be one heckuva ride!

More on Week to Wicked

Week to Wicked: We Transform a Stock Chevelle Into a Pro Touring Car In One Week!

Week to Wicked: Picking the Perfect Wheel for Fitment and Style

Week To Wicked’s 625 Horsepower Heart

20 Beautiful Photos of the Week to Wicked Chevelle

Week to Wicked Chevelle Gets an Engine!

Choosing the Perfect Drivetrain For the Week to Wicked Chevelle

CPP Puts a Pro Touring Touch on the Week to Wicked Chevelle

Week to Wicked Blasting Off Monday April 18th!

Week to Wicked Is A Go! The Countdown Begins Now!

Backstage Video! Week to Wicked, Seconds Before the Start

Week To Wicked: Day 1 Teardown

Week to Wicked: Pro Touring Progress

Week to Wicked Day One Wrap Up

How to Build a Pro Touring Suspension in a Day: Week To Wicked, Day 2