Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: How many Marina Blue 1966 SS396s were built?
A: There is no known breakdown of any particular color for Chevelles.
Q: Didn't all SS396 or SS-optioned Chevelles have gauges and a tachometer?
A: No. The Instrument Panel Gauges, or Special Instrumentation, sold under RPO U14 was always an option regardless of year. The 1964 and 1965 Malibu SS have gauges but a tachometer was still an option for those two years.
Q: Is my SS396 real?
A: This can be tricky at best. To some, 'real' means the car has the correct and original engine it was born with and can be matched to some form of documentation. To some, it means if the documentation says it was born as a 13817/13837/13867/13880 SS396 Chevelle or with the SS-equipment option, it doesn't (relatively) matter that the original engine has been replaced for one reason or another; whether by a dealer under warranty or an over-avid enthusiast 'back-in-the-day' due to out of warranty breakage. Consider if the car has a warranty engine with CE code 396 engine, but has documentation that is original to the car as noted by the VIN sequence and other information of the sheet matching the trim tag. Some will consider that a 'true SS396' Chevelle, some will not.
As far as the Chevelle Registry is concerned whether it's an SS396 or SS-optioned Chevelle is of no relevance. I have other 'specialty' registries for SS396 and SS-optioned Chevelles:
* SS396 ~ 1966-1968 Chevelle SS396 series - 1969 300 Deluxe/Malibu series and 1970 Malibu series with Z25 option.
* LS3 ~ 1970-1972 Chevelle with LS3 option except 1071-1972 with Z15 option.
* LS5 ~ 1970-1972 Malibu series with Z15 SS option and LS5 engine.
* LS6 ~ 1970 Malibu series with Z15 SS option and LS6 engine option.
* L78 ~ 1966-1968 SS396 series or 1969-1970 with SS option and L78 engine option.
