66 super sport chevelle

[abad66ss]

so i pick up a 66 ss chevelle from an uncle of mine about a year ago. he had the car in arizona. i have had this car for all this time and i have no idea what its worth, or if i wanted to sell it wat i should ecspect to get for it. the car is not in the best of shape. its more of a project car right now. the car was out side under a tarp for about 15 years is what i was told. the insides were all dryed out and seats in bad shape but all still there. the car was a 396 but was swaped with a 350 for resoins unknow, with a powerglide tranny. has 12 bolt passy rear end. 4:11 gears. has a/c componants but missing compressor. no power brakes. power stearing. split bucket seats, with clock in cenner consale. ss badge inside on dash as it should. missing some small trim peaces here and there. still has origanal hood scoups. it has small dint on front fender and looks like a lot of bondo work done on rearquarter behind door, and small rust in the usualle places. like i said i dont know what its worth at this point in its life but i know my uncle did me a big faivor on what i paid him for it. so help me out guys what do u think?

[highlandlake]

Go to E-Bay and follow four or five auctions of '66's in the same condition as yours. Watch the final selling price. That is a good way to find out.
Next, is yours a real SS? look at the VIN # it should start with 138. If it doesn't then it is worth less money. If it does, then it might be worth four or five thousand if the interior is complete and original.
Highlandlake

[SpinnerCee]

You should do some more homework IDing the car before you decide to sell it in its present condition.

As for the engine -- does it run? How do you know it "was" a 396? does the body have the 396 fender flags or is there an emissions sticker under the hood?

Decoding the VIN and body tags are a good place to start -- they can at least tell you where the car started. The tags could tell you how rare the "options" list is for this car, and thus how valuable its current condition would be to collectors and restorers. Original stuff, no matter how aged it is can be worth it's weight in gold.

After you know what you have, you can decide if you want to put anything into it ($$$) to increase its value for sale, parts, or make it a driver for you.

[silicon212]

My grandfather had a 1966 Malibu that he sold in '81 for $100. It had a 283/Powerglide in it, and was sort of a metallic sand color. It had a crease on the back end where it was backed into something.

I ran into this car 8 years later, with even the same, original license plate, same paint and same rear end crease and it had a 396 engine in it with the 396 fender badges. I got to talking to the then-current owner of the car and told him that it wasn't a 396 car, but a 283. He told me he knew, then showed me the 283 that came out of it. He told me that he could turn it into a 396 car and nobody would know because information about the engine wasn't included in the VIN in '66.

[SpinnerCee]

The guys who really know Chevelles know.

* ...and that's about all I'll say about thayat" - Forrest Gump

[ilgoldstein]

It only really matters if he is trying to sell it. If he is just having fun, who cares. I don't care what people do to their own cars, as long as they are not trying to pass them off as something they are not.

[SpinnerCee]

I agree, but that determination (keep or sell) would be done after knowing what ya got, yes?

For example, A/C is rare on any '66, and rarer on an SS, 396 or not.

* no more hints

[ilgoldstein]

Very true, and its a lot of fun to research.

[abad66ss]

yea at the moment i want to keep the car, i have loved chevelles sence my unk used to race them when i was like 8years old. my fist pic for a chevelle was a 70-71, but this deal fell in my lap so thats what i went with. the most i can tell u right now is that it has all the ss badges in there proper places and the super sport plack on the dash. i know this things can be but on any car, but from the "clones" iv seen no one every gose all out with putting the all the badges on everything. and the car was sitting under a tarp for 15 years while my uncle had it, so that was before the whole thing with the price jump. but i will defenetlly check the vin. but its kinda had as i moved out of my parents house that is in another state. but i will look. im not sure what the diffrence is in the fenders as i have never seen a true ss and a none ss next to each other. but my plan for the car is to bring it back to life, with a new age look to the insides and classic outs. i have a 454 short block that i plan to put in it. one day maybe twin turbos. ill give my dad a call and get the vim for ya all. thanks for the help and sujestions.

[highlandlake]

Originally Posted by ilgoldstein

Very true, and its a lot of fun to research.

He's right. It beats watching the tube or mowing the lawn.

This car could have a real 396 in it, or it could be a 402 from a 1970's pickup truck. The engine stamp on the front of the engine and the casting # on the side will be helpful to find.

[abad66ss]

ok i got the vin number 138176Z139579. dose any one know what this means?

[SpinnerCee]

1 3817 6 Z 139579

1 [make] - Chevrolet

3817 [BodyStyle] -- I have 4 numbers for 1965-67 SS, but none match -- V6 coupe - 3737, conv - 3767; V8 coupe - 3837, conv - 3867 (?)

6 [ModelYear] - Last digit of model year

Z [AssyPlant] - Assembly Plant -- not sure where "Z" is...

139579 [SerialNum] - The unit number + 100,000 (numbering starts at 100001), so this is number 39,579.

Engine codes appear on a pad where the passenger side head meets the block - it's on the block face, and is a stamped code, not cast into the block. it should be a number followed by 2 letters through '69 and 3 letters after '69 -- the letters are the engine application code.

There also may still be trim tags on the Fisher body -- look in the door jambs.

[abad66ss]

ok so on the 3817, u did not have any numbers thats mached? whats dose that mean then? and the car dosnt have the motor it came with.

[highlandlake]

I looked up the numbers at Chevelles.com and came up with the 13817Z to be a '66 SS hardtop sport coupe V8 built in Fremont, CA.

[abad66ss]

oh oh awsome. i havent been to that site, how do i find wat the cars came with like ac, power strearing, ect... is that the number in the door jam?