The Chevrolet Chevelle: A Brief History of the Muscle Car King
Originally published on November 18, 2024. Written by Andy Wasif.
So you’re looking for a new car these days and you enter the dealership to find a wide variety of colors from black to white to charcoal gray to... did we mention black? Okay, so the factory-available options are pretty sparse. It definitely differs greatly from the days when dynamic design ruled the roost and American cars dominated the landscape. In the 1950s General Motors alone offered 460 (!!!) model and color combinations. For example, a Chevy Bel Air in 1957 could be had with two-tone styling for its interior or exterior.
If that was not your bag, then how about the slightly larger Cadillac Biarritz? Or perhaps the Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe two-door sedan? All this for the purpose of satisfying every buyer’s interests and needs. This strategy paid off in spades as General Motors was the largest corporation in the world during that time period.
However, it was not always such smooth sailing for the automaker. During the same model year of 1957, there was a development in regards to motorsports. The Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA)–amidst the recent string of fatalities on the track–decided to ban manufacturer-supported racing, though General Motors paid little mind to it.
Then, in the 1960s, GM ultimately committed to an anti-racing policy after other major automakers (Ford, AMC, and Chrysler) threatened GM with antitrust litigation, given that 53% of all cars sold in North America were GM cars–more than the other automakers combined. This caused GM to focus on performance-based sports cars with big engines for the road-going public. Thus, the King of All Muscle Cars, the Chevy Chevelle was born.
Leading up to the unveiling of the Chevelle in September of 1963, the General Motors strategy of model options continued to thrive, most notably with its basic, low-cost, and accessible line: Chevrolet. Chevy alone set a new sales record of 2.13 million cars and a whopping 31.5% share of the market in 1962. This was at a time when Chief of Design Bill Mitchell, having taken over for the great Harley Earl, was focused less on ornamental design while continuing to access GM’s vast resources for a wide range of model choices.
General Motors went back in time to resurrect its original and oldest A-body platform, which they discontinued in 1958. On that body, they could build everything from coupes to sedans, convertibles to station wagons. You could find an A-body on cars like the Oldsmobile F-85, the Pontiac Tempest, the Buick Special, and now on the Chevelle.
The name of their new model is said to come from a mash-up of the brand Chevy and a gazelle and was designed to compete with the Ford Fairlane and other midsize cars. Chevelle filled the gap between the smaller Chevy II, Corvair, and Corvette and larger full-size Impala, Bel Air, and Biscayne.
With a 115-inch wheelbase that was four inches shorter and 3.9 inches narrower than its full-size “bowtie” counterparts, it was offered in three different series: the top-of-the-line Malibu SS, the regular series, and the budget-priced 300 series.
The US auto industry’s only all-new car for the 1964 calendar year was advertised as “a fine line between sport and pure luxury” and sold 338,286 units. (Across town, Ford introduced its Mustang mid-year in April of ’64 and sold over a quarter million, which actually landed a direct hit on sales of the Corvair.) Chevelle had immediately shown itself as an unstoppable force, beginning a run of success rarely seen in automotive history before or since.
Now at the helm of Chevrolet, “Bunkie” Knudsen, son of Henry Ford's former right-hand man Bill Knudsen who later left Ford for GM, put big V-8 engines into mid-size chassis as a response to Pontiac’s powerful GTO. As with color design options, customers of the Chevelle also had a choice of engines. The basic engine was a 194-cid (cubic inch displacement), 120-horsepower six-cylinder taken from the Chevy II, but one could request a 3.76-liter (230 cid), 155-hp six instead. This base model Chevelle 300 started at $2,231.
A cornucopia of options progressed until you reached the Chevelle Malibu SS Series 58 which offered the 283 V-8 engine either with a two-barrel carburetor rated at 195 hp, or a four-barrel carburetor at 220 hp. Or perhaps you wanted even more horsepower! The 327 option gave you 300 hp at a price tag of $2,646.
This was before you even considered what you wanted for your Super Sport (“SS”) package, which offered bucket seats in vinyl, heavy-duty springs and shocks, power brakes, engine upgrades, and high-performance tires for the overall race look and feel. We’re talking electric tachometer, Positraction rear axle, sintered-metallic brake linings, and a four-speed transmission. Upgrade away!
The platform allowed plenty of room for modifications. One example of what you could do with your Malibu SS is the restomod offered as a Sweepstakes prize by the Petersen Automotive Museum which began with the supercharged LS9 crate engine. What is your pleasure?
Advertising language for the initial offering of the Chevelle SS model took the old line “Chevy puts the purr in performance” and evolved to “Everyone has a bit of swashbuckler in him” in the 1964 brochure. From there, it continued to impress.
By 1965, a 327 was offered with the L79 option for 350 horsepower along with 4340 steel connecting rods, Forge ground shaft, and aluminum pistons offering a 12:1 compression ratio. But it was also the first year a 396 V-8 was available. This beast of a car was called the Z16 and only 201 were ever built because it was not part of Chevy’s advertising. The horsepower on that one was 375 which was only slightly less than the Corvette’s own 396 (425 hp). The low end of the Malibu SS convertible model that year was $2,796.
Incidentally, 1965 was a banner year for Chevrolet as the auto producer became the first marque in history to build a total of three million vehicles in a calendar year with the Chevelle playing a great role in their reaching that milestone.
Design and engine changes continued in 1966 as the car took on a Coke-bottle body shape. The Malibu SS 396 offered three power options including the L35 baby-bear 325 hp, the L34 tween-bear 360 hp, and the L78 buff-bear 375 hp. Goldilocks didn’t dare try to steal a ride in any of those.
Sales between ’66-’67 hit more than 850,000 Chevelles sold. The SS 396 accounted for 135,000 of those. From there, interest continued to grow.
The second generation dropped in 1968 and featured a fast-back roofline and muscular shape along with changes to the rear taillight and the front end. In 1969, they bumped up the engine size to 6.58-liters (402-cid) even though it was branded as a 396. They also changed the rear taillight and front end. Sales that year surpassed the half-million mark, but were further outdone in 1970 when more Chevelles were sold than any other year, with over 633,000.
Overall, between 1968 and 1972, no other muscle car had a higher four-year run than the Chevelle–to the tune of around two million cars. Many say the 1968 SS 396 is the most popular among collectors in this day and age. Though it's all a matter of preference, which if nothing else, is what General Motors preached and delivered. You might see yourself in the beautiful 1964 restomod mentioned before. Or perhaps a ’65 Malibu SS 396 Z16. And on and on and on.
The 1970’s saw Chevy pushing up to 450 horsepower in their Chevelles, though with the government crackdown on gas guzzling, the SS was also offered with a small-block 350 engine while small styling revisions were made including the "Heavy Chevy" trim level.
In 1973, they introduced the third and final generation. This generation presented the highest Chevelle trim–the Laguna. This had 5-mph rear bumpers, no more convertible or 4-door hard tops, and front ends featuring Mercedes-inspired chrome grills made of die-cast steel.
The SS was completely replaced by the Laguna Type S-3 in 1974 and in 1975, Chevelle no longer offered the big block. It was the beginning of the end, which came in 1977 for the venerable stalwart when muscle cars lost their popularity as government emission standards, insurance, and the high price of gas put practicality above unbridled performance.
As a postscript, General Motors did, of course, return to racing after their ban and the Chevelle had a strong pedigree. Benny Parsons won the Winston Cup Grand National Championship and NASCAR legend Cale Yarlborough got 34 wins between ’76-’77 in a Chevelle.
Among a seemingly never-ending dearth of models that General Motors deftly built and sold to large swaths of the public, the Chevelle quickly grew to all-star status and remains atop the genre of Muscle Cars as a representative of an era where you had as many options for your car as today we have with sneakers. Though no sneakers could go as fast no matter how many upgrades you added.
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