The Goodguys 2026 Forgeline Street Machine of the Year – Matt Jewell’s 1970 Chevelle built by Eddie’s Rod & Custom

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Can you imagine saving your high school cruiser for over 30 years and then having it named the Goodguys 2026 Forgeline Street Machine of the Year? For Matt Jewell, that dream became a reality during the 28th Summit Racing Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance last weekend!

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Matt was born into a family of racers and car enthusiasts and used this ’70 Super Sport Chevelle as his daily driver through high school. Eventually, he and his dad planned to restore the car and stripped it to pieces only to have life and other projects push the Chevelle into the corner of the garage. Time gets away and after his father passed about eight years ago, he decided the car deserved to be resurrected – but as a completely reimaged, stand-out, bitchin’ street machine.

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Matt had been talking with Eddie Pettus from of Eddie’s Rod & Custom for

a few years and finally asked him about taking on the project while

working with Eric Black of e.Black Design. Eddie and Eric discussed their

vision and just how to reach that goal then presented it to Matt.

 

There was no hesitation and they were given the green.

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We don’t need to explain that the ‘70 Chevelle is considered one of the most iconic muscle cars of all time, so Eric’s design had to balance the heritage of the original lines with a modernized form. As Eddie explained it, the design was their version of the prolific Chevelle.

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The car arrived at Eddie’s in pieces and the team immediately got busy on the body. Real busy. Both wheel well openings were cut out and set aside as the crew wedge sectioned the body starting just in front of the doors working their way back. Once the 1.75-inch section was complete, the fender openings were repositioned so you still see the original styled lines, but on a reformed body. With that work was done, a similar treatment was taken where the roof meets the quarter panel combined with an inch being removed from the A-pillar. Sneaky and swoopy.

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The body mods continue with custom bumpers, hood, and decklid, a belly pan, front fender extensions, and on. Check out the one-off taillamp assemblies just above the easily identified and repositioned exhaust outlets while the front also retains the recognizable four headlights and split horizontal grille of the ’70. Once the gaps were tightened and the panels smoothed to absolute perfection, the crew at Eddie’s laid down a custom Glasurit green blend.

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The interior follows suit by embracing important design cues from the original such as the unique push-button shifter set in a console inspired by the factory horseshoe shifter. Avante Garde Design is responsible for bringing the e.Black renderings and design elements to reality with their knowledge of modern scanning and machining capabilities. Dakota Digital crafted the custom gauge set, the column is Ididit with a Sparc steering wheel, and a Vintage Air system keeps everyone cool. Avante modified the seats of a 2010 Camaro then stitched the entire interior to a modern street machine finish.

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Underneath all of this custom work is a Roadster Shop FastTrack Chassis built suit the modified wheel length. The chassis is outfitted with Bilstein coil-overs, massive Brembo rotors and six-piston calipers, and a crazy cool cantilever independent rear suspension system. The wheels, influenced by the second-gen Z28 wheels, were whittled into a 19×9-inch for the front with 20×12-inch in the rear.

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Those massive brakes and tires, 345/30-20 in the rear, are nearly a requirement to handle the 1,300-horsepower twin turbo LS3 under the hood. The twice boosted engine, built by Steve Morris Engines, is managed by a Holley Dominator EFI system and backed by a Bowler Performance Transmissions built 4L80-E trans.

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After three decades of languishing in the garage corner, Matt’s high school street machine is back on the road, and unlike any ’70 Chevelle out there. It’s a contemporary street machine inspired by the original and we’re sure Matt’s father would heartily approve!

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Congratulations to Matt, E.Black Designs, and the entire team at Eddie’s Rod & Custom on being named the Goodguys 2026 Forgeline Motorsports Street Machine of the Year!

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Text by : Todd Ryden

Photos by: Street Machine Central