With the popularity and appeal of the Chevelle in the mid-sixties, it’s not surprising that the sales numbers were strong for all of the different models, with plenty of customers driving one home from their Chevrolet dealer in 1966. By this time, muscle car desirability was also heating up, and more than 72,000 buyers opted for the Chevelle SS 396, which had become its own series for ’66. The seller says his 1966 Chevelle SS 396 here on eBay is the real deal, and he’s correct, as a VIN starting with 13817 indeed indicates a factory Super Sport. This one’s been non-operational for decades, but it appears like a worthwhile project, so head over to Santa Cruz, California, to check out this cool Chevy in person. The buy-it-now price has been set at $22,500, but this amount may be negotiable, as a make-offer button is also provided.
Although this Chevelle is a mostly solid California Chevy, the worst news here is probably regarding the engine. Gone is the factory 396, and in its place is now a 454 that the seller claims is from the mid-seventies. It’s not running and missing some parts, but the heads are thought to be original to this car, with the intake manifold believed to be date-correct. The seller says he didn’t dig too deep here, as he assumes this block will probably not be used during the restoration. Some better news is that this Chevelle left the Fremont, California assembly plant with a 4-speed, and it’s presumed to still be the original component.
The seller mentions that this one recently came from the estate of a long-term owner, with the body stated to present well overall. I have to agree with his statement that it would be great if this car could tell you all the stories of its past, and while the history here will likely remain a mystery forever, the exterior appears to be at a fine starting point to begin taking it to a higher level. It appears many years have passed since the outside was painted Sandalwood Tan, but that’s said to be the original color, though the next owner will have to ponder whether to return the panels to this shade or choose something else.
Much of the interior is believed to be original, with the seats getting different orange upholstery at some point in the past. The door panels and headliner are missing, but the factory instrument cluster is intact and still looking to be in nice shape. Down below, the floors are said to be in good shape overall, with one area of rust pointed out near the gas pedal. It would be a plus if the original engine were present, but I’m spotting enough other positives to deem this 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 a worthwhile project. What are your thoughts?
This looks like a good foundation of a late-1970’s early-1980’s style build. It’s non matching numbers and has a mid-1970’s 454, has Centetlines, an ugly, but what looks to be a serviceable interior. There is a good chance you could get it up and running for a reasonable cost, then prime it it in grey, red or the yellow primer that were common at the time. Not every car needs to be restored, building a beater SS and driving it would be fun, especially with the 4spd.
When cars are restored they are often only driven short distances to or from a show. Several people on this site like to predict the demise of the hobby, not seeing them in the real world is a sure fire way of creating a generation that has no appreciation for classic car. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy. Beaters serve several purposes, it helps keep the cost down, cuts down on “build” time and allows an owner to drive the car without worrying as a car with 5 figures of paint and body work.
Steve R
Why does picture #20 show “Park R N D L” on the instrument panel?
Good pick up! My 66 Malibu is a factory bucket seat, console, 4 speed car, and doesn’t have that. That area is blank.
The lens is from a non-gauge instrument cluster. There is a hole in front of the oil pressure gauge, it’s for the clock adjustment know, that hole doesn’t exist on lenses for gauge equipped cars.
Steve R
I noticed that to. My 1971 Chevelle that I have since 1989 has a blank panel below the cluster because it was a 3 on the tree which I converted to a 4 on the floor back then!
This car was utilized and ran hard as many were made to do in the past when selecting the BB. The engine if able to rebuild and keep close to internals would be good to have in a hot rod Chevelle. The trans looks swapped and interesting all the items that went to the engine are missing or unhooked.
This car will take much money to try to get close to being original along with paint, interior and original trans etc.
Good luck with sale and hope it gets restored to a close original Chevelle.
lot of money for not a lot. there are better 66s out there for the price of this. best part of this is the black plates and unless you’re in ca all the are is wall art
Steve R, I sure appreciate your comments re: restoration or less. Couldn’t have said it better. I enjoy bringing these old cars back to life and gettin’ ’em back on the road. Recently I’ve brought back to life and early 240 Z from 20 years of dormancy. The paint is terrible, anything but a show car. I drive it regularly and I can’t tell you how many complete strangers will come up and comment on how much they like it. It’s a great way to meet new people and keep people interested in our hobby. I for one love this Chevelle. I’d probably sort the mechanics of it, give it a thorough clean inside and out, and drive it. You could always do the interior later, it’s pretty ugly. Maybe paint it one day if you like, but keep driving it. That thing should be on the road.
These were thick on the ground in the 70s and 80s. They rot like the dickens at the dash/windshield/front cowl area.
Had a ’66 SS with a straight 6 and powerglide.
Maroon colour with black buckets and a console.
Black American Racing mags. The 6 kept me out of an early grave.
The speedo lens has been changed and does not go with that correct floor-shift gauge cluster. If it was an entire column shift cluster then there would be a hole in the dark gray panel behind the PRNDL area where the shift pointer would be visible through that hole.
And you can see the intact factory floor-shift hump with factory spot welds attached to the floor.
So it looks to me to be a legit factory 4-speed (or floor shifted HD 3-speed) car, just with an unfortunate speedo lens change for some reason.
No pic of a VIN stamp on the transmission, but it is the correct casting #, and the correct part # for an M20 in front of a 3.73 axle (which this car has), and the date matches up well with the car. So it very well could be the original transmission to the car.
As to the price, go buy a rust bucket for $7,500 and then spend all the $$ to buy Repro quarters, floors, etc. etc., and pay for the labor to have it all installed. I dare say that, unless you do all the installation and body work yourself (and you do not value your own time at all), you would end up with more in that project than the asking price of this car. And then you would still just have a bunch of ill-fitting and wavy Taiwan sheet metal, instead of the original GM panels on this car. Just saying!