Tony DeLuca wasn’t old enough to drive ’70 Chevelle when it rolled off the assembly line, but he had always dreamed of owning one since childhood. It was years down the road before the dream became reality when Tony spotted this totally stock Chevelle on eBay a few years back.

With all the horror stories that tend to follow cars purchased via online auctions, Tony found an exceptional stock example in Houston, but that didn’t stop him from tearing the car down and putting his own touch on it. “I’ve always had a vision of building a car with a somewhat stock appearance and a ton of horsepower,” Tony confesses.

That power comes by way of a Chevrolet Performance ZZ572 big-block, which Tony sent to Hayden Autoworks in Fallbrook, California, for a good poking and stroking to the tune of 632 ci, delivering a skosh over 900 hp. The car came with a stock 454, but Tony had much higher aspirations–he wanted to make a statement. Mission accomplished. Not done, the Hayden crew dazzled up the portly mill with etched custom aluminum black valve covers and Rab Performance Parts front drive system. “The engine and engine bay are not overdone, which is what I was shooting for,” Tony says. “I wanted it to look badass while still retaining a good amount of that old-school vibe.”

A Holley 1,150-cfm Gen 3 Dominator carburetor feeds the polished Edelbrock intake while a custom set of Muffler Man headers encourage greenhouse through a 3-inch stainless exhaust and Muffler Man mufflers. Take it from this here writer, the sound of this beast is something to behold–it’s an absolute attention-grabber.

A Hughes Transmissions 4L80E rated at 1,500 hp easily handles the excessive power and is backed up with a Hughes multi-disc lockup converter. A 3-inch steel driveshaft sends twist to a Currie 9-inch rearend stuffed with a limited-slip posi, 3.89 Richmond gears, and Strange Engineering 35-spine axles. A Shift Works shifter and a CompuShift controller manage gear changes to keep the rpm right in the pocket.

The rear suspension consists of QA1 coilover shocks and 150-pound springs. Up front a pair of QA1 coilover shocks and 300-pound springs mate to the stock control arms. Wilwood 13-inch rotors and four-piston calipers were assigned stopping duties on all four corners and a Wilwood master cylinder and Hydro-Boost system issue smooth pedal performance.

American Racing Torq Thrust wheels fall in line with the Chevelle’s vintage ’70s vibe and keep Tony’s time capsule in the preferred decade. A slight departure from the smaller 15s, a set of 17×8 wheels reside up front sheathed in 255/45R17 Nittos, while out back a set of 18x10s are wrapped in 305/45R18 Nitto rubber.

The interior scene is as basic as it gets–mostly stock bits throughout, which was part of Tony’s plan. Beyond the Classic Instruments Velocity gauges, Vintage Air HVAC system, and aftermarket steering wheel, the cockpit embodies an accurate representation of how the Chevelle looked new in 1970. We especially dig the horseshoe shift handle and can’t help but imagine an underdash eight-track player going along for the ride.

When it came time for a paint and body refresher, Tony sent the car off to Kenny Pfitzer at Kenny Pfitzer Designs in nearby Corona, California. Pfitzer massaged the sheetmetal to a smooth foundation prior to applying multi layers of PPG Fathom Blue paint and deep clearcoat.