I think they’re the perfect package.” Photo Credit: David Steele With a Chevy Chevelle you get a medium size car that looks great, is really comfortable, and rides and handles like only a full-frame car can. To me, an Impala is a serious commitment and a Camaro is just a little undersized to feel solid and brawny. Perfectly balanced and just the right size. I own two now ( including my Dad’s old convertible ) along with my wife’s ’64 El Camino–of which I’ve owned four. “Our Dad bought his ’69 L78 four-speed convertible when we were kids, my older brother had a ’70 SS as his high school ride, and the ’71 SS I bought as my first car drove me to high school and is still getting me around today. “I come from a Chevelle family, “said David. We spoke to David Steele, director of the American Hot Rod Foundation and a long time fan and current Chevelle owner. There was also a police RPO B07 package available on the four-door 300 Deluxe that could also be optioned with the RPO 元5 396 engine along with a boxed frame. There were a total of 323 COPO orders including the 99 Yenkos. It’s confirmed that Yenko ordered 99 Chevelle’s fitted with the L72 427 ci V8 that produced 425 hp at 5,800 rpm and 460 lb-ft or torque at 4,000 rpm. No wonder the Chevelle was advertised as “America’s most popular mid-size car.”Īs we have seen elsewhere in the history of Yenko, GM allowed select dealers to use the Central Office Production Order (COPO) system to order from an internal menu of high-performance options. The facelift was obviously popular because total production jumped to 503,352 units. And, red-stripe tires were optional on Super Sports. With three- and four-speed manuals, they were the muscle cars dreams were made of. Engines now ranged from a 3.8L 230 ci in-line six to a range of big-inch’ big- and small-block engines: 396-, 400-, 402-, 427- and 454-ci V8s. Sales slipped a tad but only to 403,963 of which a little more than 60K were SS 396 models.ĭespite the ’66 facelift, Chevelle got another make over for the 1968 model year giving it yet more aggression with a three-inch shorter, 112-inch wheelbase and semi-fastback styling for the coupes. And, the hits kept a’comin’ as ’67 saw new front and rear fascias, front disc brakes, a dual master cylinder and a collapsible steering column. The ramp-up was, however, due to completely new, aggressively styled, less boxey, more forward-thrusting sheet metal. Proving the Chevelle’s popularity, production jumped in 1966 to a healthy 447,364. The one to have would be the Malibu SS Z16 396. SS coupes accounted for 71,984 while convertibles hit 9,128. Production stayed buoyant in ’65 and totaled 378,618 with another 19,132 units in Canada. Top of the line was the Malibu SS that was also available as a rag top. Vehicle: ’67 Chevy Chevelle SSĪs with other Chevy models, the Chevelle came in a range of body styles from two- and four-door sedans through coupes, convertibles and wagons and even the two-door sedan pickup known as the El Camino because in Chevy-speak the El Co was in fact a Chevelle derivative. Yes, the buff magazines touted performance and the cognoscenti talked a lot about it but the general public tended to buy the more pedestrian models. The following year, Chevy upped the anti with a 350 hp L79 327 as well as the stonking Z16 396 option, however, only 201 396s were built, a fact that I think supports the argument that the whole muscle car market was more hype than anything else. The Chevelle a name derived from a Hebrew girl’s name meaning “ My God is a vow.” There were also some 16,285 units built in Canada. However, despite all this competition that included the Ford Fairlane, the Chevelle, priced from $2,231, notched up sales of 370,834 units of which 17,608 went for export. It also competed with the Buick Skylark, Olds Cutlass and the Pontiac Tempest that were all built on the same mid-size, A-body platform. Unfortunately, the Chevelle negatively impacted sales of the compact Chevy II. The Chevy Chevelle, a name derived from a Hebrew girl’s name meaning “My God is a vow,” was introduced on September 26, 1963, as a ’64 model positioned between the Chevy II/ Nova and the Impala. America’s Most Popular Mid-Size Muscle Car Vehicle: ’67 Chevy ChevelleĪs Chevys go, the Chevrolet Chevelle had a short life of just 13 years from 1964 to 1977-not very long from the point of view of brand life, nevertheless, in those short ‘baker’s dozen’ years the Chevelle carved a niche for itself in the hearts of Chevy lovers.
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