1964-1965:

For the first two years of the Chevelle production run, the Malibu SS was its own series apart from the Chevelle 300 and Malibu. For both years the Malibu SS series could be identified by the Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. In 1964 the VIN will have either "57" or "58" as the second and third numbers such as 45837K123456. In 1965 the VIN will have either "37" or "38" as the second and third numbers such as 138376K123456. In both 1964 and 1965, the Malibu SS was more of a dress-up series than performance oriented series and was only available as a sport coupe or convertible. Both years' Malibu SS were available with any engine offered in the Chevelle series be in a 6- or 8 cylinder.

Bucket seats, special body trim, functional gauges, and even unique Malibu SS colors were offered that were not available as options on a Malibu. In 1964, Goldwood Yellow was a Malibu SS-only color and in 1965 the colors expanded to Evening Orchid, Glacier Gray, and Crocus Yellow. The Malibu SS could be ordered in any of the other colors available in 1964 and 1965 (even two-tone for sport coupes) but these colors mentioned were exclusive to the Malibu SS.

The 1965 model year saw the beginning of special grille and rear body "blackout" treatment.

1966-1968:

In 1966 the Malibu SS would disappear (except for Canada) and would now be the SS396 series. Again, a separate series from the Malibu and was definitely performance oriented. Although there were some trim changes between the SS396 and Malibu, the primary difference was the availability of the 396 cubic inch V8 which would be standard fare for the SS396; no 6-cylinder and no small block 283/307/327 engine for an SS396. The SS396 series can be identified by the "38" in the second and third number position in the VIN such as 138177K123456. For 1966 and 1967 the SS396 was only available in the sport coupe and convertible; in 1968 the El Camino body style was added to the SS396 lineup. A couple of caveats here. In 1966 and 1967 the sport coupe designation was body style number "17" where the 1968 sport coupe reverted back to the number "37." So a 1966 or 1967 SS396 sport coupe would have a VIN such as 13817 where the 1968 SS396 sport coupe is 13837.

In 1967 there was an upgraded station wagon series, the Concours, that also received a style designation of "38" but was not, NOT, an SS396. For 1967 the Concous station was could be either 13735 or 13835 depending on it having a 6- or 8-cylinder engine but the 396 V8 was not available here. In 1968 there would be two Concours station wagons, a 6-passenger 2-seat model and a 9-passenger 3-seat model. The 2-seat model was available with any 6- or 8-cylinder engine (except the 396 V8) with VINs of 13735 or 13835 and the 3-seat model available with a V8 only with a VIN of 13845. Strangely, any 396 V8 could be ordered in both 1966 and 1967 in both series of the El Camino body style (300 Deluxe or Malibu), but were not designated as an SS396, that would be reserved for the 1968 model year only with the SS396 El Camino, VIN 13880 and the 396 option was dropped from the other El Camino series.

Unlike 1964 and 1965 no colors were reserved for SS396 Chevelles, any color offered was available but none were SS396 unique. Gauges were now an option as well as bucket seats - neither were standard with the SS396 series as they had been with the 1964 and 1965 Malibu SS series. The base SS396 engine was the 325 horsepower version (RPO L35) with both the 360 (1966 only)/350 (1967-1968) horsepower (RPO L34) and 375 horsepower (RPO L78) engines as options. In 1967 the TH400 H.D. 3-speed automatic was introduced as a choice above the 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. A heavy duty manual 3-speed transmission was standard equipment with several 4-speed and automatic transmissions as options. For 1966 the L78 could only be ordered with the standard manual 3-speed or an optional manual 4-speed but no 2-speed Powerglide. For 1967 the L78 was initially dropped as an engine choice until sometime in March but with no fanfare and only 612 were reportedly sold and, like 1966 and 1968, could only be ordered with a manual 3- or 4-speed transmission.

The 396 also received some dress-up chrome under the hood with chrome rocker arm covers, oil cap, and chrome air cleaner lid.

The special blackout grille and rear cove treatment continued for 1967 and 1968. The 1966 SS396 was initially meant to have a blacked out rear cove between the tail lamps but was dropped early in the model year. Early promotional material show a blacked out rear cove with later revisions having the cove body color. It's reported some dealers continued the back put treatment to help sales and many subsequent owners will blackout the area as it suits their taste. A lot of discussion on it all over the Internet so I'll leave it up to you.

1969:

Beginning with the 1969 model year, the SS396 as a series disappeared and now became just another option under RPO Z25. The SS396 option (RPO Z25) was available in the Malibu series sport coupe, convertible, and sedan pickup (El Camino) body styles. In 1969 only, the SS396 option was offered in the 300 Deluxe coupe (13427) and 300 Deluxe sport coupe (13437) body styles as well. As in 1966-1968 certain items often mistakenly associated with an SS396 were optional such as gauges and bucket seats - although bucket seats were NOT available in the 300 Deluxe coupe or sport coupe, SS396 optioned or not this series was still limited to the bench seat and interior colors available in that series. Gauges were also still an option and not standard equipment.

The same three 396 engines were available as before, the 325 horsepower L35, 350 horsepower L34, and the 375 horsepower L78. The 1969 model year would be the first year the L78 could be ordered with the TH400 3-speed automatic transmission. The heavy duty manual 3-speed was still the base transmission with several 4-speeds available as options. An aluminum head option was optional under RPO L89 for the L78 engine. GM did not rate the L89 optioned L78 with a higher horsepower rating however.

Two colors were SS396 unique in 1969, Daytona Yellow and Hugger/Monaco Orange. GM documentation shows the sales name "Monaco Orange" for both Corvette and special order for Chevelle and "Hugger Orange" for Camaro and special order for Chevelle - either sales name is acceptable. Even though both colors were SS396 unique they were still options at an additional cost of $42.15.

The 1969 model year saw the introduction of an SS only wheel, no hub caps or wheels covers were available on any SS396.

1970:

For the 1970 model year there were two "SS" options, RPO Z25 for the SS396 and RPO Z15 for SS454. The SS396 base engine was now the 350 horsepower L34 with the L78 375 horsepower version an option; the L35 325 horsepower 396 was discontinued for Chevelles. The manual 3-speed transmission was also discontinued for the SS396 and only an optional 4-speed manual or TH400 3-speed automatic were transmission choices. With the introduction of the SS454 (RPO Z15) option the only transmissions one could order in a Chevelle were the M22 4-speed manual or the M40 TH400 3-speed automatic. The base 454 engine was rated at 360 horsepower (RPO LS5) with the RPO LS6 engine rated at 450 horsepower optional. Oddly, with the SS454 option more buyers opted for the LS6 engine than the base LS5. Out of the 8,773 Z15 SS454 options sold, the LS6 engine was ordered 4,475 times leaving 4,298 with the base LS5 engine.

The SS396 engines actually displaced 402 cubic inches instead of the previous year's 396 cubic inches. Chevrolet had invested so much in the "SS396" nameplate that the L34 and L78 kept the "396" designation. The L34 and L78 should not be confused with the 402 cubic inch RPO LS3 engine that was optional in any Chevelle EXCEPT an SS396 optioned Malibu. The LS3 was rated at 330 horsepower with some minor internal changes but was, for all intents and purposes, the same engine as the L34. The SS396 and SS454 continued ot get some under the hood chrome accessories where the LS3 did not. A domed hood was standard for both SS options with a Cowl Induction hood optional under RPO ZL2. The ZL2 hood option included hood pins and D88 hood & deck stripes on the sport coupe and convertible with hood stripes only on the sedan pickup for obvious reasons. By customer request the D88 stripes could be deleted via the Fleet & Special Order process when the ZL2 hood was ordered. The D88 stripes were not standard equipment with either SS option and, in fact, were optional on any non-SS optioned Malibu sport coupe, convertible, or sedan pickup.

The SS454 option was not introduced until November of 1969 and, with it, the L78 engine option (as well as the L89 aluminum head option) was dropped from the engine choices. Any L78 engine orders already in the pipeline would be filled so there could very well be L78s being built along side the Z15. Consequently all SS396 Chevelles built after this point would only come with the L34 engine.

As in previous years, options such as bucket seats, gauges, and for 1970, stripes were not standard with either SS option. A cloth bench seat was standard and even the vinyl (or coated fabric as Chevrolet called it) bench seat was a $12.65 option in the sport coupe; the convertible and sedan pickup did not have cloth seats so a vinyl bench seat was standard in both of those body styles. Both SS optioned did, however, get a different dash/gauge arrangement than non-SS optioned Malibu sport coupes, convertibles, or sedan pickups. Included with both SS options were power front disc brakes.

Three, large, round pods were used for fuel and speedometer (warning lamps for everything else) as opposed to the linear speedometer dash of the non-SS optioned Malibus. The gauge option (RPO U14) included an electric clock, tachometer, electric water temperature gauge, and ammeter but the oil pressure gauge gave way to a warning lamp located in the tachometer face. Heavy duty suspension and rear sway bar (RPO F41) was standard on both SS-optioned Malibu sport coupes and convertibles but not on the sedan pickup due to the standard, rear air shocks; RPO F40 was still an option here. Gauges were also optional on any non-SS optioned V8 Malibu sport coupe, convertible, or sedan pickup and those got the same three, round pod dash as the SS optioned Malibus.

Whether one considers the Monte Carlo a Chevelle or not, the Monte Carlo has the same GM series designation "13" as other Chevelles and, where applicable, was built and sequenced along with other Chevelles. All Monte Carlos came with a similar large, three, round pod dash but with a burl wood appliqué in lieu of the back wrinkle finish. An electric clock was standard with other gauges still being optional under RPO U14. The Monte Carlo SS was available under RPO Z20 and included the new 454/360 LS5 engine. Although a convertible was considered, the only Monte Carlo built was the sport coupe with VIN designation of 13857.

The 1970 model year did not have a rear cove as such to blackout but did include a black, rubber pad for the rear bumper.

1971-1972:

Chevrolet again changed the SS option for 1971. Gone was the LS6 engine and gone was the SS396 under RPO Z25. The lone SS option for 1971 and 1972 was RPO Z15. The SS option now became more of a dress-up option again rather than a performance option. Under RPO Z15, the only requirement was any optional V8 engine and optional transmission needed to be ordered. This meant both 350 engines (RPO L65 350-2 and RPO L48 350-4) could be ordered along with 402 cubic inch LS3 (the L34 was gone as well) and the 454 cubic inch LS5. Both 350 cubic inch engines as well as the 402 cubic inch engine could be ordered with the SS option as well - only the 454 LS5 engine mandated the SS option. The SS option included the round, three pod dash as before (gauges were still optional). Some performance items remained such as special suspension (RPO F41 for sport coupe and convertible only) and mandatory front power disc brakes. All SS-optioned Malibus got a domed hood, this time with hood pins standard, regardless of engine choice but only the 402 and 454 engines could opt for the ZL2 hood option.

For 1971 and 1972, the grille still received a blackout treatment but no rear bumper pad to blackout.

The SS-only wheel for 1971 changed to a 5-spoke design and now measured 15x7 with F60-15 tires to replace the 14x7 SS wheel and F70-14 tires of 1969-1970.

1973-1974:

The SS option for 1973 was limited to the Malibu series Colonnade Hardtop Coupe and, for the first time and one year only, the Malibu series station wagon. The SS option RPO Z15 included a black-finish grille with SS emblem, left-hand remote and right-hand manual sport mirrors, lower body side and wheel opening striping, special instrument cluster with black bezels, 14x7 rally wheels and G70-14 tires. The SS option still accounted for 28,647 options out of a possible 249,880 1973 Chevelles in 1973 - just over 11%.

Three engines were available with the SS equipment option, the L65 350-2, L48 350-4 and the LS4 454.

1974 would be the last year for an SS option with only 4,543 sold out of a possible 45,382 Chevelles. The Laguna Type S-3 would replace the SS option in mid-January of 1974.