Due to its growing popularity, the Chevelle SS 396 became a series of its own in 1966. It accounted for 15% of all Chevelle sales that year, which means 1 out of every 7 Chevy intermediates would be muscle cars. This ’66 looks like it was recently rescued, and the current owner bought new-in-the-box sheet metal to take care of the rust the car has accumulated. Located in Valencia, California, the car has received just one bid of $13,500 here on eBay.
Seeing the success that Ford had sliding a mid-size car in between the compact Falcon and full-size Galaxie, GM responded and the Chevelle was Chevy’s answer in 1964. When it came to a muscle car derivative, the Super Sport filled that bill and with the 396 cubic inch V8, it became the SS 396. Out of 447,364 Chevelles built in 1966 (inc. the El Camino), 66,643 rolled off the assembly lines in SS 396 trim. You can tell if these cars are the real deal when the first three digits of the VIN say 138, as does the one on the seller’s car.
This is a non-running project for which the seller does not know the condition of the drivetrain. He doesn’t even provide a photo under the hood. The 396 is paired with an automatic transmission and it had a bench seat when he got it, but he’ll send a pair of ’66 buckets and a renewed console along with the sale. It‘s said to have factory air conditioning which would have been kind of rare on a muscle car back then.
The purchase price of this car will get the buyer more than $3,000 in sheet metal that he acquired to restore the Chevelle. Which is a good thing, because rust can be found here, there, and almost everywhere, although mainly the trunk floor from what we can see. This has the potential of being a big money muscle machine when restored, but it will take some doing to get there.
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