When it's not broke fix it anyway: The end of the Chevelle.

[lg325]

One of my favorite cars and toward the end of the article how the ''experts'' killed it. The Legend Of The Chevy Chevelle

 

[Oddball]

Mandated CAFE standards and the butt-ugly 5-mph bumpers pretty much wrecked all cool cars until the late 80s.

 

[Flash]

The emission standards stopped the production of really cool American cars.

The high cost of greedy American labor with bloated pensions and wages and a don't give a damn attitude of the UAW on quality combined to make the American car manufacturer the joke of the world.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

The 1966 and the 1972 were the best Chevelles

 

[Natural Citizen]

I saw one of those for sale a few months back for almost nothing. It would have turned into a complete build project, but it got me thinking that these old cars are still out there and can be had fairly cheaply if you're looking for a new project.

Of course, the build will set you back thousands, possibly tens of thousands of dollars but you already know that going into it.

 

[Natural Citizen]

The emission standards stopped the production of really cool American cars.

The only saving grace is all of those hippy limitations can be removed.

Emissions trinketry are usually the first thing to go on my toy cars.

You can always put it back on so it's at least visible for inspection and then go home and yank it back off again til next time.

 

[okfine]

One of my favorite cars and toward the end of the article how the ''experts'' killed it. The Legend Of The Chevy Chevelle

Ever owned a Chevelle? I bought my 1st one in the late 70's for $400.00. A 1966 SS BB with a 4 speed. It was beat on pretty hard. Syncros were shot, the rear end howled and it smoked real bad. Other than that it had very little rust and looked good.

 

[toobfreak]

The high cost of greedy American labor with bloated pensions and wages and a don't give a damn attitude of the UAW on quality combined to make the American car manufacturer the joke of the world.

Don't forget the Japs! While this was all going on, they were coming out with their Hondas and Toyotas all very carefully made with a better, more employee-involved company strategy and the Asians just rolled right past Detroit and showed us how to really build a car.

 

[Flash]

The 1966 and the 1972 were the best Chevelles

I had a 1969 Chevelle that I bought when I got out of the Army in 1970.

Nice car but when I met my future wife she had a 1969 Impala Super Sport that I liked better.

Her father bought it for her when she graduated from college. I got rid of the Chevelle after a couple of years but we kept the Impala (as an extra car) for almost 25 years. It ran great up until the day we got rid of it.

 

[Natural Citizen]

I had a 1969 Chevelle that I bought when I got out of the Army in 1970.

Nice car but when I met my future wife she had a 1969 Impala Super Sport that I liked better.

Her father bought it for her when she graduated from college. I got rid of the Chevelle after a couple of years but we kept the Impala (as an extra car) for almost 25 years. It ran great up until the day we got rid of it.

I'm not sure I could bring myself to get rid of a car I've had that long. Especialy something like that.

 

[Flash]

I'm not sure I could bring myself to get rid of a car I've had that long. Especialy something like that.

We were moving from Florida to Washington State for my job. The company would ship our two new cars but not the third one. It was going to cost a grand to ship it out. Plus I knew we were only going to be there for a few years so I would have to ship it back.

It was in excellent shape when we sold it. Only 78K miles on it. Ran great. The burgundy paint was a little faded from keeping outside in the hot Florida sun but the leather bucket seats looked almost new.

We sold it to a friend that owned a body shop and restored vintage autos. He fully restored it to be like showroom condition and then sold it to somebody in Germany. In the 90s he gave us $7K for it, which was almost twice what it cost new. He put a couple of thousand in it to restore it like new and sold it for $42K plus the shipping cost to Germany.

 

[DGS49]

My fave was the Malibu SS396 and all of its different permutations. I don't really understand the horsepower-torque thing, but while my 4-cylinder Beemer is actually faster (0-60) than my Chevelle (327, 4-speed) was, the feeling of being pushed back against the seat when accelerating is not there.

Today's cars are better in every imaginable way, but I would still like to have one of those classic Malibu's, just for fun.

 

[sparky]

Helped my roomie build a 327 for his '65 Chevelle, turned high 12's

In those days one could be a motorhead relatively cheap, heck methinks we probably spent more on brew.....~S~

 

[HenryBHough]

But the final nail was driven when GM came to mean "Government Motors" and anyone with an IQ higher than 70 eschewed their mis-begot 4-wheel scooters.

 

[Natural Citizen]

We were moving from Florida to Washington State for my job. The company would ship our two new cars but not the third one. It was going to cost a grand to ship it out. Plus I knew we were only going to be there for a few years so I would have to ship it back.

It was in excellent shape when we sold it. Only 78K miles on it. Ran great. The burgundy paint was a little faded from keeping outside in the hot Florida sun but the leather bucket seats looked almost new.

We sold it to a friend that owned a body shop and restored vintage autos. He fully restored it to be like showroom condition and then sold it to somebody in Germany. In the 90s he gave us $7K for it, which was almost twice what it cost new. He put a couple of thousand in it to restore it like new and sold it for $42K plus the shipping cost to Germany.

It's amazing where a lot of these cars end up. It's got really easy and convenient to just buy the mand have them shipped anywhere in the world. There's certainly a market for them.

I bought my vette from a guy in Florida and shipped it up the coast.

That was a learning experience as I'd always been of the impression that they tended to be in much better condition, since Florida isn't exposed to east coast conditions. Generally speaking that's true, but that salt water and sand can and does apparently take a toll on a car over time if not maintained. So that was quite a bit of work to do, particularly under the car.

 

[sparky]

So that was quite a bit of work to do, particularly under the car.

Vermont salts the daylights outta it's roads, my mechanic pal puts cars on the lift, cars that look perfectly fine, only to reveal swiss cheese underneath.......~S~

 

[lg325]

Ever owned a Chevelle? I bought my 1st one in the late 70's for $400.00. A 1966 SS BB with a 4 speed. It was beat on pretty hard. Syncros were shot, the rear end howled and it smoked real bad. Other than that it had very little rust and looked good.

Never could get my hands one. I had a 72 Malibu that was trashed by the owner real bad he sold it to me for 100.00. Took me my dad, an uncle and cousin plus the guys at the auto parts store a old school pal to get fixed up. After awhile the original owner seen me crusing in it and wanted it back. He pestered me so much I eventually sold it back to him.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Vermont salts the daylights outta it's roads, my mechanic pal puts cars on the lift, cars that look perfectly fine, only to reveal swiss cheese underneath.......~S~

Yep. It's like that in most northeastern and upper mid-atlantic states.

Hardly anyone ever looks under their car to see what kind of shape it's in.

Best to park the good stuff over the winter.

Speaking of lifts, I saw that Home Depot just had the updated QuickJack on sale for a thousand Federal Reserve Notes.

 

[HenryBHough]

Smart New Englanders have nice cars for summer and beaters for winter.

That's why sales of wooden blocks take off for the moon along about September.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

The 1966 and the 1972 were the best Chevelles

The '70 is my bucket list car.