Timeless Classic-1969 Chevelle SS 396 |
With stylish lines and seemingly perfect sizing, the '69 SS 396 Chevelle seemed like the perfect Musclecar
for just about anyone. In the second year of this body style, it stood on a 112 inch wheelbase which was 3 inches
shorter than the last Chevelle design of 1967 and it's one inch wider stance improved handling a lot more than you
think an inch would. The standard F70x14 Firestone Wide Oval tires were the best you could get and made the 3500 pound
sport coupe surprisingly nimble. For 1969 Chevrolet made the SS 396 an option package instead of a separate model.
RPO Z-25 could be ordered not only on Chevelle and Malibu Sport Coupes and convertibles but now, for the first time,
on the Chevelle 300 Deluxe model. The SS option gave you the blacked-out grille, revised taillights and 5-spoke Sport
Wheels. The standard 3-speed and optional 4-speed manual transmissions came with a floor shifter but the automatics
came with a column shifter unless you specified bucket seats.The standard SS 396 engine was the Turbo-Jet and it was rated at 325 horsepower at 4800 RPM,torque was a very reasonable 410 ft/lbs @ 3200 RPM. The first option was the L-34 rated 350 @ 5200 and torque was 415 ft/lbs. @ 3400 RPM. The L-78 was a solid lifter motor rated at 375 horse at 5600 and 415 ft/lbs. at 3600. About 500 cars came off the line with the Corvette L-72 aluminum head 427 rated at 425 horspower, of course,these were COPO cars.(Central Office Production Order) All in all over 86,000 people ordered the SS 396 option for their Chevelle/Malibu which quite possibly made them the highest selling model year for the Chevelle. 1969 was a strong model year for all of Detroit.You had to look good, run strong, be nimble and have the feel that the people were looking for because the competition for that model year was so strong that you needed a flagship performance model to carry your line. If you couldn't afford an SS 396, then you could buy a V-8 Chevelle and add dual exhaust, rims and skins, maybe some stripes and get yourself somewhere close. With cars like Six Pack Super Bee's, 442 Oldsmobiles, GTO's, Mach 1 Mustangs, Buick GS's, Cougar Eliminator's, Hurst SC/Rambler's and rumors of new models coming out for 1970, to be able to sell 86,000 SS 396 package cars really said something for the way these cars moved people. Performance was very reasonable even in the base package. Car and Driver road tested a 325 horsepower car in 1969 and the numbers weren't bad considering that there were two stronger packages available. The road test car pulled 0 to 60 in 5.8 seconds, 100 took about 15.2 and it 1/4 miled 14.42 @ 97 miles an hour which wasn't bad for a 3.55 geard 4-speed car. Bolt on a pair of 26 inch tall 9 inch slicks and you could flirt with the high 13's completely stock! The '69 SS 396 was a car with great styling, a firm but comfortable ride and pretty good handling in a car that also had the nerve to be fast and that made it a pretty big bang for the buck which in 1969 was priceless. |