Junkyard Find: 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 4-Speed

This Chevelle has a sweet look to it, in photos at least, and it was ordered with all the right hardware: the SS package, 396 V8, 4-speed, Positraction, power steering, A/C, bucket seats, and a center console. Sounds about perfect to me! The only problem is that it has been sitting outside for many years, and the Arizona sun has not been kind to it. The paint is faded and worn, and the underside is crusty. Could there still be some hope for this once-mighty muscle car, though? Find it here on eBay, where it’s listed with an $8,500 asking price.

Here’s a shot of what makes, er, made this particular Chevelle so special. When you pair a 325-horsepower V8 with a 4-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential, you have a recipe for fun! Big burnouts and stoplight races are easily within reach with this combo. Unfortunately, this engine bay has been picked clean. There used to be things like a 4-barrel carburetor, power steering pump, and even an A/C compressor in there. Surprisingly, the engine isn’t seized. It’s not numbers-matching, though, so it wouldn’t be a sin to replace it with something that’s already been rebuilt.

There’s daylight coming up through those floorboards. That’s a relatively easy fix, though. I’d be more concerned about areas like the suspension mounts and frame rails. The underside does look pretty crusty, but the car is located in Arizona, so maybe there’s still some hope of saving this one without having to replace the frame and every square inch of sheet metal. Luckily, replacement panels are easy to get. I’m not seeing complete bodies for this generation of Chevelle yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re out there somewhere.

Let’s be honest, this is going to be a huge project. Just getting it running and stopping again is going to be a monumental undertaking. Then there’s the rust repair and interior to deal with. The lazy part of me wants to just focus on the drivetrain and interior and leave the exterior alone. I know that’s horrible of me, but it might actually be fun to cruise around in it just the way it is. I bet it would get more attention at a car show than anything else in the sea of shiny Chevelles. What do you think? Would you spring for a paint job, or would you go full patina?