What was the best year for the Chevelle?

A few years back I had a 1970 model, however if I was buying one right now IMHO the best value is the 1968.

 

1968 Olds 442. Underrated and underpriced compared to the others in the muscle car class.....

 

I thought you meant for looks....

in that case I would vote for the 69.

Tom W

 

You could find a 65ish GTO for around that much that will be a "drivers car". My neighbor payed somewhere in the teens for his car but this was also almost 5 years ago.

 

+1!!

 

I would go for the 70' 454 =D

 

I agree tho i am somewhat bias

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=441061&d=1166970409

 

'70 SS convertible red over white

 

+1

 

67 or 72.

 

I would prefer the 65 or 66 year. They make plenty of parts for all years now, so buy what you want.

 

By far the '70....'66/'67 close second.

I had a '70, wish I never sold it.

 

69

 

The '70 is most likey the best known Chevelle....had some of the best options like the only year the LS6 454 was an option. It is known as the "king" of the muscle cars. I like the '66/'67 body style alot as well, it was a classic shape and the '67 big block cars are going to be sleepers on the auction block in the coming years. A '67 with the 375 horse 396 and a 4-speed is a beautiful machine.

 

Well put and pretty much right on.

Back to the original question... For something in the $20K range almost any of the body sytles you are looking with a SB engine are going to be the same quality and realiability wise. The SB's are easy to work on, parts are readily available, reasonable and SB's are good motors. BB cars are going to be way over your target $20k and cost more to run.

Look for the smaller body styles like Camaro, early Chevelle, etc rather than a bigger car like 69-72 Chevelle as the SB in that bigger body will make the performace go down.

I recently got rid of a SB 69 Corvette convert. While you can find these (68-72) in SB and within your target range, I found the car to be plagued with elecrical issues, vacuum isses and with everything packed so tightly in the car it was hard to work on a took the pleasure out of owning it. My 66's with 327's are far simpler cars and I enjoy driving them much more.

A simpler car like a 67 Chevelle with the 327, is just that... a simpler car and in some ways make it more enjoyable all around.

Good luck

 

I do some work on the side at a restoration shop that specializes in Corvettes. '63-67 Corvettes (and earlier) are very simple cars, the only thing you really don't want to do on them is take out the instrument cluster. The Shark body style, '68 and up, is much more complex. For whatever reason, they took what is basically the same frame and packed the body with a complex vaccum system that regulates the pop-up headlights and wiper door, a fiber optic monitoring system for the lights, more complicated door and lock mechanisms, etc., etc. Meister is right, this is all packed in a body that has a lower hood profile, has less room inside the fenders and basically no room to work on anything. We do more Sharks than Midyears, and the Midyears are almost refreshing to work on after a while. A well-sorted Shark is actually a pretty nice car to drive (we have a '72 LT-1 coupe right now that is a lot of fun), but you don't want to be the one doing the sorting.

As far as other under-rated muscle cars, I've always been partial to '68 Olds 442's (or Cutlass S, 80% of the car for 50% of the money). I think the '68's really hit the mark for styling for that generation. I also like the '70 Buick GS Stage I, sort of the gentleman's muscle car of the time. They were more luxurious than the Chevelles of the time but could run with them at the track.

Early Firebirds are pretty nice too, a neighbor of mine has a '68 400 4-speed convertible that is a really nice looking car.

 

Yeah I bet. Look at what the 454s are going for!

 

If your going Chevelle, go with a 70', with a LS6. They are the most sought after and collectable. (A few ls7's around, but good luck on those).





Darrell.