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My comment is based on actual experience with an objective viewpoint from real time back in the day.
Unbiased views on Chevelle SS
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chargervert
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My friend had a 68 Chevelle with an L88 scoop on the hood and a bumper sticker that said "No Fat Chicks" lolmy 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
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Yes, a drawback was the soft-ride coil spring suspension, which required ^ .
chargervert
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My other friend had a 69 Chevelle and he replaced the glass washer bottle with a bottle of Southern Comfort and ran the washer hoses into the car. He had SoCo on tap!
gtx6970
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Agreed
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You asked for as unbiased opinion{s} as possible... Well, it depends on what you want to do with the car; if you are wanting to go street racing, getting that coil spring rear to hook up is difficult. If you just want a cruiser, then they are wonderful. Bodystyle is subjective as is colour. [ I think the 72 is the cleanest of that series myself...] Also, are you staying 100% 'original' or are modifications in your future?
Lets face it - and I will undoubtedly be excoriated severely here - but the build quality and ride is superior to our Plymouths. Not as good as Olds for example, but better than Mopar. When I say 'better' , I mean lower NVH, more damping and generally better materials. The [power] steering is more direct.
If you dont mind mods, power [and handling] are much easier and less expensive to make than your Plymouth. Parts are easier to source, etc.
BUT!!!! One must be VERY careful to not get 'taken' when buying one - SS cars are relatively easy to clone in the 68-72 years, and the prices are off the charts worse for real and rare/high horsepower cars. Of course, thats true for Plymouths too....
Anyway, my opinion is that if you want one, get it! You will find it to be an enjoyable car to drive and easy to work on should the need arise. They dont rust any worse than other cars of the era, and not as bad as some. Real SS cars especially have usually lived a hard life, but by now have probably been restored and should be good. Of course, that is VERY dependent upon quality of restoration...because of the ease of working on them and the plethora of parts available, there are LOTS of very poorly done examples out there. caveat emptor.
Basically, they are neat old cars that held their own back in the day; the super fast guys usually had a Plymouth or a 55 Chevy, but any big block Chevelle will certainly keep up with traffic and be a joy to bury the loud pedal with occasionally.
best of luck in your search.
Lets face it - and I will undoubtedly be excoriated severely here - but the build quality and ride is superior to our Plymouths. Not as good as Olds for example, but better than Mopar. When I say 'better' , I mean lower NVH, more damping and generally better materials. The [power] steering is more direct.
If you dont mind mods, power [and handling] are much easier and less expensive to make than your Plymouth. Parts are easier to source, etc.
BUT!!!! One must be VERY careful to not get 'taken' when buying one - SS cars are relatively easy to clone in the 68-72 years, and the prices are off the charts worse for real and rare/high horsepower cars. Of course, thats true for Plymouths too....
Anyway, my opinion is that if you want one, get it! You will find it to be an enjoyable car to drive and easy to work on should the need arise. They dont rust any worse than other cars of the era, and not as bad as some. Real SS cars especially have usually lived a hard life, but by now have probably been restored and should be good. Of course, that is VERY dependent upon quality of restoration...because of the ease of working on them and the plethora of parts available, there are LOTS of very poorly done examples out there. caveat emptor.
Basically, they are neat old cars that held their own back in the day; the super fast guys usually had a Plymouth or a 55 Chevy, but any big block Chevelle will certainly keep up with traffic and be a joy to bury the loud pedal with occasionally.
best of luck in your search.
XS22J8R
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All that’s missing is a chain steering wheel, one of those aftermarket accelerator pedals shaped like a cartoon foot, and a garter displayed on the rear view mirror stem, and then you got that cool dudes car in the mid to late 70s high school parking lot look down to a T!
You may or may not have a couple of years on me but I assure you I’ve done my share of street racing, bracket racing, building hot rods and all out mudding trucks, restoring cars and buying and selling of these cars since when they were just used cars. Everything from a SBC front engine vintage rail, rear engine BBC rail to 6 didgit classics. I helped my dad restore a 62 vette he got as a trade in at a ford store he was managing that had slicks, one seat, dual quads over the fenders(didn’t have a hood). He got it for $200 in 1976 or 77 when I was 8, we worked on it nightly when I was a kid and returned it to pretty close to stock. I learned how to build engines and race from a neighbor while
I still was riding a bicycle. The 1st car I worked on with him was a pretty wicked early pinto with a 454 based BBC. We had a 428 cougar eliminator and a 6 pack cuda also in our neighborhood so lomg before I could even drive legally I was well corrupted with high performance cars. Growing up in the car business I got to experience all cars and was able to see what was special or unique about all of them. That being said, I still enjoy a high rpm SBC as a toy but a 67 GTX is one of my favorite cars of the era.
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mine had a Cal Custom foot gas pedal.......it was there when I bought it, i felt it was a bit over the top so I ditched it
My cousin on my wife's side got her Uncle's 69 SS Chevelle 396 4 speed all original paint and still under 50,000 miles. It's light blue with some funky white pin stripes on it and aluminum slots from the back in the day. It has a tow hitch on it as he used to haul his blue Checkmate to the lakes with it and go water skiing. Cool survivor day 2 car and only gets driven to be inspected and still garaged to this day.
chargervert
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When I was in high school my step sisters boyfriend had a primered grey 70 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed car. I was in the tenth grade and in the auto shop program. There were these two senior guys in the program that thought they were better than everyone else,and the teachers pretty much let them do whatever they wanted to in the shop. Well one morning these two douchebags were given the keys to Brads Chevelle to do some work to the car in the auto shop. Instead of giving the keys to the instructor,they took the car out to see what it could do,and blew the engine in the car. The car came back on a tow truck with a rod hanging out of the oil pan. This put the teacher in a spot. The two clowns tried to lie their way out of it by saying the car was knocking when they started it up,but Brad was able to find out from the towing company that the douchebags took the car off of school property and the teacher got them to admit that the test pilots took it on a joyride and blew it up. They had to pay to put another big block Chevy engine in the car,which they did in the shop. It was a low HP truck engine from a local junkyard and the car never ran the same again,not to mention not having the car for three weeks! The douchebag who blew it up went on and on about what a piece of **** the car was,after he destroyed it! Brad sold it soon after getting the car back. It was probably the matching numbers engine they destroyed too!
66 Sat
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Wow, what amazing responses from everyone. I opened the thread up this morning with some trepidation - I was unsure how my question would be received, but the information here is gold, and it seems like there is some love for the Chevelle (it still sorta feels like cheating on my Mopar though...).
Some of the reasons I've been considering getting one:
1. Something different to work on. Pretty much all A Bodies, B Bodies, E Bodies etc are the same, engineering-wise. I like seeing how other engineers saw things and working out the best way to pull stuff apart, re-assemble.
2. The styling - I just like the look of them.
3. Parts availability, power mods. I love tinkering with my car and it's sickening to see how many options there are for Chevys compared to the Mopars. I've probably got one of the worst combos as well, the '66 Satellite with the poly engine. Yes, it's satisfying to track down parts to make more power, but it would be nice to have a huge variety of everything engine related, heads, intakes, etc.
4. Cowl induction...so cool.
IF I get a car it won't be for a few years and will be used just like the Satellite is, cruising around and maybe take to the track every couple of months.
Some of the reasons I've been considering getting one:
1. Something different to work on. Pretty much all A Bodies, B Bodies, E Bodies etc are the same, engineering-wise. I like seeing how other engineers saw things and working out the best way to pull stuff apart, re-assemble.
2. The styling - I just like the look of them.
3. Parts availability, power mods. I love tinkering with my car and it's sickening to see how many options there are for Chevys compared to the Mopars. I've probably got one of the worst combos as well, the '66 Satellite with the poly engine. Yes, it's satisfying to track down parts to make more power, but it would be nice to have a huge variety of everything engine related, heads, intakes, etc.
4. Cowl induction...so cool.
IF I get a car it won't be for a few years and will be used just like the Satellite is, cruising around and maybe take to the track every couple of months.
When I started out on my car journey about aged 19 with the Chrysler Restorers Car Club here, there was an old guy called Vic who had a '71 Chevelle 454 4-speed car. He was in his late 70's then, and no wife but a daughter. Seemed there was always a queue of guys wanting to get involved with his daughter just to inherit the car. 
It was only about 40,000 miles on the clock and had been rebuilt up front by Vic himself after he bought it as a wreck. Hand-fabricated the left-front fender and painted with a vacuum cleaner (Electrolux) spray gun kit. He was most proud of the chicken wire he had stuffed into the side Lake Pipes.
Old Vic would drive that thing so causually....start off in 1st, and drop it into 4th, and he was away.
Many years passed, and by chance my painter friend's brother-in-law ended up with it. When I heard about that, Rodney took me to see the car which was stored in a barn just down the road from his house. Just like I remembered it, The BIL ended up selling it again for a profit to a Muscle Car Club member who eventually had it professionally panelled & painted, as well as adding modern touches like goofy mag wheels and a 5-speed.
I saw the car a few times like that, and then the owner Ron gave it to his son....who proceeded to drag race and eventually destroy the car.
It was only about 40,000 miles on the clock and had been rebuilt up front by Vic himself after he bought it as a wreck. Hand-fabricated the left-front fender and painted with a vacuum cleaner (Electrolux) spray gun kit. He was most proud of the chicken wire he had stuffed into the side Lake Pipes.
Old Vic would drive that thing so causually....start off in 1st, and drop it into 4th, and he was away.
Many years passed, and by chance my painter friend's brother-in-law ended up with it. When I heard about that, Rodney took me to see the car which was stored in a barn just down the road from his house. Just like I remembered it, The BIL ended up selling it again for a profit to a Muscle Car Club member who eventually had it professionally panelled & painted, as well as adding modern touches like goofy mag wheels and a 5-speed.
I saw the car a few times like that, and then the owner Ron gave it to his son....who proceeded to drag race and eventually destroy the car.
I say go for it, especially after your comment on seeing the differences in how cars were built back then. You’ll love how easy they are to work on and find parts for. You can build some very reliable horsepower without breaking the bank with a 454. I don’t have any chevelles now but I have 2) 71 GS455 verts which are very similar although I think the Buicks provided a better driving experience. Like I mentioned the 66 & 67’s are more appealing to me and I have a 66 442 and a 67 GS400, both are in line for restoration so I can’t comment on their characteristics other than I really like the way the look and how they are optioned. Just do you research if your looking for a true SS as many are faked and look for rust issues as you would on any other car. Good luck with your hunt, there is nothing dis-loyal to having other marques, they are cars and are meant to be enjoyed.
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Nutso
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There is a ‘68 Olds 442 for sale locally that has a rebuilt factory installed 455, rebuilt rear axle, new paint, new interior, and a really interesting documented history. The bumpers are rough…but the car is for sale for $30k. A similar mopar would be a lot more!
chargervert
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As cool as the Cowl Induction hood is,the 70/71 Air Grabber hood is surely the ultimate in red light intimidation! The little flap in the back cannot come close to flipping the switch and seeing that scoop open up!
Dave6T4
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I hate to say it, but it seems like you can get crazy power out of the newer LS engines. Lots of guys don't even consider old-school BBC swaps any more. Local guy around here has a blown Corvette LS in an old Caprice wagon. Sneaky!
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