Dale's 1967 SS396 Chevelle of the Month - July 2013
See more of the GR8PMKN at my personal website.
| Phase 1 | |
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From a humble beginning
in 1986 to daily driver for 17 years, my Chevelle went through
two major updates and two motor rebuilds. Found in Texas through
an ad in a Dallas newspaper simply saying, "1967 Chevelle, $1750."
One friend loaned another $1750 on the car and was never repaid
so the car was sold. As purchased in 1986 the car featured a
black paint job with flames, pretty sad flames too. The car
was a factory SS with bucket seats and 4-speed which was just
what I'd been looking for quite a few years. The asking price
of $1750 didn't seem too bad. Engine was some unknown vintage small block. I never bothered to find out what as I'd already purchased another 67 SS for $500 that yielded a few spare parts plus a 396 and a second 4-speed. Interior was in pretty good shape considering. Factory 4-speed, bucket seats, stereo tape player and under the steering wheel cover, a walnut-grained steering wheel. Also note the wood-grain dash strip. The SS396 series was suppose to come with a black crinkle-finish dash strip but I've see a few with the wood-grain unit. Factory mess-up or changed somewhere along the line is unknown. When purchased, the clutch was almost gone and the shifter was so sloppy that I had a choice between 1st and 2nd gear or 3rd and 4th to make the 150+ mile trip home from Dallas. Considering the trip was mostly highway miles I opted for the 3rd and 4th gear choice. Getting out of Dallas and onto the highway was challenging and aside from a couple of toll booth stops, the drive wasn't bad. Whatever was left of the clutch facing was completely gone by the time I arrived home. So the first chore was to drop the transmission and replace the clutch and cover. Replacing the old Muncie linkage was done at the same time with a new Hurst Competition Plus. |
| Phase 2 | |
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The car was driven pretty
much this way for 12 years with minor updates like engine trim
and wheel & tire combinations. A bit of 60s flare was used
in the rear cove with a silver & gray lace pattern. New engine was installed and various dress-up items were used from 1986 to 1998. The car was driven everyday to work, play and numerous car shows in the Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas area. Interior was updated to black and gray cloth in much the same style as a 1985 Buick Grand National I owned at the time. In fact the gray paint color was selected from a Buick Regal T-Type seen on a showroom floor, GM code 15. |
| Phase 3 | |
     Overland Park, KS - 2001  Nashville, TN - 2002  Nashville, TN - 2003 |
After 12 years of daily
driving the paint and interior were beginning to show their
age so the car was taken to Curtis Hutton in Marlow, OK. for
a complete cosmetic changeover. New paint was first on the list
and an orange pearl with gold ghost flames soon emerged. Some dress-up items were changed on the engine but it remained basically the same for a short time. Interior was updated once again and caution was thrown to the wind as Kevin Hammack of Duncan, OK. worked his magic. Full length center console, 4 Grand AM bucket seats, tan tweed, Dakota Digital gauges, and a sweet sound system. Subtle changes over the next couple of years resulted in what you see here. Additions such as Baer disc brakes, 17-inch American Racing wheels, Vintage Air, Accel/DFI fuel injection and a new hood were the mainstay. Shaved door handles, power windows, and a Vintage Air A/C system rounded it out. The car was still driven almost daily during nice weather to/from work and a number of car shows locally as well as Tulsa, Wichita, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, along with several trips to Nashville for Chevell~abration. The car saw a trailer only three times during the 17 years I owned it. One was to a shop for broken rear u-joint, one was to have exhaust built after initial installation of the 396, and once when it rolled away to its new home in Kentucky in June of 2004. |
