396/4-Speed: 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396

If you like your classic cars with power to burn, vehicles like this 1969 Chevelle SS 396 were designed with you in mind. The Chevelle could be a meek and mild car that offered reliable and sedate family transport in base form. However, if the buyer ticked the right boxes on the Order Form, they transformed the meek and mild into the muscular and wild. That is the case with this 1969 Chevelle SS because the original owner decided to order it with a drivetrain that created one of America’s most iconic muscle cars. The current owner has performed some recent work to its mighty big-block, which should lift its performance to the next level. However, after getting the car to the point of mechanical perfection, he has decided to part with it. Located in Kernersville, North Carolina, you will find the SS listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding has hit $25,000, which is beyond the owner’s reserve.

This Chevelle rolled off the line wearing Tuxedo Black paint, and it isn’t clear whether it has ever received a cosmetic refresh. As you can see from the supplied photos, it is now due for one if it hasn’t. The paint is faded and patchy in a few spots, but a lot of it still holds a reasonable shine. Black paint is excellent for revealing minor flaws and bruises in panels, but the news with this car seems to be positive. There is no evidence of any problems of any consequence and no evidence of prior accident damage or repairs. The trim and chrome are in good order, while the wider Rally wheels and BF Goodrich tires add a further sense of purpose to this classic’s appearance. When we reach the subject of rust, there will be no significant problems for the buyer to tackle. There are some small spots in the lower extremities, like the lower rear quarter panels, but nothing can’t be addressed with some well-crafted patches. Wholesale steel replacement is not a consideration because the floors, trunk pan, rails, and the area around the rear window are rust-free.

This Chevelle’s interior sends us mixed signals. Some aspects of it look pretty nice, like the back seat and headliner. However, items like the dash pad, door trims, and the front seatcovers exhibit significant deterioration. They are at the point where the replacement of these items will be the order of the day if the interior is to present at its best. The rest of the dash looks pretty good, and the faultless factory console is a welcome addition. It will require some research to determine this, but it could potentially be cheaper to purchase an interior trim kit than to buy the replacement components separately. The buyer can tap into plenty of suppliers to get a definitive answer, so a bit of online research would be worth the effort before committing hard-earned funds in this case. The owner has added a few aftermarket gauges, and these are probably a necessary evil when we consider what is lurking under the hood.

I wish I could tell you that this Chevelle is numbers-matching, but the big-block under the hood is not the original unit. That disappeared in the past, but the casting details on the current 396 indicate that it is date-coded for 1969. The drivetrain also features a 4-speed manual transmission and a 3.73 Posi rear end. In stock form, that 396 would have churned out 325hp. That figure made the 3,596lb SS a seriously fast car. Pointed at a ¼-mile, it would blitz it in 14.6 seconds. However, this big-block is anything but stock. The owner has treated it to a rebuild. This process included a .030″ overbore, new pistons, roller rockers, a Competition Cam, an Air-Gap intake, an AED carburetor, and a set of headers. I think that it would be fair to expect that the upgraded engine probably pumps out considerably more than its original 325hp. The owner indicates that the car has accumulated around 1,000 miles since he completed this work. He says that the motor feels strong and that the Chevelle drives well.

Sometimes it can be challenging to determine precisely how desirable a classic car truly is. Different people will provide their opinion, and for the uninitiated, it causes nothing but confusion. However, with this 1969 Chevelle SS, it’s a no-brainer. We’re used to featuring classic cars here at Barn Finds that have generated interest when listed for sale, but this car is something extraordinary. I’ve previously referred to bidding battles with classic cars, but it seems that all-out war has been declared in this case. At the time of writing, there have been an incredible 117 bids submitted on the Chevelle. That is an astounding figure, and it’s made more stunning when you consider that there are still five days remaining on the listing. Are you willing to plunge into this war, or are you going to stand on the sidelines as a fascinated observer?