Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle stories

Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle storiesThe promotional photo for “Two-Lane Blacktop” featured James Taylor, Dennis Wilson, and Laurie Byrd. The movie today is a cult classic, and the same ’55 Chevy appeared in “American Graffiti” movie. (Zyla collection)

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Greg, you did a column a long time ago on the “Two-Lane Blacktop” ’55 Chevy and it being the one and the same ‘55 Chevy that was in “American Graffiti.” Can you provide us with that information again? Charles, Towanda, Pennsylvania.

A: Glad to, Charles. The movie “American Graffiti,” released in 1973, is still a landmark Hollywood film about life in the early Sixties that became an instant box office smash. Directed by George Lucas and featuring wonderful music from the era, the film included many soon-to-be mega stars. Included were Richard Dreyfus, Harrison Ford, Suzanne Somers, Cindy Williams, and Ron Howard, the latter already a childhood star from his “Opie Taylor” days on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

“Two Lane Blacktop,” released in 1971 and directed by Monte Hellman, is now a cult classic, starring singing star James Taylor, the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, Laurie Byrd, and Warren Oates. Its’ theme dealt with the nothingness of the foursome on a racing quest with Oates and his 1970 GTO from out west to Washington DC for “pink slips.” Sadly, of the four top-billed performers from that film, all but Taylor are now gone.

Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle stories

Billboard for 1973’s “American Graffiti” movie which was a major hit. (Zyla collection)

As for that good-looking black ’55 Chevy, a car builder by the name of Richard Ruth built three ’55 Chevys for the movie “Two-Lane Blacktop.” Ruth has a bit part in the movie as a gas station mechanic wearing a “Glendale Speed Shop” shirt when Taylor and Wilson arrive for fuel at a gas station.

Of the three Chevys in “Two-Lane,” one was used as a camera car for interior shots, of which there are many, while the second and third ’55 Chevys were utilized for racing, street, and highway scenes. The main “Two-Lane Blacktop” Chevy featured a 454 engine with aluminum heads, tunnel ram intake, and dual Holley carburetors. The transmission was a rock crusher Muncie M-22 hooked to 4.88 gears. A straight axle and four-wheel disc brakes were also employed. Lots of fiberglass was used, and sliding Plexiglas was used for windows. One car was built for a rollover scene that never made the final movie cut.

Thanks to Gary Kurtz, who was involved with both movies, the same “Two Lane Blacktop” Chevy appeared in “American Graffiti.” He took the primered ’55 from “Two-Lane” and made it into the shiny black ’55 used in “Graffiti” and driven by Harrison Ford. They replaced the big hood scoop with a smaller one, added chrome wheels, put in different windows, and then added a hinged trunk instead of the lift off. Other than that, it is indeed the same vehicle.

Thank you for your letter.

Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle stories

Chevy 427 Tri-Power engines were available in 1967-68-69 and produced up to 435 horsepower. (Chevrolet)

Corvette Tri-Power and L88 Engines

Q: What was the difference between the Corvette Tri-Power engines in 1967-68-69.  Also, a Chevy dealer says the 430-horse, single 4-barrel engine was faster than the 435-horse tri-power? How can that be? John L., email from Vineland, New Jersey.

A: John, the 430 horsepower 427 was indeed faster, and I mean way faster.

First, let’s discuss the Tri-Power, 3-2-barrel carburetor 427 Corvettes. There were two versions available, at 400 and 435 horses. The 400-horse version had smaller valves in the cylinder heads than the 435 versions. Both offered iron heads as standard and aluminum heads as an option. The 435’s came with a 2.18-inch intake valve as opposed to a 2.06 in the 400-horse engine.

However, the L-88 430 horsepower 427 engine was the hot ticket. It would outrun the 435 by a bunch, but very few were produced (only 20 in 1967). Only 216 L-88s were built in those three years, compared to over 15,600 Tri-Powers. The L-88 featured larger intake port aluminum cylinder heads, 12.5-1 compression pistons, big intake and exhaust valves, and an 850-Holley carburetor sitting on an aluminum hi-rise manifold. Big 7/16-inch bolt “dimple” rods and a better cam made it a staunch performer. The L-88 was nearly a $1,000 option, compared to only $305 and $437 for the 400 and 435, respectively. In reality, the L-88 produced over 500 horses with headers, but it wasn’t as “drivable” on the street and fouled plugs regularly in stop and go situations.

Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle stories

The 1968 Chevelle was a popular model for General Motors. (Chevrolet)

Q: Greg, just was wondering if you knew how many 1968 Chevelles were produced, and how many were Super Sports in 1968? Which one is most valuable? Thanks, Edward from Texas.

A: Glad to help, Edward. In 1968, 266,300 Chevelle Malibus were produced in all variations, along with another 45,500 Chevelle wagons. Regarding the SS 396 models, which are not included in the above figures, 60,499 Hardtop Coupes were delivered while only 2,286 SS 396 Convertibles were built. Therefore, when you add all this up, out of a total of 329,085 Malibu and Super Sports built, less than one percent (.069) were convertibles.

Additionally, over 54,000 Chevelle 300 models were built in 1968, making that SS convertible even more rare. In 1966, the SS convertible numbered 2,984, and in 1967, it was 3,033. Thus, the 1968 SS Convertible is the rarest of the 66-67-68 Chevelles, and the most valuable of the bunch would be a 396-375 horsepower version, which came with a solid lifter cam, bigger heads, and Holley 800 carburetor on an aluminum intake. I had one in a 1968 Camaro, and it was a fast car.

As for pricing, the market is up and down, but I’ll bet a car like this in pristine condition at an auction like Mecum would easily fetch near $100K or even more. Always remember, however, that pricing you see in guides or even at a respected auction like Mecum Auto Auctions is not always indicative of what you might get a month from now. Still, I wouldn’t mind having one sitting in my garage.

Collector Car Corner/ Cars We Remember; Revisiting the mailbox, American Graffiti, and more Chevelle stories

Chevelles in 1969 used distinct identification codes for the SS396 models. (Chevrolet)

1969 Chevelle 396: Clone or original?

Q: I acquired a 1969 Chevelle Sport Coupe through a trade. It had a 350 small block crate motor in it, but did have SS396 badges on the front fenders. After doing some research, I thought I read that the Sport Coupes came with 396/325hp engine. So, I went ahead and bought a 1969 396/325hp 2-bolt main (bearings) on eBay, and after two years and two rebuilds, I got the engine in and the car drivable.

Recently, a guy was checking out my car and told me it was not an original big block car. My question is, how can I tell if my car came with a big block or not? It has a Muncie 4 speed in it now, but it originally came with an automatic on the column.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Jim D., Newton, N.C., formerly from Easton, Pa. Also, I used to go camping at a friend’s cabin in Towanda.

A: Jim, your ‘69 Chevelle Sport Coupe did not come with a 396 engine as standard equipment, as everything from an inline 6-cylinder to a small block V8 to the optional SS396 big block were available to buyers. Additionally, 1969 was also the only year you could order the SS396 option with a post or coupe Chevelle 300 style two-door.

In 1969, the 396 engine only came with the SS option available on either Malibu Sport Coupe, El Camino, or Malibu Convertible, so if your car is not an original SS (the badges don’t mean anything), it’s not an original big block. To explain further, I went to the Internet site chevellestuff.com for the following information.

From Chevellestuff.com, “In 1969 the SS396 as a series was dropped and the 396 engine was relegated to being part of the RPO Z25, SS396 option.

Since the SS396 was relegated to an option and stopped being a separate series, there is nothing on the Fisher Body Number plate nor the VIN to indicate the car was born with the Z25 SS396 option with one exception. Two exterior paint colors coded “72” for Monaco Orange and “76” for Daytona Yellow were paint choices ONLY when the SS396 option was ordered. These two colors were certainly available on other 1969 Chevelles but did require option ZP3, special paint, to be ordered. When this was done, the trim tag would not show the “72” or “76” paint code but rather would show a dash character (-) in the appropriate lower or upper paint code position.”

Thank you, Chevellestuff.com!

Additionally, since you tell me you found the build sheet under the back seat in a following letter, it details that your Chevelle came with a 307 V8 small block and Powerglide automatic. Thus, it looks like someone along the way put the SS396 badges on.

On the 1969 SS option list, the base 396 engine is the (L35) 325hp engine with two optional 396 engines, the L34 350hp version, and an L78 375hp version. The SS396 first appeared in 1965 in limited numbers and was called the Z16 in the Malibu SS and came with the L37 396-375 horsepower engine, the same engine that powered the Corvette that year with 425 listed as the horsepower. I’d say it put out an easy 425, and was basically the same engine that would carry the L78 moniker later.

Thanks for your question, and don’t feel too bad as you have a nice ’69 Chevelle SS396 clone on your hands.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions on anything to do with collector cars, auto nostalgia, or motorsports at extramile_2000@yahoo.com.)

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