After sitting for in excess of 30 years, this 1966 Chevelle SS 396 has emerged into the light of day, and the owner is looking to move it on to someone who wants to secure a restoration project. You will find the Chevelle listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Lake Forest, Illinois, it is being offered for sale with a clear title. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $10,000.
I have to say that this car looks like quite a promising project car. The rust in this shot seems to be the worst that we can see. The owner says that the floor will need some patches, but it sounds like the new owner is not going to be faced with the wholesale replacement of floors. He also says that the trunk floor is solid. Around the windows seems to be solid, and the rear quarters only have some very minor rust to deal with. The hood will either need some work, or the new owner could choose to replace it. All of the glass also looks good.
When you look at the interior it is a case of replacing the dash pad and the carpet, and the rest of the interior is sweet. The headliner, door trims and seats all look good, as does the console. The car is fitted with an aftermarket shifter, but the owner has the original shifter and linkages to go with the car.
You have to love the term numbers matching, and it applies to this car. Under the hood is the original 396 which is backed by the original manual transmission and 12-bolt rear end. The seller says that the gas tank has been removed and discarded, but the engine cranks over freely, and the transmission goes into all gears. Judging by that, I think that he means that it turns freely, but I’m unsure whether it actually runs. Still, for a car of this potential value, I’d be giving it a pretty good check before it fired a shot in anger.
We’ve seen more than a few SS 396 project cars here at Barn Finds. Some of them have required some pretty major restoration work. This is probably one of the better ones that we’ve seen, and it is pretty easy to see the potential in it. With bidding already at $10,000, is anyone willing to take a guess on how high this one will go?
Love the ’66 and ’67 SS’s. But, this one still leaves a lot to be desired. Those door jams give me the shudders. No underside pics. Questionable. Left outside? Parked in tall grass? Sorry, I pass. Maybe the current owner didn’t know what he/she has. Sad when people hang on to something and don’t keep it nice. But, that’s what we see here. Someone with deeper pockets than mine will get a pretty good car…. Then, spend a lot of cash.
Lake Forest, Illinois is the north side of Chicago and I am on the south side. Nothing but RUST my friends. Nothing like the SALT of a Chicago winter. With jams and rockers rotted out this bad I guarantee you there is plenty more where that came from.
We have been in the Rust Protection and Undercoating business here since 1964 …….too bad this car did not roll through our shop when new!!!!
I can buy a similar nice restored 396 in the 40-50k range. This one needs a lot of work, let’s just say “everything.” With the costs required to bring this along, anything more than 12-15 doesn’t make any economic sense. Every time I bought a project with some rust, it was ALWAYS worse than it looked. This was a buy at 7500.
numbers match 396 4 speed right color conbo. $23,000
In this condition, 23K?
Ok, love the chrome period splash guards.
What is with the bad aftermarket marker lights (I guess) on the rear quarters? Those were NOT factory.
Cool car for sure. Going to have more in the resto than it is worth today BUT this is one of those cars that should appreciate, pending market.
Side markers on cars not required until 1968 model year. As you suggested these are aftermarket add-ons. And yes they do look bad.
I can’t think of a cooler car to spend all your extra money on
All I want to know is, what’s in the box?
In this condition 2500. Cars .com has solid nice street ready cars like this one isn’t 23-28 thousand. I cant understand the market on complete rust buckets demanding this kind of money or why anyone would pay it.
Maybe a decent Malibu, definitely not an SS, even in the low-20’s it will take considerable effort to find one that was done well.
Steve R
Bahahahaha…………..did this guy toss a dart at a board covered with various asking prices written on them? Only logic that would apply to the ask for this Stage V terminal rust patient. Sheesh………….
Iconic muscle. Best of 1966. When I think of muscle cars this is one of the top 3 that comes to mind.
Marina Blue is the best color, too, though this looks like a darker repaint. 396 & a 4-speed, it doesn’t get any better than this.
In case any one is wondering-this one actually came out of Wisconsin and is in Antioch, Illinois.. it’s being flipped. It’s a rust bucket and had been poorly restored in the 80’s. The frame has rust holes forward of the drivers control arms.. buyer beware… it runs and would be the perfect candidate for re-body.
I am the new owner of the car. Yes I could see if you had no restoration skills how this would be a rebody. Yes it is for sale again. Yes it has rust but it is a complete numbers matching real 138 car which means it’ll still fetch the money.
Looks like a 360 hp , great running engines, had one in 74 – 75 , with 331 posi , bench seat 4 speed.
This was the first true muscle car I had the opportunity to drive at 15 yrs old in 1966. Same color, trans, everything. It was the thrill of my life at the time. Can still remember the feel, the sound, and the power. That was a rubber laying machine!
Of all the years of SS 396 Chevelle’s the ’66 is pretty darn close to being my favorite. This one here needs serious help but still, I’d hate to see it crushed. Maybe they were a dime a dozen, used to see all kinds of SS 396 Chevelle’s and El Camino’s on the road, at the track, at shows, in people garage, and there was a reason for that. Loads of potential in that mill and a very sporty looking ride as well. Very popular cars…
Anything that was driven on the streets in the Midwestern Winters is a parts car at best. The one thing that can be of value is the interior. All the little pieces that are otherwise impossible to find. It’s a shame but it’s a junker.
Working at a Chevy Dealer in the ’70’s, I bought a repo ’67 Chevelle SS 396-4-speed(rock crusher) trans. Marina blue, blue interior, buckets. It sat on the side of the dealership for quite a while. In the process, the wood steering wheel and console were stolen. The dealership was going to close due to city wanting the land. I got the car for $150 because they didn’t want to deal with getting it running, replace missing pieces, paint and front bucket seat material coming apart. Got the car back to my stall to get it to run. Mallory dist. installed wrong, lifters adjusted all the way down. Found a huge folder with all the receipts and was stunned! Ported, polished, balanced etc, aluminum heads, large lift hydraulic cam etc. etc. this thing was an animal, scary fast! Pulled in favors on the paint, and interior shop. Cleaned up the Cragers and took her home. New baby in the house, didn’t want tickets, so I sold it!! Yes, I need a kick in the ass!!
If the M22 was original to the car,you might’ve had the L78 bad boy of 67 Chevelles,only around 600 or so made
In 1974 I bought a 1967 Chevelle SS 396 from the second owner, I paid $325 for it was in real good condition. It had the 350 HP engine, same engine as this is , just different cam. Personally I prefer the 67 to the 66.
This poor car is close to being junk with the rust in the door jamb etc.