This week’s ride is a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS owned by John Whalen of Greentown. The Chevelle was introduced to the public by General Motors on Sept. 26, 1963 as a midsize vehicle for automaker Chevrolet line as a smaller version of the Impala. The Chevelle was produced through 1977 and was one of GM’s most successful cars of the period. The “SS” stands for Super Sport and were models of the Chevelle available from 1966 until 1972.
Eventually, though, Chevy would have to make itself a player into the muscle car market that developed in the late 1960s, and the Chevelle SS would mark that entry into the midsize muscle car battle.
It was by design that GM took a minimalist approach with the Chevelle SS. The car had basically an undecorated, understated exterior, with just the Super Sport badge on the rear of the car and the red-and-white checkered flag logo on the front of the car. The design of the interior was similarly simple. However, GM made a long list of options available for the Chevelle so buyers could customize their car however they saw fit.
Whalen’s Chevelle features the model’s powerful (and popular) 396 cubic inch eight cylinder engine. Now more than 40 years later, the Chevelle, along with its sister car, the Pontiac GTO, remain the most popular muscle cars from this area, for two reasons. The Chevelle’s strong performance and reasonable price made it popular both on the street and at the track.
Whalen’s SS features front disk brakes (which were newly available back in 1967) and also features 14-inch wheels. The exterior style of the 1967 Chevelle added a new reworked front bumper and a blackout tail panel. The 1967 Chevelle has hood louvers, but they are non-functional.
The base price of a 1967 Chevelle was $2,825. There were 63,000 produced for the 1967 model year, and the car had a wheelbase of 115 inches and a weight of 3,800 pounds.
The engine has 396 cubic inches of displacement and a compression ratio of 11.0:1. The car is capable of producing 375 horsepower and 5600 rpm, as well as torque of 415 and 3600 rpm.
Whalen’s Chevelle has a bright red exterior with black trim, a black interior and a black hard top. The Chevelle is also riding on Firehawk Indy 500 tires.
Whalen enjoys taking his Chevelle out for spins during the nice summer weather and also makes appearances at area car shows.
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