Check Out This Beautiful, Chopped Big-Block-Powered 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle

Some people say to hell with plans, that spontaneity is the best thing. Shooting first and asking questions later may work in some arenas but when it comes to the time/budget car-building equation, structure and schedule are paramount. David Dittmer knows well how to do this. His business is Green Meadows Lawn & Landscaping, with a big emphasis on the landscaping part, so we checked out his website to familiarize. Landscaping is about moving earth around as well as the stone and wood accompanying for pleasing aesthetics, but it requires planning to bring it off smoothly and in spectacular fashion.

The 35-year-old Dittmer has been doing that for nearly 20 years, so yes, he’s a planner who follows his plans. But before all that, his family has been in the car business for nearly 70 years selling and servicing them rather than collecting and restoring them. So the car stuff’s likely in his DNA. “When I came across this [Chevelle], I decided it was time to break tradition,” David said with a small triumph in his voice.

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As a novice in a brave new world, he found a mentor in Kevin Kaiser, “a man who has grown up around hot rods and knew exactly how to build a one-of-a-kind car,” he opined. “We were instantly on the same page. I’ve owned the car for 10 years and it took five-and-half years to build. My friend Jason Jewett found a 1967 SS in Douglas, Kansas. The legendary Wichita customizer Elden Titus [a contemporary of George Barris and Darryl Starbird] and Bob Notz had chopped the top 4 inches. I thought I was on my way.”

When the car was resting in its new home and after the febrile rush and hurried excitement dissolved, David shook his head like a wet dog and realized just how much work was involved to make it into something he’d be proud of. “My family thought I was crazy. Why didn’t I purchase a restored car? But I wanted to build my own personal hot rod. At this point Jason introduced me to Kevin Kaiser.” He and Dittmer were thick and would confer countless times over the next 60 months.

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David assembled the troops: Kevin was the project manager. He smoothed the firewall, fabricated the exhaust, modified the bumpers and dash, and assembled the car. Jason Jewett and Jay Cheever did the bodywork and applied the paint and the graphics. Jerry Heinrich helped with the bodywork and Scott Downey did the interior. “As for the rest of the car,” said David, “We spent many hours in Kevin’s garage assembling, fitting, and bolting in pieces, one at a time.”

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There are several things about David’s Chevelle that stand out in the wilderness of conformity. Where’s that darling LS plant? Nope. David wanted a big-block, with two carburetors, no less. To-the-wall rims and tires? Again, the crew eschewed the biggest things they could shoehorn beneath the sheetmetal and stayed pretty conservative. That sectioned roof is another phenomenon, so subtle and fluid that at first we didn’t pick up on it in Grant Cox’s slinky slides. But in the rear three-quarter view the altered roof line is quite evident.

Since David’s livelihood necessarily keeps him under the elements and at nature’s mercy, he was disposed to a sanctum that featured cool air, high-def audio, and the ergonomics a high-zoot BMW would envy. The quality of the surroundings also mattered. He went to Wichita where Scott Downey gave the gut a full-court press.

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Scott installed the full-on sound system, used Enduratex Soft Vinyl throughout, built the bucket seats, erected the custom console, and laid down yards of black carpeting. He went further, obscuring the speakers, head unit, and everything else that looked out of context. During a 2-month expedition, Bryan Cushenbery hard-wired everything, soldering and shrink-wrapping the connections and covering them with black sheeting to blend with the black paint. Downey finished up the stitchwork detail with a fully upholstered trunk. In all, the Chevelle’s cabin seethes quietly with sophistication and understated elegance.

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David wanted a distinctive stance for the Chevelle so he gave it a wicked 4-inch slam at both ends, but there are no airbags involved. See how close to the earth those primary pipes really are? For now, at least, curb jumping is out. But in the what-would-you-do differently section of the tech sheet, he responded: “I would have different headers for more ground clearance — something that will be addressed soon.” Before we go, David wanted another bit of information to be out. “The car was finished two weeks before our first show. Andrew Holder at Holder’s Auto Detailing in Wichita spent 30 hours polishing the car to give it the glass look it has now.”

So in the end, David has more than a car he’s always wanted; he’s become a steward as well, maintaining a piece of history in that top-chopping art that has become a very rare thing these days.

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Heidts 2-inch drop spindles, Global West negative-camber control arms and 1 3/8-inch antisway bar, QA1 adjustable coilover shocks Global West lower control arms, adjustable upper links, and 1-inch antisway bar; QA1 coilover shocks with 2-inch drop springs

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