Brought home a 68 SS Chevelle

[dustinm]

Well I wasn't looking for anything but this popped up as the top item on my feed Friday. So I made a little trip 1500 miles round and saved it from a dusty machine shed. Its has a very nice shell but has been neglected and suffered the old "I'm going to restore" and has been torn apart for 30 years. And then sold back and forth between family several times with each losing many items. Luckily I've got a stash of 68 parts. Since they lost the POP and the engine/trans is gone I will most likely go the resto mod route with 454 and 5speed.

It was so late when I got home I just parked in a buddy's shed until next Saturday. I will unpack everything and get some better photos then.

[BJCHEV396]

Another one saved.Good luck.

[Too Many Projects]

It looks sad. Hopefully, you can get it on the road again. My first Chevelle was a '68 SS. Sold my '67 Camaro for it.

[dustinm]

It looks sad. Hopefully, you can get it on the road again. My first Chevelle was a '68 SS. Sold my '67 Camaro for it.

Definitely not one for the faint of heart.

Wow I can't believe anyone would sell a first gen Camaro for a 68 Chevelle, must have been a nice 68. I did sell a pretty needy 55 post to buy this. It went to a good home and the right one.

[427.060]

My first muscle car was a 68 SS back in the mid 70s.
James

[Too Many Projects]

My Camaro was a base 327, PG car and the 396 4 speed was just too tempting to pass up...:burnout:

[dustinm]

My Camaro was a base 327, PG car and the 396 4 speed was just too tempting to pass up...:burnout:

That makes sense. Sometimes I just take for granted every Camaro was a 4 speed.

[69biscayne]

Flipped around

[Too Many Projects]

That makes sense. Sometimes I just take for granted every Camaro was a 4 speed.
My current ss/rs was a pg car too. 3 years ago, I started the resto/mod and it is now a 4 speed...:biggthumpup:

[dustinm]

Flipped around

Thanks buddy!! You know Im young enough I should know how to post photos correctly, but loading them off a phone is not easy for me.

[dustinm]

Little more info on the car. Just 6 man hours before these pics were taken the body was on the rotisserie. Luckily he had the body sitting on the frame when I got there at 7AM sharp Sunday morning. We then threw enough parts and bolts in it so it would ride the 750 miles back.

The P.O. bought this in 86/7 for his highschool car, which by then was powered by sb 400. He did not know what HP original 396 was. The car was Emrine White over Black Buick Skylark bench seat interior with 4 speed. Now still has the original 12 bolt with what he claims 3.73s, I didnt have time to check the rearend code and the price didnt dictate that needed to be done before hand(will be one of the first things I look into). The original bench seat was lost to a seat of bucket seats(which are MIA too) in the first months of his ownership, I know need to find one. I also need to research if it was close to a chevy bench seat or if the buicks had the fold down armrest

[Too Many Projects]

That would be cool to find one with the center arm rest. Hard to say if Buick supplied Chev with the deluxe seat, but who knows.
Friend of mine up here found one and had it upholstered to match his '66 'Camino. Should have been an option in the Chev's. It looks like it belongs in there.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/q752/Stillwaterchevs/Karl_s_1966_El_Camino_seat.JPG?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds

[mssl72]

Nice find! Were all the lower moldings and rolling tach still there?

[Too Many Projects]

Thanks buddy!! You know Im young enough I should know how to post photos correctly, but loading them off a phone is not easy for me.
Phone photos seem to always end up sideways and I've never had any success at getting them to stay rotated correctly. I still use a digital camera, just because it's easy for an old fart...:smile:

[dustinm]

Nice find! Were all the lower moldings and rolling tach still there?

Non tach dash. The trim is with the car(I believe it is beyond usable) but more important to me is that the tabs haven't been ground off.

[dustinm]

That would be cool to find one with the center arm rest. Hard to say if Buick supplied Chev with the deluxe seat, but who knows.
Friend of mine up here found one and had it upholstered to match his '66 'Camino. Should have been an option in the Chev's. It looks like it belongs in there.



I did buy a parts car yesterday at Jefferson with a complete untouched correct Buick interior !! Its not the super cool strato bench seat you posted but the "correct" armrest bench.

[Too Many Projects]

I did buy a parts car yesterday at Jefferson with a complete untouched correct Buick interior !! Its not the super cool strato bench seat you posted but the "correct" armrest bench.
Score !!!
That's a lot easier than tracking all that stuff down individually.
I wasn't aware they had anything other than the fold down arm rest of the strato bench.... Pics required..:wink:

[Lynn]

It looks sad. Hopefully, you can get it on the road again. My first Chevelle was a '68 SS. Sold my '67 Camaro for it.

Although, we have seen a lot worse brought back.

[dustinm]

Although, we have seen a lot worse brought back.

With this parts car its going to be pretty easy now. Just a set of front fenders and I'll be set.

[dustinm]

Score !!!
That's a lot easier than tracking all that stuff down individually.
I wasn't aware they had anything other than the fold down arm rest of the strato bench.... Pics required..:wink:



Yes that's how I'm rationalizing paying what I paid for this parts car. At least now all the hard parts are accounted for and everything from this point will be down hill.

[Too Many Projects]

Other than the expected left side wear, the rest looks really good. I think Legendary makes upholstery for Buicks. The seat I posted a pic of is a custom blend of Chev and Buick, upholstered by a local shop to look like a '66 Malibu.
Are there other parts you can use or sell to recoup some of the cost ?

[dustinm]

Even if there wasn't a hole the seats will need to be redone. It also came with a 12 bolt, so yes I will be able to recoup some money. Body wise - I am donating the shell to a good friend for a vintage dirt stock car as his first race car was a 69 Chevelle.

[Leadhead]

Congratulations on your new Chevelle! Looks like a great project!

[Leadhead]

Double post

[randy27]

Looks like a fun project!