Paul Dehnert's Killer 1966 396/375 Chevelle!

[Xplantdad]

This is a car that I've taken with me from San Francisco to Dayton to Austin over the last 20 years, and probably next year back to San Francisco when our son goes off to college. It truly is part of the family.


I bought it from the fourth owner in Ripon, CA in the late 80's. He also had a '65 425 hp Corvette with less than 20,000 miles, but the Chevelle had about 12,000 miles, and when I saw it I had to have it The car was meticulously cared for by all it's owners.


It was built late in the model year at the Fremont plant and sold new in Roseville, CA. It still has 3 of the 4 original tires in the trunk, plus the spare that's never been used, as well as the original black CA plates with the dealership license plate holder.


The car was delivered with Aztec Bronze Metallic paint, red line tires with mag style wheel covers, and Aztec Bronze bucket seat interior. Other factory options included L78, M21, 3.55 rear, gauges, am radio, rear speaker and tinted windshield (see picture of window sticker copy). The engine, transmission, and rear end are numbers matching, born with the car components.


The only changes from new are a partial repaint by the 3rd owner, hood insulation, hoses, belts, plugs, battery, exhaust and minor engine compartment detailing. The idler pulley still show factory orange over spray, and the interior and trunk look like it was just driven off the show room floor. Although the chassis has been cleaned a little, it shows a large dose of 40 year old patina.


The original owner in Roseville was an older guy who occasionally drove the car to Reno for a little poker action. When he'd get home he would turn on his lawn sprinkler and pull it under the car to make sure there was no dirt or dust on the undercarriage. Most of the miles were put on by the first owner.


The second owner in Woodland, CA was just out of high school when he bought it in 1970, and put less than 500 miles on the car, mainly cruising and car shows. Luckily he was a waxer, not a street racer. The third owner, also in Woodland convinced the young man to sell after a few years. He also admired it as a very unique car, but did some minor damage to the left side which required some paint work.
Around 1980 he sold the car to the 4th owner in Ripon, CA, and it truly became a trailer queen with occasional car shows and short drives. I bought the car in the late 80's, and drive it just enough to keep the juices flowing (the cars and mine ).


Paul Dehnert (PaulD)