Chevrolet SS

[knightfan26917]

I recently finished reading the book _Chevrolet SS_ by Robert Genat. I discovered some very interesting tidbits about Chevrolet and the SSs...

...Chevrolet GM Bunkie Knudgen's personal 1963 car supplied the pattern for the 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS special interior.

...The only Chevrolet Chevelle model in 1967 that featured a Big Block engine, without SS trim, was the Chevrolet El Camino.

...The March 1984 issue of Hot Rod magazine named the 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS as "Sleeper Of The Year".

...General Motors refused to sell the tooling for the 1996 Chevrolet Caprice to Michigan-based RCI Inc., which outfits police cars, that wanted to continue producing the popular car at a Canadian factory.

...In 1970, Motor Trend magazine tested a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS454, along with a 1970 Ford Thunderbird and a 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix. The MC bested the other 2 vehicles in terms of performance, running 0-60 in 7.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds at 92 miles per hour.

...The model selection for the 1961 Chevrolet Impala included a 2-door sedan, which was a 1-time offering, not previously available nor ever again produced.

...The name for the Chevrolet Caprice was coined by Bob Lund (Chevrolet's General Sales Manager) after a classy restaurant he frequented in New York City.

...The 1962 Chevy II was awarded Car Life magazine's Engineering Excellence Award.

...The inspiration of the shape of the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro came from a show car named "Super Nova" that had been on display at the 1964 New York Auto Show.

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

CD Showcase, 8p-11p central, April 21 & 28, wrmn1410.com

"What I really need is an open road" ... Montgomery Gentry ... 'Speed'

[04monteintimidator]

...In 1970, Motor Trend magazine tested a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS454, along with a 1970 Ford Thunderbird and a 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix. The MC bested the other 2 vehicles in terms of performance, running 0-60 in 7.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds at 92 miles per hour

mmm the good ol' days...

however i must say... and this is not to downtalk the SS454... great car... BUT my car gets very similar numbers if i remember correctly... maybe even better... not by alot... but still... i believe 0-60 is in the mid-high 6s... and the quarter mile in the low 14s... is the FWD L67 still a disgrace to the Monte Carlo nameplate? anyone?

[Camino LS6]

The El Camino stat holds true for 1966 as well, I believe. From 1964-1967 El Camino could be ordered with all or almost all SS equiptment other than badging. Only in 1968 did Chevy finally offer an "official" El Camino SS, and there was one offered every year afterward all the way to the end of production in 1987/88. I believe it is the longest consecutive run any SS model has ever made.

[knightfan26917]

Camino,

Not sure how this relates/confirms what you stated, but here is what the book indicates (page 80):

"In 1967, El Camino owners finally had the option of ordering a big block engine. It was the only Chevelle model in which a big block could be specified without ordering an SS396 coupe or convertible. Conversly, it was the only big block Chevelle without Super Sport trim. In 1968, that changed; a 396 Super Sport version of the El Camino could be ordered. It had all the bells and whistles of the regular SS396 and, in addition, it had a pickup bed. In 1970, an SS396 and SS454 version of the El Camino were offered. ... ...unlike the death of the SS coupes and convertibles, the El Camino SS continued well into the 1980s, but only as a trim package without a high-performance engine."

Ssooo...if I read/interpret this correctly, the statement doesn't hold true for 1966 ... but I'm not sure.... It does seem to correlate, tho, with your statement about the El Camino SS being the longest running SS offered....

Wildman,

Thanks for posting that pic .

04,

I'm the wrong one to respond about if numbers make it not a disgrace or not. I'm not into racing or that type of performance...so those numbers don't matter to me ... sorry .

Edited April 17, 2006 by knightfan26917

[04monteintimidator]

its alright knightfan that wasnt really directed at you... its just there are alot of people on this board who have repeatedly said the current gen montes were a disgrace simply because they are FWD... when in reality so long as the performance is there... it doesnt really matter what wheels spin when you do a burnout

[Camino LS6]

I'll check on the '66 El Camino thing, I'm not sure myself. They are wrong about performance engines though as the SS454 El Camino continued through the '75 model year (albeit at reduced power).

[Camino LS6]

Yup!

Thought so, the 396 was offered in both 325hp and 360hp in the '66 El Camino.

There is also an indication that it may even have been available in '65, but it doesn't appear in the brochures and I have never seen a factory example.

[knightfan26917]

its alright knightfan that wasnt really directed at you... its just there are alot of people on this board who have repeatedly said the current gen montes were a disgrace simply because they are FWD... when in reality so long as the performance is there... it doesnt really matter what wheels spin when you do a burnout

Hmm...but see. If we're talking in terms of performance as being the key factor of being a Monte Carlo or not, then we'd have to include discussions on Chevettes (RWD, btw) and Corvettes (RWD), etc.

I'm not into performance on a car ... I'm more characteristic/detail oriented, in terms of body style, body lines, monickers (emblems), etc.

And, contrary to popular belief, I do like the styling of the '95-'99s and '00-presents (even owned a 2000 for 4 long years) ... but, for me, they (especially the '95-'99s, of which my parents have a '97 LS) do not have enough of the characteristics for me to own another. And, frankly, I want RWD....

*shrugs*

But, nobody listens to me . He he he

And, Camino, thanks for posting that additional info. Hmm ... crap ... I wonder how much other information they have wrong then. Something tells me that I don't want to know. Tho, they didn't exactly mention that the SS454 _stopped_ production.... I know it did for the MC, however....

Interesting stuff, at any rate, I'd say....

[Sixty8panther]

...General Motors refused to sell the tooling for the 1996 Chevrolet Caprice to Michigan-based RCI Inc., which outfits police cars, that wanted to continue producing the popular car at a Canadian factory.

I have never heard this but it makes my %$*@# blood boil!!!

:angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:

WTF!? to THIS day GM does not have a product that

would have lost sales to a Caprice from some other comapny

making the B-body! God GM sometimes I just want to kick

your effin ass!!!

...The inspiration of the shape of the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro came from a show car named "Super Nova" that had been on display at the 1964 New York Auto Show.

Not as much the shape as the mechanicals and over all concept.

The Super Nova almost saw the lght of day as a production car

but in 1964 it was thought that 4 model lines for Chevrolet was

already too many.

The Full Sizers (Biscayne, Bel Air & Impala), Chevelle, Corvair

& Chevy II made four, the Corvette was the fith platform. The

powers that be at Chevy said no more new models.

[CaddyXLR-V]

mmm the good ol' days...

however i must say... and this is not to downtalk the SS454... great car... BUT my car gets very similar numbers if i remember correctly... maybe even better... not by alot... but still... i believe 0-60 is in the mid-high 6s... and the quarter mile in the low 14s... is the FWD L67 still a disgrace to the Monte Carlo nameplate? anyone?

Actually it should be in the low 15s, not 14s for the 1/4mi, though you got the high 6s right for 0-60. But try taking your car to a track and getting those numbers, you wont.

And to answer your question, yes, it still is. At 30 years newer, it should get better times than that.

[Camino LS6]

BTW: I think you could still get a 454 in a '75 Monte. I know you could in '73

[Chicagoland]

Yes you could get a 454 in an SS El Camino unitl 1975, but it wasn't tagged as "SS454". It was called 'Super Sport' after 1973, and the 'muscle car' image was played down.

The last SS Chevy car, before the re-birth of the 1983 MC SS was the 1976 Nova SS. I don't know why they dropped it for 1977 in favor of 'Rallye' Nova. The '76 Nova SS was catching on again, after a spurt of sales in 1973-74. Here in Northern IL, the Nova SS was a popular new car for 'kids' in 1973-74. Back then there were no emission tests, so many removed the parts to get more power.

454's were available until 1975 in Chevelles and Monte Carlos, and in the Impala/Caprice until 1976. I saw a '76 454 Caprice on Ebay a while ago, looked great.

Edited April 21, 2006 by Chicagoland

[knightfan26917]

BTW: I think you could still get a 454 in a '75 Monte. I know you could in '73

*nods*

Yep! A buddy of mine has a '73 MC with the 454 big block and swivel front seats .

1975 was the last year for the 454 in the MC.....

Heh...I still want a '75 Caprice Classic convertible......

*sighs*

[guionM]

I recently finished reading the book _Chevrolet SS_ by Robert Genat.  I discovered some very interesting tidbits about Chevrolet and the SSs...

...Chevrolet GM Bunkie Knudgen's personal 1963 car supplied the pattern for the 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS special interior.

...The only Chevrolet Chevelle model in 1967 that featured a Big Block engine, without SS trim, was the Chevrolet El Camino.

...The March 1984 issue of Hot Rod magazine named the 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS as "Sleeper Of The Year".

...General Motors refused to sell the tooling for the 1996 Chevrolet Caprice to Michigan-based RCI Inc., which outfits police cars, that wanted to continue producing the popular car at a Canadian factory.

...In 1970, Motor Trend magazine tested a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS454, along with a 1970 Ford Thunderbird and a 1970 Pontiac Grand Prix.  The MC bested the other 2 vehicles in terms of performance, running 0-60 in 7.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 14.9 seconds at 92 miles per hour.

...The model selection for the 1961 Chevrolet Impala included a 2-door sedan, which was a 1-time offering, not previously available nor ever again produced.

...The name for the Chevrolet Caprice was coined by Bob Lund (Chevrolet's General Sales Manager) after a classy restaurant he frequented in New York City.

...The 1962 Chevy II was awarded Car Life magazine's Engineering Excellence Award.

...The inspiration of the shape of the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro came from a show car named "Super Nova" that had been on display at the 1964 New York Auto Show.

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

CD Showcase, 8p-11p central, April 21 & 28, wrmn1410.com

"What I really need is an open road" ... Montgomery Gentry ... 'Speed'

A few things to add.

1. GM refused to sell the Caprice tooling partly because they planned to move 1998 Caprice (actually B-body tooling) to a plant in Mexico. GM had already certified the LS1 engine in the body, but at the last moment decided not to continue the B-body.

2. The '84 Monte Carlo SS' engine had a Corvette based cat, slightly different timing, and a dual snorkel intake. It was otherwise the same engine you could buy on other MCs.

3. GM discontinued the "SS" name on Chevrolets in the mid 70s due to insurence companies laying surcharges on the name. Nova SS became Nova Rallye, Chevelle SS became Laguna S-3, Camaro SS was replaced by a repositioned Camaro LT, & the planned Monza SS became the Monza Spyder.

4. Speaking of the Monza, it was initially going to replace the Camaro, which was due to be phased out over the 1975 to 77 timeframe. Firebirds would have continued till at least the end of the decade. The original Pontiac Grand Am of 1973 was initially concieved as the new GTO.... as a sedan!

It was changed at the last second, and that's why the '73 Lemans GTO looks like a base LeMans with stripes and didn't even have Trans Am's SD455

5. The mid 90s Impala SS got it's start when Jon Moss passed a customized Caprice on his way home from work, and he followed it. He talked the owner into coming to GM the next day and had a number of people there take a look at it.

The production Impala SS had police brakes on a passenger car chassis (police versions were slightly heavier) & Buick Roadmaster seats. Rims I believe came from 'American Racing'... just like the car Moss followed.

I'm actually putting together a book on automotive trivia.

Edited April 21, 2006 by guionM

[Camino LS6]

A few things to add.

1. GM refused to sell the Caprice tooling partly because they planned to move 1998 Caprice (actually B-body tooling) to a plant in Mexico. GM had already certified the LS1 engine in the body, but at the last moment decided not to continue the B-body. 

2. The '84 Monte Carlo SS' engine had a Corvette based cat, slightly different timing, and a dual snorkel intake. It was otherwise the same engine you could buy on other MCs.

3. GM discontinued the "SS" name on Chevrolets in the mid 70s due to insurence companies laying surcharges on the name. Nova SS became Nova Rallye, Chevelle SS became Laguna S-3, Camaro SS was replaced by a repositioned Camaro LT, & the planned Monza SS became the Monza Spyder.

4. Speaking of the Monza, it was initially going to replace the Camaro, which was due to be phased out over the 1975 to 77 timeframe. Firebirds would have continued till at least the end of the decade. The original Pontiac Grand Am of 1973 was initially concieved as the new GTO.... as a sedan!

It was changed at the last second, and that's why the '73 Lemans GTO looks like a base LeMans with stripes and didn't even have Trans Am's SD455

5. The mid 90s Impala SS got it's start when Jon Moss passed a customized Caprice on his way home from work, and he followed it. He talked the owner into coming to GM the next day and had a number of people there take a look at it.

The production Impala SS had police brakes on a passenger car chassis (police versions were slightly heavier) & Buick Roadmaster seats. Rims I believe came from 'American Racing'... just like the car Moss followed.

I'm actually putting together a book on automotive trivia.

Great addition to the thread. And sign one of those books for me. One thing: I think the Impala SS wheels may have been made by ROH, I'm not sure but I don't think it was American Racing.

[Eric77TA]

A few things to add. The original Pontiac Grand Am of 1973 was initially concieved as the new GTO.... as a sedan!

It was changed at the last second, and that's why the '73 Lemans GTO looks like a base LeMans with stripes and didn't even have Trans Am's SD455

This isn't entirely true.

1. Yes, what became the 1973 Grand Am was originally intended to be the GTO, but the GTO would have still been a two door. The 1973 Grand Am was available in both 2 door and 4 door body styles.

2. The SD-455 wasn't cancelled in the GTO due to the Grand Am, but rather due to production constraints on the SD-455 itself. The SD-455 was originally intended to be available on all A Bodies and the G (Grand Prix) in addition to the Trans Am, but due to problems with emissions testing (pontiac tried to dupe the EPA on the EGR valve and the engine couldn't meet drive-by noise standards initially) and low production, Pontiac ended up making the SD-455 available in the Formula and Trans Am only. Here is the official bulletin from Pontiac cancelling the SD-455 in the A bodies: http://highperformancepontiac.com/tech/pon_0505_sd_10_z.jpg

After a road test, Cars Magazine named the 1973 SD-455 GTO (Not Grand Am) "Top Performance Car of the Year." Unfortunately, it was never actually produced for public consumption. Supposedly one GTO and one Grand Am were built with the engine, but I don't believe it's known if they still exist.

Edit: Forgot to mention - the earliest notices of the SD-455 actually said it would be available in the entire Pontiac line!

Edited April 21, 2006 by Eric77TA

[04monteintimidator]

Actually it should be in the low 15s, not 14s for the 1/4mi, though you got the high 6s right for 0-60. But try taking your car to a track and getting those numbers, you wont.

And to answer your question, yes, it still is. At 30 years newer, it should get better times than that.

dude its FWD and a V6 versus RWD and the most powerful production engine produced before the 90s... comprable performance is amazing when that is taken into consideration... if it was RWD and had a big powerful V8 then youd have a point...

and heres another thing for you to consider... do you consider the 1980s monte carlo SS to be a disgrace?

if not... then your a hypocrite... those WERE RWD and had V8s and they got far worse times than my monte does...

[Camino LS6]

Yes you could get a 454 in an SS El Camino unitl 1975, but it wasn't tagged as "SS454". It was called 'Super Sport' after 1973, and the 'muscle car' image was played down.

not true, the collonade body Caminos Had SS stripes and emblems through '77. the 454s had a displacement badge in the grille. The '78 and up cars where called "Super Sport" and had the ugly graphics and 2-tone paint. It was still an SS package,of course. One little known fact is that the "Royal Knight" El Caminos were also considered to be SS cars by GM.

The last SS Chevy car, before the re-birth of the 1983 MC SS was the 1976 Nova SS.

Also not true. El Camino Had at least one SS package every year up to and including the handful of '88 MY cars built. From '83-'88, two SS packages were offered. The first was called "SS sport decor" by GM and included the two-tone paint and chin spoiler from the earlier '78-'82 "Super Sport" cars without the graphics. The other was the Choo Choo Customs built El CaminoSS which used the MCSS styled nose and large El CaminoSS graphics on solid color cars.

I don't know why they dropped it for 1977 in favor of 'Rallye' Nova. The '76 Nova SS was catching on again, after a spurt of sales in 1973-74. Here in Northern IL, the Nova SS was a popular new car for 'kids' in 1973-74. Back then there were no emission tests, so many removed the parts to get more power.

454's were available until 1975 in Chevelles and Monte Carlos, and in the Impala/Caprice until 1976. I saw a '76 454 Caprice on Ebay a while ago, looked great.

[CaddyXLR-V]

dude its FWD and a V6 versus RWD and the most powerful production engine produced before the 90s... comprable performance is amazing when that is taken into consideration... if it was RWD and had a big powerful V8 then youd have a point...

and heres another thing for you to consider... do you consider the 1980s monte carlo SS to be a disgrace?

if not... then your a hypocrite... those WERE RWD and had V8s and they got far worse times than my monte does...

But they at least looked good. Dont forget, tire technology was nowhere near where it is today. And the Monte Carlo should be RWD with a big powerful V8, then it would be a real Monte Carlo. Even the Honda Accord gets similar times to the current Monte Carlo, so what makes it so special? My Grand Prix got those times and its now 8 years old.

[knightfan26917]

M ... excellent additional info . Most of that, I believe, is in the book, too....

[Chicagoland]

El Caminos are classified as 'trucks' here in Illinois and the EPA, so they are not 'passenger cars'. People can argue "it's a car", but Chevy sold it as a truck, vehicle laws call it a truck, so its a truck.

Regrading insurance surcharges, they base it on VIN #, which is why GTO, 442, and other muscle cars became option packages.

Motor Trend did a '1973 new car preview' test in late 1972, and featured an SD455 Grand Am 2 door, which was the talked about prototype. Did 1/4 miles in the 15's, IIRC.

Edited April 23, 2006 by Chicagoland

[rkmdogs]

A few things to add.

1. GM refused to sell the Caprice tooling partly because they planned to move 1998 Caprice (actually B-body tooling) to a plant in Mexico. GM had already certified the LS1 engine in the body, but at the last moment decided not to continue the B-body."

The big reason that GM gave up on the "B" body sedans was ---- money!

The biggest purchasers of this car at that time was fleet sales for squad cars and taxis, but due to competitive bidding, the profits per vehicle were in the cellar.

The bean counters decided to convert the Arlington Texas plant to making SUVs, where the profit margin was astronomical!

IMO, the best squad or commercial car that Chevy ever offered was the '82-'83

Malibu fully framed, "G" body cars, except that they pulled the teeth on it by giving it the undersized 305 V-8 and didn't keep the 350 from the '78-80 versions.

'81 was the year they went metric.

It is somewhat ironic that the new Impala is within fractions of inches of matching

the dimensions of that older "G" model, and is the current sedan offered as a police package vehicle! They have got the size right, now if they could just get the RWD package cooking, they could kick butts over at Dodge with their new police packages!

Edited April 23, 2006 by rkmdogs

[Chicagoland]

GM refused to sell the Caprice tooling most likely due to product liability laws. Brand X could make new cars, but if their "generic Cop Car "gets hit and blows up, GM gets sued.