{"id":62183,"date":"2017-12-07T08:43:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T12:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=62183"},"modified":"2017-12-07T08:43:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T12:43:00","slug":"collector-car-corner-reader-recalls-his-first-new-car-the-1964-chevelle-ss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2017\/12\/07\/collector-car-corner-reader-recalls-his-first-new-car-the-1964-chevelle-ss\/","title":{"rendered":"Collector Car Corner – Reader recalls his first new car: the 1964 Chevelle SS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Collector

The 1964 Chevelle was all new and sold very well. By mid-year, the Malibu SS model was most popular with the youth market, offering 300-horse, 327 engines. However, perhaps a few (if any) owners may have received the 365-horse 327 until GM pulled the plug on the offering. (Advertisement compliments of General Motors)<\/p><\/div>\n

Q: Greg I read your car articles every time my newspaper publishes them. I find them very interesting and nostalgic for an old guy like me. Our newspaper is ‘The Hawkeye’ published in Burlington, Iowa.<\/p>\n

In April of 1964, I ordered a new 1964 Chevelle SS at Pine Motors Chevrolet in Wapello, Ia., and I paid $3,061 for it. I took delivery in June of that year and my Chevelle had no options except a 327 cu. inch V8 engine and Muncie 4-speed on the floor. Earlier in 1963, I read an article in Hot Rod Magazine about a \u201964 Chevelle they tested and was equipped with a 365 horsepower Corvette 327 engine.<\/p>\n

So, I ordered my Chevelle SS with that 365-horse engine. After a month, a GM representative said the 365 engine was no longer available but I could have a 300 horsepower 327 instead, which I finally accepted. The exterior color was Azure Aqua with an all black interior.  Around Burlington it was the only Chevelle SS that had the ‘327’ front fender emblems (the \u201cV\u201d with flags). My \u201964 Chevelle was a great car that I drove to Ft. Bragg, NC when I was in the Army and I drove it on many vacations including way out to Long Island NY and also Niagara Falls. <\/p>\n

Because of my ‘street racing’ and drag strip forays, I did have the clutch replaced once and used cheater slicks for the drag strip. Because of the smoky tire burnouts, my car was known as “Ol’ Smoky” at the strip in Kahoka, Mo. and I sure miss that car. <\/p>\n

The Kahoka Drag Strip was an eighth-mile track and I remember my car ran in the eight-second range at about 80-mph. My eight-inch wide cheater slicks would smoke at launch and I remember a guy running an Oldsmobile who complained about my tires to no avail probably because I always outran him.<\/p>\n

\"Collector

By 1966, the Chevelle grew in engine size to include a 396 with 325, 360 or 375 horses, much to the delight of the Chevy enthusiasts and boulevard cruisers. The 327 option was many times overlooked by performance buffs. (Advertisement compliments of general Motors)<\/p><\/div>\n

I kept that \u201964 Chevelle for more than five years with nary a problem. Of course I had to replace the rear tires quite often.  I read years later that GM made 206 of the 365-horse 327 Chevelle but can\u2019t be sure. I did locate my old Chevelle but it was in a junk yard and not restorable.<\/p>\n

Those first Chevelle SS\u2019s were often overlooked because Pontiac came out with their GTO that was similar but had the 389-V8 with 3-two-barrel-carbs. Regards and thanks for your great columns.  Tom Jacobson, Burlington, IA.<\/p>\n

A: Tom, thank you very much for your interesting emails and kind words. That 1964 Chevelle you purchased sure brings back some great memories on my side, too.<\/p>\n

First, I would opine the reason you weren\u2019t \u201cpreferenced\u201d on your 365-horse 327 order was due to a General Motors mandate on high-performance and its exit from organized racing and building fast cars. At least that\u2019s what they agreed to. In reality, they never stopped high performance applications. The 365-horse 327 appears under Corvette engines but does not appear on the \u201cofficial\u201d 1964 Chevelle engine list while the 300-horse version does.  <\/p>\n

However, this doesn\u2019t mean Chevy didn\u2019t build a few 365-327 Chevelles as your investigative work implies, but cannot be fully documented. The 365 does appear in \u201964 Chevelle manufacturer literature as a \u201cJS\u201d code engine but without production numbers.<\/p>\n

Now for some memories. One of my best friends in high school was Dave Dannenhoffer, he a car crazy guy just like me. His brother John, several years older than us, had a 1964 Chevelle SS and decided he was going to turn it into one of those 365-horse Chevelles that GM was going to build.  <\/p>\n

John ordered a 327 L84 Corvette crate motor from GM, less intake and induction that was rated at 375-horsepower. It was the same engine used in the fuel-injected Corvettes although John used a large Holley carb. I remember seeing the bright yellow engine sitting in the crate as John removed the 300 horse 327 engine in the Chevelle. He dropped in the L84 375-engine, attached it to the Muncie 4-speed and then added a set of 5:13 rear gears to make it one very fast vehicle, at least on paper. (John was way ahead of the curve!)<\/p>\n

The year now is 1966, when all those 389-GTOs. 442 Olds, 390 Mustangs, and SS396 Chevelles roamed the boulevards. The small block Chevelles, meanwhile, were overlooked when it came to competing against the big-block Chevelles\u2026that is until the night John took on one of the fastest 396-375 horsepower, 4-speed Chevelles in the area.<\/p>\n

The stage was set for what many thought would be a major beating of a small block \u201964 Chevelle against the new \u201866 SS396. Although I do not endorse any type of street racing these days, I remember the night at desolated Union Road, not far from my home in Vineland, which led to the shore points of south Jersey.<\/p>\n

It was late September and a big crowd showed up, bonfires and all. It was the feature race of the night, one run, no excuses. All the money was on the big-block Chevelle and some even gave odds.<\/p>\n

With open headers bellowing and slicks mounted, the starter dropped the flag. Next thing you know, John is out on the 396 by two car lengths and then extended the lead to over five cars at the finish. This proved to me right then that a well thought out combination is hard to beat, regardless of fewer cubic inches. I feel the 5:13 gears proved the big difference as the 396 had 4:10 gears.<\/p>\n

Thanks so much Tom for the wonderful memories and I hope you one day find a \u201964 Chevelle that you can again park in your garage.  I\u2019ve run out of space so I have to stop and remind my readers again to never street race.<\/p>\n

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist. He welcomes reader questions\/comments on auto nostalgia, collector cars and motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com<\/a> or at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Greg I read your car articles every time my newspaper publishes them. 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