Going to an auction and buying a car that still wears 20-years of dust from its time stored in a barn must be a great experience. To then wash the car and find that what hides beneath that dust is an original classic that is well preserved must be even better. That is precisely the story behind this 1969 Chevelle SS 396, and I have to really thank Barn Finder George for referring this absolute beauty to us. Now that it is clean and in good mechanical health, the owner is ready to move it on to a new home. Located in Dallas, Texas, you will find the Chevelle listed for sale here on eBay. With 50 people currently watching the listing, you have to wonder whether one of them will be willing to hit the BIN button at $32,500, or whether one of our readers will take the plunge themselves.
Washing off that accumulated dust, this is what was hiding underneath. This Garnet Red Chevelle is a really stunning looking car. What makes it all the more impressive is the fact that the car wears its original paint. The paint has a wonderful depth of color and shine to it, while the external chrome and trim all looks to be in fantastic condition. As for rust, that’s simply not an issue. The owner provides photos of the trunk and the underside of the car, and apart from a light dusting of the usual dry surface corrosion that you might expect on a car from Texas, it’s as clean as a whistle.
The original interior and trim on the Chevelle are just as impressive as the outside presentation. It isn’t perfect, with some of the plastic trim showing the sort of discoloring that you might expect after 50-years, but you look around the car and there are no rips or tears to cause concern. There is some minor staining of the headliner in the right rear corner, but the seats, door trims, dash, pad, and center console are all in great condition. The interior is very original and features a Chevrolet-badged 8-track player hanging under the dash, and air conditioning that is said to blow nice and cold.
What makes this Chevelle all the more impressive and desirable is the fact that it is a numbers-matching car. The 396ci V8 engine has been out of the car for a bit of a refresh, which included new rings and bearings, a new oil pump, new camshaft, and the heads were surfaced and given a valve job. It was then refitted without being painted in order to retain its original look, and should once again produce a healthy 325hp. The Turbo 400 transmission is also original, along with the 12-bolt rear end. The owner says that the car runs and drives nicely, with the exception of the usual feeling that you get from ancient bias ply tires. If I bought this car, I would probably try to locate another set of wheels and fit decent tires for regular use, and retain these wheels and tires specifically for show duties. The owner does say that the odometer currently shows 49,543, and this would appear to be original. Given the fact that the car has seen little use since it was parked in a barn in 1983, this is entirely possible.
For a 50-year-old car that spent more than 20 of those years hidden away untouched in a barn, what has emerged has been an amazing and desirable survivor in original condition. At the time of writing, there are still 8 days left on the listing, and I would not be at all surprised if someone hits the BIN button well before the listing is due to end. I would really love that person to be one of our loyal Barn Finds readers.
I am not sure I would buy a car that might have problems hiding under dirt. It takes a big brass pair to do so. Why did the seller offer it this way? Surely once the condition was open for all to see, the bids would have went higher. Did the seller fear that something was amiss and was trying to hide something? I do not buy the 20 years of dust story, if they took out the engine for work, they knew what was going on. It is a gimmick. We need less of the PT Barnum mentality in this hobby and more truthfulness.
The ad specifically states the dust was on the car when it sold at auction in 2003. The engine work was done in 2018.
If the car is as clean as the seller says and runs well, the BIN price seems reasonable, for a change.
Steve R
I have never been a Chevelle fan but this one sure looks to have some very nice potential!!!
what do you mean bids would have went higher??? it is a buy it now. read the description and look at the photos. the seller is selling it all cleaned up. open mouth, insert foot.
I would buy this just so I could live out the Bruce Springsteen song, “Racing in the Street”:
Got a ’69 Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor;
She’s waitin’ tonight down at the parking lot
Outside the 7-11 store.
Could my life be more complete?
Trading in the ‘69 Chevy for a ‘70 Buick GS Stage 1 would make my life complete.
yeah,..you’d need a 4 speed -for the Hurst….jus’ sayin’
Unfortunately you are never going to find a Chevy 396 with fuelie heads, as the 396 is a big block and fuelie heads came on high performance small blocks!
Which is exactly in sync with Springsteen hypocrisy of his massive personal wealth and artificial standing up for the little guy.
That Chevelle looks great and someone is going to have a great new car.
Hey, Bruce ain’t hurtin’ nobody
He ain’t helping nobody either
Off topic, Ken and a body I agree with on springsteen. Not sure what the hoopla is about. I liked him until he got political. Keep the politics to yourself and sing. Never thought he sounded that good anyway. And yes he wants you to think he’s for the working guy, but what would he know about that? And yep, he doesn’t know diddly about cars. All my personal opinion.
Cheers
GPC
Just about the time I soured on Bruce when he took his political position on stage. He’s a put on!
Other than the color scheme and AC, this is the car I had in the way-back. Personally, I don’t understand not painting the engine, or how “bad gas” could bend valves and pushrods. Starting fluid can do that, though.
It also doesn’t make sense to not pull the rear seat for a build sheet, it is a simple thing to do!
I’d love to have/drive this car in any case, maybe add a shift kit in the T400 so I could bark ’em with just a little throttle pop on the 1-2 upshift.
the build sheet on this car would be under the gas pedal, so the owner would probably have to unbolt the front seat, etc.
The build sheet for mine was in the support springs for the rear seat-back. You’re just funning, I guess.
Wow. According to the seller the car was sold new in 1969 but has remained with the original owner since 2003. One of the longest layaway plans I’ve ever seen!
All joking aside, 32,500 is a ton of money to me but I’m probably in the minority among today’s muscle car buyer. But this seems pretty cheap to me. Didn’t a base 1969 307 Camaro featured here that had a lot of “patina “recently go for like 20 grand?
It would be much more desireable with the 375 horse factory engine and the Muncie 4 speed, but I had this car in my youth…and I would LOVE to drive this one…bring back a lot of great memories..
Just about the same story of one of my school buddies that was on the hunt about 4 yrs ago for a 1 owner 396….and found one an hour away from Dallas – it was an older guy that went to our high school and had held on to out. That’s all that was done to it – it’s that light yellow color with white interior – still looks new too.
I’ll always have an appreciation for these cars and Springsteen, FOREVER ! Sing it brother, and tell it like it is !!
Without the dirt it’s a stunning car!! Big block Chevy power there’s nothing like it!! 32,500 is a little steep in my opinion!!! It’s a 20,000 dollar car with an automatic in it!!
If this is a 20K car, I’ll buy it!!
One of my favorites, if it had the 350 horse engine it’d be perfect for me, not complaining at all about the base 396 however. Shift kit, cooler, healthy street gears and modern muffler’s, KnN oem filter, better tires, decent tune and lots of 104 octane boost…just drive the heck out of it and enjoy the car for what it is..old school muscle.
A 396 with fuelie heads would work out to about a 21:1 compression ratio.
How wrote this song for Springsteen, Weird Al Yankovic?
Relisted with a BIN of $32,500
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Chevrolet-Chevelle-SS-396-/233263792898