No Reserve: 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396

When an owner lists a 1967 Chevelle SS for sale, several things are guaranteed to grab the attention of potential buyers. The first is that it is structurally sound and relatively rust-free. The second is that it has a healthy big-block under the hood. Of course, if the owner is offering it for sale with No Reserve, that seals the deal. This Chevelle hits the mark on every one of those points, and if you find it all too tempting to resist, you will find it listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Rochester, New York, and an impressive seventy-eight bids have pushed to price along to $28,100. Remember, this is a No Reserve listing. That means that the highest bidder will be walking away with a pretty desirable prize.

There’s no doubt that this Chevelle makes a positive first impression. When you get closer, it becomes apparent that the car is the recipient of an older repaint and that it now sports a few marks and chips. However, if the buyer views it purely as a driver-quality classic, its appearance is very acceptable. The trim and chrome shine as impressively as the paint, while the glass shows no evidence of chips or other problems. The owner admits that some rust spots are developing, but these aren’t visible in the supplied photos. He offers this YouTube video, and it shows some rust starting to appear in the lower rear quarter panels. It seems that a previous owner may have already replaced these in the past, but addressing what is developing would require patches rather than wholesale steel replacement. The same is true of the small areas in the lower door corners and the trunk lid. There’s nothing horrendous and nothing that would require immediate attention. Having said that, I would probably address these issues while they remain minor problems. The longer they are left, the more scope there is for them to deteriorate. So far, things look positive. You have to wonder whether there might be other problems, so let’s take a look and see what we can find.

The underside of this SS offers us nothing but good news. The floors and frame rails are spotlessly clean, while the trunk pan shows no evidence of problems. When you consider what we’ve seen so far, lifting the car’s overall presentation from its current state to jaw-dropping is not going to be a difficult undertaking.

The Chevelle’s interior looks pretty impressive with its White upholstery and trim, contrasted by the Blue carpet. The Trim Tag indicates that the SS rolled off the line upholstered in Blue, so a previous owner has performed a color change at some point. For purists searching for an unmolested classic, this may be a disappointment. For those who might be less concerned about originality, it appears that the buyer won’t need to spend much on this interior. As well as the color changes, other updates include a radio/cassette player, an aftermarket wheel, a column-mounted Sun Tach, and some additional gauges mounted under the dash. The upholstered surfaces will present nicely, with no signs of physical damage or staining. The same is true of the carpet and headliner, although the dash pad will require attention. It looks slightly warped on the passenger side, and the vinyl has started to lift away on the lower edge on the driver’s side. It might be possible to glue this back into place, although the buyer might be faced with spending a few dollars on a replacement pad. This could be a challenge because white pads are harder to find than other colors. Regardless, they generally sell for around the $270 mark, so that is the sort of figure that the buyer might need to set aside to sort that problem.

The owner is unsure whether the SS is numbers-matching, but it appears that it has received a few upgrades to extract additional performance even if it is. The engine bay is occupied by the L34 version of the 396ci V8. This beauty would have pumped out 350hp in its prime, which finds its way to the road via a 4-speed manual transmission and a 12-bolt Posi rear end. Performance figures were never going to disappoint, with the SS capable of storming the ¼ mile in 14.3 seconds. However, there’s a chance that this car might be capable of bettering that figure. The seller believes that a previous owner may have upgraded the cam and a few other peripherals. The addition of traction bars should allow the Chevelle to get its power to the ground more effectively. The owner has no definitive figures for power output, but he estimates from the driving impression that the number could be north of 400hp. If that’s the case, this should be a pretty fast classic. The previously mentioned YouTube video gives us a chance to hear that big-block running, and it sounds as sweet as a nut.

If potential buyers seek an original and unmolested ’67 Chevelle SS 396, this car won’t be for them. However, if that is not an issue, and they crave a driver-quality car that offers stunning performance, this car should admirably fill that void in their life. It seems that there is no shortage of people who feel that way, with the bidding history demonstrating this graphically. This is a No Reserve listing, and that has to make it a tempting proposition for the right person. Would you consider joining the bidding war so that you could park this classic in your driveway? If you do, I wish you luck.