Chevrolet hit a home run with the Chevelle. It sold not in the thousands but in the hundreds of thousands every year. Then came the Colonnade body style. It was bigger and heavier but, to many, it still looked great. Tony Primo found this 68k mile 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle for sale in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. The seller is asking $17,500 and it is said to be one of 2800 Canadian built Z15 Chevelles for US sales. To top that, it has a factory 4 speed and bucket seats.
The interior looks pretty much factory and the front bucket seats will need upholstery work. The center console is hard to see since it appears to be black when the dash is brown. The 4 speed shifter sticks prominently up from the floor. The car appears to have aftermarket gauges installed in the dash. For the knowledgeable Chevelle enthusiasts, please let us know if those gauges are factory or aftermarket. The Chevelle appears to have its factory radio.
Under the hood is the numbers matching Chevrolet 350 cubic inch V8. Not much is said in the add about how the car runs and drives but the seller states that the car has a new dual exhaust system. The third generation of the Chevelle was produced from 1973-1977. If this car has the 4 barrel version of the 5.7 liter 350 cubic inch V8 engine, it was rated at 175 horsepower. A 454 cubic inch V8 engine was an option. Can you find any other modifications?
This 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle is listed here on Craigslist. It has only been listed for about a week and looks to be a pretty nice survivor. The seller has the supporting documentation and build sheet for the car. The Chevelle rides on aftermarket raised white letter tires and stock rally rims. The paint looks pretty good and it appears to be well cared for. Even the undercarriage looks nice. Do you think this would make a nice driver?
The oil pressure and temp gauges to the left of the steering column are aftermarket (look like Stewart-Warner).
Worth looking into, it’s not inexpensive, but the 4spd, bucket seats, factory tach and low mileage are desirable. The color and pictures taken from a distance make it hard to tell if any rust is present. The Colonnade generation of A-body’s will never be in as much demand or command the same prices as 72 and earlier models they have merit on their own right. If its condition lines up with the description in the ad it should be a good car for the next owner.
Steve R
I’ve always liked these cars. I like the color too, which I remember as a ’73 color. Small thing, but the “SS” emblems are missing from the interior door panels. I’d remedy that if it were my car.
Later in the model year, Chevy made the filler between the grille and front bumper body-color, instead of argent as on this car, and the body color made the front bumper look a little less huge.
Given its condition, that price is very optimistic.
This year chevelle ss and the grand am are the keeper colonnades. Nice stuff. If you find a cutlass with a stick that’s a keeper too
Always loved these. 1st time I seen one was in 1973 when I was in high school and a teacher was driving a white/burgundy one and I was smitten!
Love these body styles!
I was so disappointed when these came out. The 1968-1972 Chevelle’s and even the 1964-1967 generation were so much better looking. I really thought that the colonade style roofline that was identical in all the GM intermediate’s was definitely a huge step backward.
When this style came out, I don’t think me or any of my friends even knew this was considered “Colonnade style”. But I do think we all knew what “WTF?” stood for.
Ooo baby. What a handsome SS. Good colors and features with a small block to keep it affordable to drive. Looks good enough to restore. Ain’t nobody else going to have one.
Car is in remarkable condition. Trunk and floor pans are exceptionally clean considering the region the car is from. I’m not wild about the color and definitely don’t care for vinyl tops but it is what it is. Another plus IMO is the car is not cluttered with unnecessary power options and creature features. You can not find a car today without power windows and tons of electronics. I expect this will sell soon.
This era of GM styling was U G L Y. Yeah, I know “to each his own”. Whatever. You know where I stand. A friend of mine preordered a ‘73 GTO sight unseen. Traded in a ‘70 RamAir IV GTO. Oops.
Nice ‘73 SS…Not going to see an original one like this one. $17,500 is very fair. Won’t last. 4 speed too…
Always loved GM’s A-body Colonnades, though Buick’s examples seemed of finer sculpting. 1973 was the sole year for a Chevelle SS wagon!
The fortunate feature to survive is that both bumper filler panels are intact…painted to match the body paint! This color is a rare & invites painting the roof in lieu of that vinyl top.
I owned this same car in a 350 auto. Same exact color body and roof, but the wheel well/rocker panel stripes were silver, not gold.
I noticed that about this car too…although the stripes look factory, I also remember them being silver/gray, not beige. I remember the ’73 SS stripes always being silver/gray, except on white or Chamois colored cars, where the stripes were darker.
I’m not clear on this, but I thought I remembered with the SS’s instrument cluster and no A/C, the area where the aftermarket gauges are on this car, was an open storage cubby. Maybe I’m remembering that on later Chevelles of this generation.
Not my favorite years of Chevelle but that is very nice. I do not remember those center caps for the Rally Wheels. I’d hate to have to find them but they look nice. I like them better than the 71-72 ones. The 4 spd and color really makes it sweet.
Always liked the colonades buuuut after restoring a 74 Malibu classic found Zero aftermarket support. If you get hit by someone you won’t repair easily that’s for sure, ask me how I know.
It’s great to see one of these colonnade’s alive and kicking. Most of them were wadded up on the local 1/2 mile tracks throughout the country, in the late ’70’s, early ’80’s.