The popular Chevelle SS 396 became a series of its own for three years (1966-68), making it easier to identify today as the “real deal” vs. a clone. In 1967, the car had its own series/model number, 13817, which appears in this Chevy’s VIN and on the cowl tag. The body appears to be fairly sound for being stored (outdoors?) for many years, but its 396 cubic inch V8 must be counted among the missing. From Celina, Tennessee, this former muscle car is available here on eBay where you can take it home right away at $14,500 though the bidding is at $7,100 without cracking the reserve.
Muscle car mania was in full swing by 1967 and Chevrolet responded by building nearly 60,000 copies of its hot Chevelle SS 396. This one will require a lot of work along with a replacement engine, but the interior and trunk are filled with enough spare parts to help get you down that path. We don’t know the history of the car, but the body may be more solid than it has a right to be. The seller is sending along a new right front fender as that seems to be the area needing it most.
This was an automatic transmission car and it’s still there (a 2-speed Powerglide?). A 10-bolt rear end is there but the seller is including a 12-bolt to help rebuild this performance machine. The photos provided could be better, as the seller gets more grass than the car in the various photos of the exterior. But when the seller zeroes in, things don’t look awful. For example, the floorboards look to be pretty solid, suggesting this is not a rust bucket you’d be restoring. Would you source a period-correct 396 or go the restomod route?
Looks solid also looks like a huge expensive project at that price. Car will need everything gone thru and it has no engine.Bench seat column shift with probably a th400 nothing special.17500 imo is too much.I could see 1/2 that as this car will be a money pit.I would go the restomod route with a wicked turbo LS and a 5 speed. glwts.
If bought for less than 10k with modest body without too much rust, maybe a decent restore as you can get engines to rebuild everywhere. If you have to pay more than that, Dynacorn is a better option than sinking the same money in this car. Hey, I’d love to see it is restored like the next car lover, but these things are a money came in risk vs reward.
Personally, I’ve done body work and restored cars for over 30 years. I can see a lot of potential with this one but I can see major bucks and time getting it to the point where it would be presentable to drive. It will probably need a lot more than is visible after you get started on it. The prices on parts have raised dramitically so its hard to put a dollar price on it until you get started. I’ve said many times to people that your better off just buying one thats already done than buying one and doing it yourself. The hours are endless in labor costs at a licensed body shop, the parts are so expensive and then theres your interior work and thats several thousand and finally paint and supplies. Lastly, I’ll say it like this. To buy one already finished “vs” doing one yourself is kinda like this. If you bought a car for $30 grand and you built one like this Chevelle, your probably looking at close to or maybe more in total and thats not including your time to wait on it which sometimes runs into years if you can’t work on it everyday. Not sure if I made any sense but try and figure it for yourself.
Hours sure seem to be endless, most restos are 3 years and 700 hours, not including parts, I say 40K is a close number to use for a loan,
Hours sure seem to be endless, most restos are 3 years and 700 hours, not including parts, I say 40K is a close number to use for a loan,
Rear 396 cars had 12 bolt diffs, not 10 bolts. I see a 12 bolt is included as a separate part.
This was most likely a small block car that had been “badged”. Not that it matters anymore, as the motor is gone, you can do whatever you want with it.
Same for any 4 barrel V8 and BBCs having the 12 BOLT, PLUS I dont think any BBC came with a slush box
ODD with a 138 tag, The heater core inlet points AT the valve cover. That had to be swapped out on my 1964 Buick Special for clearance.for a 455 swap.
Sure they did. The drag strip friendly TH 400.
Looks like Dannie said it all you are going to have a lot of bucks in this project
Agree with Dannie, better ’67’s out there these days for time and money needed, if you were a ’66-’67 guy with lots of parts in your garage, you would still have to get this for less than half the ask.
Car clearly has a 138 VIN and trim tag with no evidence of tampering, so is a real SS.
Yes, you could get a big block Chevelle with a powerglide in 67 (and it was the only choice for an automatic in 66).
Rear axle just got changed somewhere along the way (12-bolt probably got sold out of it after the motor departed, and 10-bolt stuck under it to make it a roller).
All 64-67 Chevelle non-AC heater cores are the same, with the hoses on the inboard side of the fan/air box. The flip-flopped cores with the hoses on the outboard side were a big block Camaro thing, not used on Chevelles.
Steering column with shift handle & wheel looks like 66 Malibu, not SS. Half the car looks bondo’d & spray canned gold, feature lines not crisp on sides. I don’t think any 66-67 Chevelle SS automatics were column shift.
64-65 were the only years the bucket seats were standard in an SS Chevelle, which included a console with a powerglide or a 4-speed.
All 66 and later Chevelle SS’s came standard with a bench seat. So if you ordered an automatic trans but did not order bucket seats AND a console (they were two different options), then an automatic SS was column shift.
You are correct though that the steering wheel is a 66. And about the paint over recent (bad) body work.
Clone fake where are the 396 badges in the grill and rear 10bolt colum shift
Something is wrong here
See my earlier post above. The car has a 138 VIN and is an SS. The grill emblem is right there in the pictures (not that that really matters, since it can be removed just by taking off two nuts, and can be added just as easily). The rear emblem is missing in some of the photos, but is there in others (again, not that that matters, the 138 VIN is what matters).
And as already noted above the axle has simply been changed. There are countless SS’s that have had the axle changed for one reason or another. And not all of them got replaced with correct 12-bolts.
I have a 396/325 hp from a 67 SS Chevelle. Tried to locate the car 30 years ago. Car was in Nashville. Could not find the title holder. I wonder if the car has been restored now or ended up in the scrap heap. It was blue with buckets and a 4-speed.
Can’t believe the amount of car pros that don’t know what the138 stands for in the vin
It’s hard to believe a Chevelle SS, among the most desirable of cars today, donated its original 396 engine to some other vehicle. Whatever owner pulled that move totally killed the top selling price of this car. I’m hoping this car lost its original engine in the 1970s, way before anyone would know what the muscle car market would become.