The latest email we received from Michael Downing started by saying, “We have finally finished the ‘70 LS5 convertible. It has turned out beautiful.” We really like getting emails like this, because that means someone has followed through with completing a project. For those of you that don’t know, we first introduced you to Michael’s LS5-powered Chevelle convertible back in November 2015. Since then, Michael has enabled us to keep you guys updated as to the progress.

Humble beginnings for this project.

He and his wife first laid eyes on the car during a chance drive from Oscoda, to Saginaw, Michigan. When Michael saw the car, he pulled into the driveway and knocked on the door. Luckily, someone answered. According to Michael, “I told him I would give him $2,500 for it. He thought about it for a few seconds and said ‘yes, he would do that’.” That was way back in 1984.

We have followed along with Michael’s build, and showed his progress in multiple updates, but now he is proud to say that the car is completely restored. He said, “There were a few challenges to be overcome.” One of those battles focused around the body panel gaps. Prior to painting the car, he fit all of the body panels, and was able to get all of the gaps aligned nicely. After the paint was applied things didn’t go so well. He stated, “After we had the engine installed and broke in, it was time to permanently fit the fenders and hood. That’s when we got into a major battle with the car. The gaps just wouldn’t cooperate like they had earlier. After several times of adjusting and readjusting, we finally got them to a point that I could live with.”

The previously mentioned, broken-in engine also presented a challenge, as Michael said, “I had purchased a complete 454 cubic-inch from Five Star Engine Exchange in Arizona. Their price seemed fair, and I did a lot of research. After I spoke to their shop foreman Chris, I pulled the trigger. The engine break-in went smooth, but the fourth time we drove the car, the right bank started blowing oil smoke. A compression test showed the number two cylinder only had 25 psi. We pulled the engine, and Chris at Five Star stepped up and took care of everything. I can highly recommend Five Star.”

After the engine repairs were made, it was placed back in the car. Michael happily reports that it now has roughly 600 miles on it. Michael is proud of the fact that he built the car with the help of some friends, and wants everyone to know that this car is not a trailer queen. According to him, “We drove it to the Midwest Chevelle Regional show in Kansas City. It was a little over 200 miles one way, and we had no problems with the car. The icing on the cake was when the car earned 952 points out of a possible 1,000. That’s pretty decent for a car driven to the event.

Although the car is basically completed, he does want to address a few things this winter to improve that score. Michael finished by saying, “There are a couple of places that aren’t perfect, but the overall beauty of the car hides those imperfections well enough for me.

Do you want to read about more Home-Built Heros? All you need to do is click here. If you own a Home-Built Hero, we want to hear about it. Since we’ve started the Home-Built Hero series, we have received more than a few candidates, but we still want to see more, as we can never get enough. If you want to see more cars built by you the readers, send us a few pictures of your car showing the engine, interior and exterior, along with all of the pertinent information, and we’ll make you Internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected].