'69 Chevelle: What’s Mine is Yours!
- Jun 18, 2015
Joe Wingo, Monroe, GA
By Ron Wolf
Photography by Pete Sommers
If you’re a custom car shop owner who takes such pride in your work that delivering each completed car is like giving one of your kids away, then you know how David Buff of Monroe, GA feels about his work. Dave had purchased a nice ’69 Chevelle SS 396 and planned to build it as a shop project, with lots of extra time to be spent on it to make it absolutely perfect. Although the car was in decent shape, Dave decided to do a complete nuts and bolts restoration.
That plan of Dave’s lasted until about three months before the Chevelle was to be completed, when long-time customer Joe Wingo wandered into his shop and spotted the car. Joe immediately wanted the Chevelle, which put Dave in a quandary because he wanted to keep it for himself. However, business is business and Joe had purchased many cars built by Dave so the project changed to a customer restoration the same day Joe saw the car.
This ’69 SS 396 Chevelle was well equipped from the factory and built originally in the Atlanta production facility. It came off the dealer’s showroom floor with the 350hp, 396 engine, 4-speed transmission and Positraction 3.73 rear end, power steering and brakes, power windows, A/C, AM-FM stereo radio with eight-track tape player, tilt steering wheel, bucket seats and console. All of these attributes have been faithfully retained, refurbished or renewed to bring this beauty back to better-than-new.
The car has received top awards wherever it is shown, including Class Winner, Best of Show and Best Paint honors many times over at shows like Super Chevy, Shades of the Past and others. As part of the deal to build the car, Joe agreed to allow Dave to show the car during 2007 to help promote Dave’s restoration shop; Hot Rods by Buff.
Meanwhile, while we’re savoring the beauty of this black ’69 SS 396 Chevelle, Dave’s shop is currently building a ’56 Chevy hardtop with a 502ci engine for Joe. You may see that car in these blogs sometime in the future!
