Thursday, March 26, 2009

Charley's 1967 Chevelle Super Sport



I absolutely love this Chevelle! I wish you could see and hear it in person. It sounds just as hot as it looks.

My friend Charley owns this car. He bought the car in 1983 and completely rebuilt the car to suit his personal taste. It is a true 138 ss car. It has a 396 engine that puts out over 500 horses, an m-22 4 speed trans, a 3:73 posi rear-end. This car went through a complete rotisserie restoration.

Isn't it gorgeous!

Charley is solely responsible for me entering my Cougar into it's first car show. I haven't won anything yet, but I love going to the shows. We have a local show every June, thanks to Charley!

Here is some history on the Chevelle.
The Chevelle SS represented Chevrolet's entry into the muscle car battle. Early 1964 and 1965 Chevelles had a Malibu SS badge on the rear quarter panel (the sought-after Z16 option had the emblem on the front fender, where 201 Malibu SS396s were produced); after 1965, the Malibu SS badging disappeared except for those sold in Canada.

The Chevelle SS, which became a regular series of its own in 1966 called the SS396, was the high performance version and had its own line of engines and performance equipment. The performance engines available included 396 CID V8s - rated at 325, 350 and 375 hp (280 kW) respectively (the mid horsepower 396 was rated at 360 hp (270 kW) for 1966 only and 350 hp (260 kW) thereafter). The SS396 series only lasted three years from 1966 through 1968 before being relegated to an option status just like air conditioning or a radio.

The 1966 and 1967 model years also saw the limited run of the 'strut back' 2-dr sport coupe with its own model number, 17, as opposed to model number 37 used on previous and later 2-dr sport coupes.

The 1968 model year was the first and only year of the SS396 El Camino with its own series/model identification of 13880. Almost all the goodies (big block engine, suspension, transmission options, etc.) of the SS396 could be ordered on the 1966 and 1967 El Camino but, sadly, the SS396 series El Camino was not available until (and only in) the 1968 model year. As with the 300 Deluxe and Malibu in 1969 and only the Malibu from 1970 to 1972, the SS option could be ordered in the El Camino as well.

The original sticker price was around $3,700.

Thanks Charley for sharing the pictures with me! See you at the show, after I get the Cougar ready for her close-ups!

MHL

14 comments:

  1. Ahhhh A 67 chevelle…my dream car, well that or a 69 camaro…thanks for the photos. Great site
    Big Al

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  2. Great post. I'd have to say the 66 and 67 are my favorite Chevelles. Yes they are.

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  3. Ohhhhhhh, it's beautiful! My favorite is a '68 SS396. I dated a guy who had one in my youth...what a great car!

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  4. 69 Chevelle SS is my favorite...They were and still remain a beautiful machine.
    A work of art and the performance under the hood was just great... I still remember how well the heater worked in these cars

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  5. When I think of how many of those were around that I could've had cheap back in the day...

    The thing is, I actually DID have a nice old car I loved. It was a 1975 Grand Prix LJ. If you go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Grand_Prix

    You'll see a picture of the one I had under "Third Generation." Mine was just like the '73 in the pic, except it was red with a full black vinyl top, and the grille was a little different. She had the 400 V8, but wasn't a screamer by any means. The '75 fell victim to the catalytic converter, no dual exhaust, and a reduction of 50hp from '74.

    Luxurious for her day, I really loved cruising in that car. I knew that getting married was a death sentence for her, and I was right. As soon as our daughter came along, expenses increased and I had to sell her. Man was that tough. I wish I still had her today. It was a really beautiful car.

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  6. Ms. MHL: Charlie has himself a nice hot rod! He did a great job of restoring it right down to the classic mags. mags... when was the last time you heard that term?

    fasthair

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  7. Hey I just wanted to wish my favorite poster girl and sexy friend A Happy Easter to you and your loved ones.
    May God Bless You and Keep you always safe. Of all my favorites you are the most favorite...just don't go on telling anyone now ya hear...
    Have a great Easter and may God Keep you safe always.

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  8. Very nice car, I just love it and I can see the effort behind to maintain this car. Good taste.

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  9. Love the motor,great shot.
    John.

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  10. Chicks so make a muscle car sexier. Love the photos!

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  11. Hey...where you been sister...You OK?
    Haven't seen you on the blog scene for a bit..Is everything OK with you and your loved ones?

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  12. It' May already. I've been to 2 car cruises. Where you been girl?

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  13. Wow,

    It was your pretty smile that first attracted me to your blog, but then I saw you Cougar and fell in love. lol

    I had two Cougars like yours, a 67 390 CI, and then I saw a rare XR7 GTE, bet there aren't too many who ever heard of this model, 427 CI cross bolt main thunderbolt engine, and man did that car fly, not even the big block Chevy's come close, turned mid 11's at track. That is the one I let get away, should have kept it, who knows what it is worth now, but I enjoyed seeing your Cougar.

    I also enjoyed your story, sorry to hear of your issues with daughter, these are never easy issue to deal with. Hope all turned out well, and the worst is over, I know my daughter went crazy at same age, finally grew out of it, college helps, so hopefully the same works out for you.

    Keep smiling, Mike

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