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Chevelle Trivia

Keep in mind that anything you see anywhere on the Internet may or may not be 100% accurate. Anyone can put anything very authentic looking on any website.

1964 Chevelle VINs are the only year U.S.-built Chevelles listed the model year as the first digit in the VIN. GM of Canada continued this practice with 1965 and 1966 Chevelles as well.

1964 trim tag colors were shown as 3- or 4-digit numbers at all plants except Fremont; Fremont used letters for upper body, lower body, and (often) wheel colors. In addition, 1964 Fremont tags listed upper body color first then lower body color; the only year and plant that listed body colors this way.

Some 64 Malibu SS and 65 Malibu SS trim tags have an 8 as the third digit in the style number on the trim tag and some do not - 6 cyl Super Sports have a "7" and 8 cyl Super Sports have an "8" in the VIN indicating an L6 or V8. 1964 & 1965 were the only years a Malibu Super Sport could be had with a six cylinder.

All USA built 1966 through 1968 Chevelles have an 8 (eight) as the third digit of the VIN if they originally left the factory as a true SS396 body style. For the El Camino, this applies only to the year 1968 as this was the only year for the SS396 El Camino. A Chevelle can have an 8 as the third digit of the VIN and not be an SS396 (such as Concours station wagon) but there are NO real USA built 66-68 SS396s that do not have an 8 as the third digit).

For 1968 and 1969 Chevelle renamed the 13427 2-door sedan (pillar coupe) to "coupe" and the 13437 2-door hardtop retained the "sport coupe" name.  Previous (1964-1967) 2-door Chevelles with a B-pillar were called a "2-door sedan."

The 1968 model year saw the demise of the "300" series in all body styles except the Nomad station wagon and it was never called a 300 Nomad, just Nomad.

On most 1968 and later Chevelles, there is a partial VIN stamped in the firewall behind the heater plenum. Another partial VIN is also on top of the right rear frame rail (it can't be seen with the body on). Atlanta also stamped the firewall area in 1967 but, to date, no other 1967 plant did this.

Starting with the 1969 model year, the "SS" became an option and was no longer a separate series option that is not reflected by the VIN or cowl tags (just as optional white wall tires, air conditioning, or head light washers are not shown). The SS option would be listed on the build sheet however or the appropriate 396 engine listed on the Chassis Broadcast Copy sheet. The exception to this rule is that Canadian-built 1969 Chevelles can be identified as a true SS by the engine RPO code on the cowl tag, L34 or L35.

1969 was the only model year the SS equipment option could be ordered on the 300 Deluxe Coupe and 300 Deluxe Sport Coupe.

If you have paint code # 72 (Hugger/Monaco Orange) or # 76 (Daytona Yellow) in 1969, # 943 (Goldwood Yellow) in 1964, P (Evening Orchid), W (Glacier Gray), or Y (Crocus Yellow) in 1965 on your cowl tag, your car was a factory SS as these colors were exclusive for the SS models.

The 1970 model year in the USA saw the demise of the 2-door pillared coupe and in the U.S. the "300 Deluxe" series became the "Standard" series.

The 1970 Oshawa-built SS-optioned Chevelles have the SS396 or SS454 option noted on the cowl tag with the RPO code Z25 (SS396) or Z15 (SS454) along with other applicable RPO codes.  No LS6 Chevelles were built in Canada, all were imported from the U.S. for Canadian dealers.

The 1970 & 1971 dashes differ from the 1972 in that the 1972 was the first year to have a "fasten seat belt" light on the dash but only after November of 1971. Early model year 1972, before November 1971, did not have the "fasten seat belt" light. Additionally 1970 dashes have white lettering where 1971 and 1972 have green lettering; this applies to both the round pod gauge dash and the linear sweep dash.

The 1971 model year saw the base Chevelle "Standard" renamed to simply "Chevelle." This sometimes causes confusion as there were now Chevelle Chevelles and Chevelle Malibus.

Some Monte Carlo dashes are the same as a 70-72 Chevelle dash when the wood-grain panel is removed. Some will be unusable as there are several 1/2" holes drilled though that spoil it (one through the center of the word "windshield wiper"). No 1970-1972 Chevelle Malibus or El Caminos came from the factory with wood-grain dash panels.

Wood-grain consoles are from Monte Carlos, no Chevelles came from the factory with wood-grain consoles.

Starting in 1972 the 5th character in the VIN will tell you what engine came from the factory in the vehicle.

Thanks to those who contributed to "Chevelle Trivia" ;
Jeff Long
Mike Muse
Dale McIntosh

In 1914, the now famous "bowtie' logo appeared for the first time on Chevrolets. Legend maintains ... and Billy Durant (Chevrolet founder) confirmed it ... that the bowtie shape was inspired by a pattern of wallpaper he saw in a Paris hotel room in 1908. He supposedly detached a small piece, folded it and placed it into his wallet, waiting for the day he'd put it to use. Durant's wife later refuted the story, saying the design was noticed in a newspaper Sunday supplement while they were on vacation in Virginia. Whatever the source, the bowtie proved to be a recognizable winner, and is still the marquee of today's Chevrolet.