Chevelle ss
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The Chevelle SS represented Chevrolet's entry into the
muscle car
battle. Early 1964 and 1965 Chevelles had a Malibu SS badge on the rear
quarter panel (the sought-after Z16 option had the emblem on the front
fender, where 201 Malibu SS 396s were produced); after 1965, the Malibu SS
badging disappeared except for those sold in Canada. The Chevelle SS, which
became a regular series of its own in 1966 called the SS 396, was the high
performance version and had its own line of engines and performance
equipment. The performance engines available included 396 in³ V8s - rated at
325, 350 and 375 hp respectively (the mid horsepower 396 was rated at 360hp
for 1966 only and 350hp thereafter). The SS396 series only lasted three
years from 1966 through 1968 before being relegated to an option status just
like air conditioning or a radio. The 1966 and 1967 model years also saw the
limited run of the 'strut back' 2-dr sport coupe with its own model number,
17, as opposed to model number 37 used on previous and later 2-dr sport
coupes. The 1968 model year was the first and only year of the SS396
El Camino with its own series/model
identification of 13880. Almost all the goodies (big block engine,
suspension, transmission options, etc.) of the SS396 could be ordered on the
1966 and 1967 El Camino but, sadly, the SS396 series El Camino was not available until
(and only in) the 1968 model year. As with the 300 Deluxe and Malibu in 1969
and only the Malibu from 1970 to 1972, the SS option could be ordered in the
El Camino as well.
Two prototype Z16 Chevelles were built at the Baltimore plant and all
regular production Z16 Chevelles were built at the Kansas City plant.
Whether these 2 prototypes and the 1 reported convertible are included in
this 201 figure isn't known. The 1 convertible was reportedly special built
for Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen but is commonly called the 201st Z16 Chevelle.
Unfortunately there's no known documentation available on this car and to
date no known photos of it have surfaced which leaves its existence in
question.
For Chevelle enthusiasts who wanted a high-performance mid-sized car but
with a hot small-block V8, rather than the big-block found in the SS 396,
the regular Chevelle and Malibu models were available with a 350-horsepower
327 cubic-inch V8 (option code L-79) in 1965 and 1966. That same engine was
also offered for 1967-68, but down rated "on paper" to 325 horsepower, the
same as the standard 396 found in the SS 396.
Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible
For the 1969 model year, the SS396 series (138xx) was dropped and the Super
Sport became a performance option. In 1969 the SS option could be order on
the 300 Deluxe 2-dr coupe (13437) and 2-dr sedan (13427) as well as the
Malibu 2-dr sport coupe (13637), convertible (13667), and El Camino (13680).
In 1970 the SS option was limited to the Malibu series (2-dr sport coupe,
convertible, and El Camino). In both 1969 and 1970 the SS option included
the 396/402 as the base engine keeping the option alive as a
performance-oriented choice. This changed in 1971 when the SS option could
be ordered with any optional V8 and became more of a dress-up option than a
performance option.
Prior to 1970, GM had a restriction stating that no mid-size car could have
an engine with a displacement over 400 in³, though some inventive people
figured out ways around this through the dealership; 1968 and 1969 were the
times of the COPO (Central Office Production Order), in which a car was
ordered by the dealer with a larger than allowed engine in it for racing
purposes.
In 1970 GM dropped the displacement rule, and that was when the bigger
engines were available as regular production options, resulting the addition
of an SS 454 line option to the existing SS 396 option. The first change was
that the 396 engine was bored out to 402 in³ , but the car kept the 396
badging as so much advertising had been put into the 396 namesake that they
didn't want to change it. Most notable was the 454 in³ LS5 V8 rated at 360
hp and the LS6 at 450 hp. It was the 454 that made the Chevelle a legend.
The LS6, with 450 hp and 500 ft·lbf of torque, would rocket the Chevelle
through the 1/4 mile in low to mid-13 second times at 105 to 108 mph.
For 1971, GM mandated that all divisions design their engines to run on
lower-octane regular, low-lead or unleaded gasoline due to tightening
emission requirements and in anticipation of the catalytic converter that
would be used on 1975 and later models, necessitating the use of unleaded
fuel. To permit usage of the lower-octane fuels, all engines featured low
compression ratios (9 to 1 and lower; well below the 10.25-11.25 to 1 range
on high performance engines of 1970 and earlier). This move reduced
horsepower ratings on the big-block engines to 300 for the 402 cubic-inch V8
but surprisingly, the LS-5 454 option got a "advertised" five-horsepower
increase to 365. The LS-6 454 option, which was originally announced as a
regular production option on the Chevelle SS for 1971, was dropped early in
the model year and no official records indicate that any 1971 Chevelles were
assembled with the LS-6 engine.
In the face of declining musclecar sales following the "insurance surcharge"
wrath of 1970, the Chevelle SS - at least in base form - changed from a
specific performance car to a trim package, much like the original 1964-65
Chevelle SS models that pre-dated the introduction of the SS 396 in 1966.
For 1971, the base Chevelle SS engine was a two-barrel 350 cubic-inch V8
rated at 245 gross (165 net) horsepower and optionally available was a
four-barrel carbureted version of the 350 V8 rated at 275 gross (200 net)
horsepower. The big block engines of previous years were now extra-cost
options including the 402 V8 rated at 300 gross/270 net horsepower; and LS-5
454 V8 with 365 gross and 285 net horsepower. Chevrolet specifications for
1971 included both "gross" and "net" horsepower figures for all engines to
ease the transition to 1972 and later years, when Chevy and other
manufacturers only listed the "net" horsepower ratings.
The 1972 Chevelle SS had a top engine rated at 270 net hp (201 kW)
conforming with GM's decree that all engines were to be rated at their net
engine ratings. Despite the lower rating there was no evidence that power
had actually changed on production cars of that year. All other engines on
the SS roster were unchanged from 1971.
In mid-1971 and continued through 1972, the base Chevelle coupe was offered
as the "Heavy Chevy" model featuring special striping and other appearance
items. The "Heavy Chevy" was available with any V8 engine offered in the
Chevelle roster ranging from the 307 two-barrel to the 402 four-barrel.
However, the 454 big-block was only offered with the "SS" package and not
available with the "Heavy Chevy" option.
Many customers, however, chose the Chevelle as an economical family car
that, while not as expensive to operate as larger models (including the
Chevrolet Impala), had enough room to seat a family of five in reasonable
comfort. Popular convenience items ranged from power steering, power brakes,
automatic transmission, air conditioning and stereo radio; plus appearance
items including vinyl top, full wheel covers and whitewall tires.