Unbiased views on Chevelle SS

[RSMS]

The Chevelle's really need a warmed over big block to be exciting to me, I always thought they were awkward and heavy but I'm a 67-68 Camaro guy. If you go for a 68-69 I prefer the 68's due to the vent window. The 70 is the more desirable and probably better looking of the 70-72's. My preference is the 66-67's. All of these cars have their areas they are prone to rusting and I was just under a 70 SS over the weekend that had a rusted frame that was plated on the passenger side and a drivers side that would need to be if you were trying to do much with it as it sits. My buddy just bought it, and he is replacing the frame when he pulls it apart to restore. The good thing about Chevelles is they are easy to get parts for and relatively cheap to build, modify and enjoy. If you are looking at a matching number or more desirable version, I would also recommend watching a few of the Patrick Glenn's videos, he is very knowledgeable on these cars. Just remember to look for rust or previous rust repairs, the drivetrains are very affordable to work on and are the easy part of having a nice Chevy of any variety just about.

 

[Dave6T4]

I like the style of the '66-'67 Chevelles. Most of the 396 cars were 325 h.p. In my area, the 350 and 360 h.p. ones were scarce. The downfall of these cars were the small 9 1/2" drum brakes they came with. These were the same brakes that Auntie Maud's 6-cylinder Chevelle came with. I can remember period drive tests reporting how poor the braking was with these cars. Up here, in the salt belt, the body mounts were bio-degradable. The 3-speed Turbo-Hydro were introduced on the '67's. 1966 automatic cars continued to use the 2-speed PowerGlide. I remember helping a friend convert his 1966 SS396 Chevelle to a 3-speed Turbo-Hydro, because his girlfriend could not drive his 4-speed!

 

[Dodge Bros]

If you venture into LS6 cars,Yenko and COPO Chevelles you are playing in the deep end of the pool moneywise! I would buy a Hemi Mopar first.

Me too!

 

[threewood]

There are more Chevelle SS cars today than what was originally produced. I don't think Chevy ever made a non SS Chevelle as I've never seen one.

 

[SlingLow]

My first car was a 69 Chevelle SS396 4-speed. By the time I got it, the rat motor was gone and there was a tidy little Corvette 327 in it's place. The car ran hard and got me into plenty of trouble. At 16yo I didn't know much about cars and have no idea what rear gears were in it. In my memory it probably made more noise than power and speed, although I had no perspective back then and I thought I was Ricky Racer. I can confirm the severe wheel hop. It could be brutal.

I don't think Chevy ever made a non SS Chevelle as I've never seen one.

Chevelle Malibu

 

[plymouth67]

The good news is, and correct me if I'm wrong but, the 4 door and 2 door frames are identical so, if you have a bad frame just find Granny's 4 door and swap out the frame. I know this is true on Impalas so, I'm sure its the same for Chevelles

 

[XS22J8R]

There are more Chevelle SS cars today than what was originally produced. I don't think Chevy ever made a non SS Chevelle as I've never seen one.

In all fairness, someone looking around at car events and in for sale forums today would think over 50% E body production was factory equipped with hemis, and 90% were painted a high impact color like purple, limelight or pink!
Rarest one to see is one with a slant 6. 318s are almost as rare a sight!
Not unique to E bodies of course, how many Satellites do you see now?
The base models of all makes have mostly been parted or cloned by now.
At least our cars have a letter in the VIN designating the engine, so we can look at the dash and see if the car is “real”, except very often the owner will strategically locate his dash card to cover the VIN!
I’ve never owned a GM, but I like Buick Skylark GSs which are same platform.

 

[hashmaker]

Chevelles are not as bad as they seem on this forum. I have 3 now and 3 Mopars. It's Ford that I won't touch, now those we can beat up on! Any car can be abused into junk form. But they are the ones we get cheap and restore some of the time, other are better when you start the process.

 

[Nutso]

I love it when I see a Malibu or Satellite at a car show. It’s cool to see the ‘regular’ cars compared to the clones and tributes.

The ‘69 Chevelle is my favorite…

 

[Dodge Bros]

The 4 door Chevelle’s have longer wheel bases, the frames do not interchange with 2 door cars. You can swap frames with any 2 door GM A body though. Just minor differences between them. Photo of brother and I painting our Chevelle in 1986. Also probably the last non SS Chevelle sighting before we put SS badges on it.LOL

 

[eldubb440]

my first legal to drive car was a 68 chevelle, SS hood, 350 4 speed, aluminum "super trick" style wheels...... it had a "I brake for Pacman" bumper sticker...... I left it there, the chicks dug it

 

[toolmanmike]

67 is my favorite. A friend had a Bolero Red (like burnt orange) 396 4 speed in high school. Beautiful car.
69 is #2 choice. Another friend had a silver 396 automatic car. Another beauty.

 

[WileE]

I'll just give you the facts from having lived through the era in real time, having worked and modified these cars, and watched and raced against these cars. They are awesome cars, particularly the big-block cars. Go on a Mopar forum, Chevys suck... go on a Chevy forum, Mopars suck... yadda, yadda... Getting an opinion from someone with a myopic viewpoint, wearing horse blinders, or outright bias is meaningless. No matter which brand one prefers. Styling is subjective, whether mid 60's, 68-69, 70-72, etc. Street racing ? I can tell you from personally living it... they were a force to be reckoned with. Moreso than any other brand.

 

[gtx6970]

I like a 1970 But it would have to be a color combo and options pkg that pops my buttons

The ideal one ( for me ) is a 1970 , SS 396 auto, red with red interior and factory air

About 2 years ago I was at a show up in Phoenix area and came across that very car except it was 4spd . I talked to the guy for a while. Tried my best to get him to put a price on it.
Fortunately for both of us , he would not price the car.
My wife on the other hand really likes the 71-72 cars better.

 

[RSMS]

I'll just give you the facts from having lived through the era in real time, having worked and modified these cars, and watched and raced against these cars. They are awesome cars, particularly the big-block cars. Go on a Mopar forum, Chevys suck... go on a Chevy forum, Mopars suck... yadda, yadda... Getting an opinion from someone with a myopic viewpoint, wearing horse blinders, or outright bias is meaningless. No matter which brand one prefers. Styling is subjective, whether mid 60's, 68-69, 70-72, etc. Street racing ? I can tell you from personally living it... they were a force to be reckoned with. Moreso than any other brand.

I was just thinking the exact same thing. I personally appreciate all muscle cars and many unique or specialty cars. I have cars from all over the world in my collection, all were special for a reason and purpose. I enjoy and have enjoyed all of them. I like MOPAR’s but they definitely aren’t the only game in town. If you’re a car guy, appreciate cars. I’ve never found a perfect car for every application or use

 

[Dave6T4]

I seem to remember a little-known 325 h.p. 327 option for '66-'67 Chevelles. I think it was basically the L-79 motor that was available in the Nova.

 

[eldubb440]

in my neighborhood, there seemed to be one or two of everything...... and they were all cool at the time

 

[RSMS]

I like a 1970 But it would have to be a color combo and options pkg that pops my buttons

The ideal one ( for me ) is a 1970 , SS 396 auto, red with red interior and factory air

About 2 years ago I was at a show up in Phoenix area and came across that very car except it was 4spd . I talked to the guy for a while. Tried my best to get him to put a price on it.
Fortunately for both of us , he would not price the car.
My wife on the other hand really likes the 71-72 cars better.

My buddy just bought a 70 SS 396, red with black interior, auto and A/C. It’s a pretty car for sure but it suffers from previously being restored to not the highest level.

 

[Moms68]

Yes this is a Mopar forum but I actually think it's the best place to ask the question.

I'm thinking of buying another car in the future (as well as my Satellite), and have always liked Chevelles, probably a 1970 or 1971 but I'd consider a '68 or '69 too.

For those of you who were around in the late 60's and early 70's, what were these cars like back in the day? If I asked a Chevy Forum I'd just get a load of biased "they're the greatest cars on earth" but I wonder what is the real story? Were they considered good cars when new or when the street racing scene was happening? Strong cars? Good handling? Good quality? ETC

Please no "Chevy crap" comments unless that's the truth and is backed up with some experience / examples. I'd like to hear the good and the bad.

I'm thinking a 396 or 454 SS, 4 speed.
Thanks.

I had a ‘68 SS back in the early 70’s. Red w/ black interior. Bucket seats and 4 speed. We did a rebuild with a GK cam, headers, 850 dual feed Holley, etc. Ran like a raped ape an still one of the fastest cars I’ve driven. Down side was that you could literally watch the gas gage drop!!

 

[sam dupont]

in the 70's, a friend had a 1970 Chevelle with a stroker 427/ 4 speed. It had ladder bars, hooked up like crazy and reved over 6K. Cool car