Chevrolet Chevelle, 1969

 

Chevrolet Chevelle, 1969

The Chevrolet Chevelle debuted in the 1964 model year as a mid-size automobile from Chevrolet. It was produced throughout the remainder of the 1960s and 1970s and was one of General Motors' most successful models. Chevelle models ranged from economical family cars (by the standards of the day) to powerful coupes and convertibles. The Malibu was at first an upmarket submodel of the Chevelle but later became a model in its own right. The Chevelle chassis (based on the reengineered GM A platform) provided the platform for the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a very successful model itself. The Chevelle lineup was originally envisioned as a Chevy II replacement; however, Chevy II sales filled the niche for the Chevrolet Corvair, which could not outsell its competition.

A utility version of the Chevelle station wagon, the El Camino, was part of the lineup. The El Camino outlived its passenger car counterpart until its demise in 1987; some suggest that sales of the Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck led to the El Camino's demise.

Chevelle SS
The Chevelle SS represented Chevrolet's entry into the muscle car battle. Early 1964 and 1965 Chevelles had a Malibu SS badge on the front fenders (which includes the sought-after Z16 option where 201 Malibu SS were produced); after 1966, the Malibu badging disappeared except for those sold in Canada. The Chevelle SS was the high performance version and had its own line of engines and performance equipment. The performance engines available included 327 in³, 350 in³, and 396 in³ V8s - rated at 325, 350 and 375 hp respectively.

Previous 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 (Centrol 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 the COPO dropped the displacement rule, and that was when the bigger engines came out. 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 390 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. After 1972, the engine ratings declined quickly. 1972 would be the last of the great Chevelle SS models. With the top engine rated at 245 net hp (183 kW), the car was a good performer, but not nearly as muscular as its previous iterations.

The 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.

On screen

• Chevrolet Chevelles appear in the background of a number of Dirty Harry films including The Enforcer and Magnum Force.
• A 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu appeared in Quentin Tarantino's cult movie Pulp Fiction. It is the car owned and driven by Vincent Vega.
• A 1964 Malibu sedan was in the movie Repo Man, starring Emilio Estevez.
• In the movie S.W.A.T., Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson drives a 1972 Chevelle.
• In Dazed and Confused a 1970 Chevelle with the 454 V8 appears, driven by Matthew McConaughey's character Wooderson.
• In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Reese Bobby, Ricky's dad, drives a black and gold #13 1969 Chevelle, an apparent homage to Smokey Yunick who campaigned similar Chevelles with driver Curtis Turner in NASCAR in the mid 60's.