Text by Patrick Bell.
Today we have a fine gallery of Chevrolets that were quite common on the streets back in the day. The owners have applied their personal touches to most of these, which was also quite common. If you were around and aware during this era I am sure these images will spark some personal memories.
We start with a sporty looking couple posing with a ’69 Nova SS Coupe with modifications for the drag strip including a custom hood, sign on the door, decals on the quarter glasses, and the usual wheels and tires. In the background was an early seventies Volvo 140 series.
Lighting up the tires was and still is a popular pastime and this ’67 Chevelle SS 396 Sport Coupe from California did it well. Visible modifications on this one were minor; the typical wheel upgrade and hood tie downs.
Here is another ’67 Chevelle SS 396 Sport Coupe, this one looks close to new and was a sharp one. It had an Ohio license plate issued in ’67, and was all stock with the optional Mag-Style Wheel Covers and red line tires. It was in mixed company with a ’67 or ’68 Ford Mustang to the left and a ’66 Dodge Coronet 2 door hardtop in front.
This one was a ’69 version of the Chevelle SS 396 Sport Coupe, and had the common wheel and tire upgrade. It was in very good condition and the gentleman was dressed in a casual business style.
It looks like this young lady received a ’68 Camaro SS Sport Coupe as a present. She didn’t look overly thrilled, I guess she was in shock. The SS package came standard with a 350 V8, and the 396 was optional, which is what I think this one had. To the right was a ’64 Chrysler Newport.
A ’68 Chevelle SS 396 Sport Coupe with aftermarket wheels and an owner that looks like he was ready to take on most anything or anybody. The car did look well cared for and had an uncommon color.
This ’66 Chevelle Super Sport 396 Coupe from Michigan had a custom paint job, trailer hitch, and wheel and tire upgrade. Somebody had a nice street machine that would likely also do well at the strip.
Speaking of the strip, here we are with a ’69 Chevelle Yenko/SC along with two members of the pit crew. Don Yenko had a Chevrolet dealership in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and among other things, he learned of a way to special order a 427 V8 in the ’69 Camaros and Chevelles. He then re-tuned them, and added interior and exterior modifications such as the stripes shown. They became quite legendary, and are very valuable today.
Now we have a ’69 Nova SS Coupe from Massachusetts that looks bone stock and was getting some fresh air on a day of melting snow. It looks like it had snow tires on the rear, so it may have been a driver that was kept clean.
This photo was shot in 1979 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The gentleman was posing with his ’67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe. It looked good for a twelve year old car and had a vinyl roof, custom pinstripes, and later model Rally Wheels.
Here we had a ’68 El Camino in schoolbus yellow, with a custom hood with a tachometer mounted on it, and wheel and tire upgrades. Parked in front appears to be a ’69 Chevelle.
Another common modification of the era was rear spring shackles, highlighted in gold on this ’67 Camaro RS Sport Coupe. Not only did you get the “jacked up” look, there was room for even bigger tires on the rear. This one also had the optional rear spoiler.
I think this Camaro SS Sport Coupe was a ’70 model as I don’t see the high back bucket seat that came out in ’71. It did have a vinyl roof, rear spoiler, and chrome wheels on the rear. In the background was a first generation Lincoln-Mercury Capri.
There appears to be a lake in the background of this photo of a ’65 Corvair Corsa Sport Coupe possibly from Wisconsin. Aftermarket wheels were the only modification I see, and since the young lady was wearing a ring; she may have been posing for her fiance or husband.
A tired looking ’58 Corvette from California. It was twelve years old in this image. Perhaps this was the “before” photograph. On the left a ’63 Bel Air wagon, a ’68 or ’69 Volkswagen Type 1, and another Type 1 in green out by the road.
Our final shot of the day is a lady with wide legged pants leaning on a ’75-’77 Camaro Sport Coupe from California. I see no modifications but it did have the optional Rally Wheels.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
The people in the Volvo are thinking “there goes the neighborhood!”
Lead image, my best buddy in high school had a ’69 Nova 375/396 4sp 4.56 gears, we could drive that car individually with no trouble, but if we were in it together, we ALWAYS got stopped! Fortunately, 50 years later we are both here to tell the tale.
I had expected a higher mullet quotient.
Mullets didn’t arrive until the 1980s.
Thanks for the memories from my youth. Jacked up with big meats, that was the common formula. Mullets were still a decade or so away. Today you’ll still find lots of modified vehicles on the street. It seems that now, trucks are the most modified machines. Mostly in an aggressive off road style. New cars come with pretty big wheels from the factory, my Flex came with Twentys, and I added a set of later model Ford Twentys to my F150. Now, Twentys aren’t that big a deal.
This article could use some suitable music. lol
Thank you. 🙂
The ’66 and ’67 Chevelles hit the sweet spot with the tunnel back rear window. The ’68 and ’69 Chevelles with the triangle back windows looked awkward and out of place.
That’s why so few of these are left. They put big tires and wheels on them, raced them, pretty much tore them up. Probably not a single one of these are left.
Here’s one that still exists: my brother’s modified 1967 Chevelle SS 396. He bought it as a roller (no engine or transmission) in 1975 for $75 and did the exterior painting himself.
Holy cow! That’s sharp. What an undertaking that must have been — clearly a labor of love.
Thanks! Yes, he spent untold hours on this project, with a lot of help from our cousin, who is skilled in metalworking/welding. The car was painted in the garage of our family home.
A friends family had 66 Malibu SS 396. They simply could not keep the front end aligned. As I understand it by 1966 the SS package just consisted of bucket seats, trim, and a few decals. There was no extra strengthening of the frame, etc. as had been the case on the first Impala Super Sport. So, I am guessing that the extra weigh of the 396 engine and the flexible frame that may not have been sufficient for the high engine torque were culprits in the alignment problems.
I hope that someone who knows more about this will comment.
In 1969 my cousin was 16 and the owner of a brand new SS 396. My Dad’s old red and white 60 Falcon Ranchero is parked behind it – IIRC he paid a couple hundred bucks for it in 1968 as it was filled with bondo and pretty much worn out. We both loved that little truck and he enjoyed using it for a couple of summers before it went to the junkyard.
Were the cemter hubs on those “ralley wheels” still falling off come the mid, ’70’s”?The ones on my sister/brother in laws “72 Malibu” started “going missing” within a year.
Used to see a lot a “Chevy’s” with missing hubs.
Some spiffy rides here.
Some good memories created looking at these fine old Chevies .
-Nate
Mullets were around at least since the ’50s, if not to the end of the war. Just back then they were called DAs and typically worn with mutton chops. I couldn’t really tell if there were any of those in the snapshots.