Hot Rods Strange factory/dealer ordered muscle cars !

A good friend of mine bought this Chevy II wagon new with a 283, four speed.
My uncle had a 66 Chevy Impala SS L79 four speed. I've never seen another one. Bill

 

I was born in Chicago, but grew up in the Atlanta, Ga area. There used to be a Chevy dealer on Stewart Avenue called Nalley Chevrolet. Back in the day (60-64), they were closed on Sundays, but their lot was completely open. I have seen many 409/4-speed 9 passenger station wagons, big block Biscaynes with radio/heater delete, and 327/4-speeds were very common in the cheaper full sized sedans. There was a time back then they even sponsored "Dyno" Don Nicholson and I used to see his car parked outside the race shop when he had off weekends. Those were the days when you could walk into a dealer and buy a whole lotta car right off the lot.

 

Guy I worked with bought a 66 ElCamino new at Frontier Chevrolet in Fresno with a L79 and 4 spd. Never saw another but I'm sure there were a few around. The localPD where I lived had a 59 Biscayne 2dr with a 348-3-2's and a 3spd and OD--wife's uncle said they used it as a pursuit car. Odd combo and it was dark blue instead of black. Saw another one just like it several years ago that was supposed to have been a Police car out of Oregon-dark blue as well.

 

That '35 is cool. Man, Cragars were THE latest thing when that pic was taken!

 

That is one odd duck I'd say, but I'm not an Impala expert.
Based on my factory literature, GM did offer SS Novas in at least 66 and 67 with the standard 3/tree trans, but not with a console, with or without a block off plate.
But this was a period when some flexability happened, especially if someohe had connections on the inside. This was sometimes referred to as a Central Office Production Order or COPO car. I suspect that it's possibly the case here.
I do know that a lot of factory literature got printed up long before production actually started, and the powers that be in management made other "corporate decisions".

 

In the late 70's, my brother bought a 69 Chevelle Super Sport from the original owner for $800 in excellent condition. Light yellow with a black vinyl top and black interior but what was different was that the owner bought it new with a front bench seat and a column shifter (400 Auto)instead of the usual bucket seats and floor shifter.

 

In 1967, I bought a 4 door 1963 Fairlane off the back of the Ford dealer lot. It was a factory HiPo 289/271hp, 4 speed posi-trac car. It had 3" single exhaust from the y to the rear. Sure was a lot of fun at the stop lights!

 

I looked at a mans car collection in a little town south of me. He had a one owner 1964 Impala that was special ordered with the bucket seat SS style interior but the car was not an SS, it only had the buckets and console.
I used to own a 67 Fairlane GTA convertible that had come with a 390 two barrel engine with an automatic column shift and a console with no provision for a shifter.

 

OT but I have a '70 GTX with a bench seat and column shift auto which is very unusual. My dad bought it new so I know it's legit.

 

I saw one of those once. It was traded in at the local dealer. The salesman said the original owner was a salesman with a big territory and spent a lot of time on the highway. He wanted the cheapest big car he could get for high speed runs between his sales calls.

 

@olscrounger
I won't say it never happened because like the title of this thread there are some rare and odd ones that have surfaced over the years. There has been discussion (at length) within the Chevelle world for many years about the 66 Chevelles being offered with the 350/327, but to my knowledge, no documented proof has ever been offered.
I do know that Chevy offered the 65 Chevelles and ElCaminos with the (l79) 350 horse 327's, but dropped it for the 66 model year. It did reappear again in 67 as an option but the h.p. rating was reduced to 325 h.p. the same exact engine.
There were about six 1967 L79 Novas' built early in the year, with only 2 or 3 documented ones accounted for, but for some reason or another, GM built them with cast iron intakes and Rochester carbs, and that seems odd because the Chevelle got aluminum intakes and Holley. These Novas' are considered to be some of the rarest Chevy's ever built.
An old high school pal has a 67 Malibu l79 2 dr. ht. that he restored many years ago, another friend of mine use to own a 67 Malibu wagon, factory l79/4speed, a 66 Nova SS L79 built in Canada, and a 66 Chevy 11 sedan both factory l79/4speed cars.

 

Hardly a muscle car, its a truck really, but my 1959 Studebaker Scotsman is wonderfully weird and rare. The Scotsman was THE cheapest new truck you could buy in America in '59. Mine is a 1/2 ton short-box (that was turned into a flatbed by my dad in the '60s), radio and heater delete, which isn't rare in itself, but it is one of 61 factory 259-V8 Flight-O-Matic optioned trucks. Here it is in 1975...



Dad sold it so my Mom could buy a station wagon when I was three. I bought it back 26 years later and am returning it to its former glory.

 

I once came across a '69 GTO hardtop...had a bench seat/column shift, power windows, and (what really caught my attention) a chrome front bumper instead of the painted Endura bumper.

 

Bill
I'm the last guy to say I know everything about Impalas, but I really would like to see a picture of that cars engine, or at least hear how the L79 option in your uncles' car was determined, I'm pretty sure that would be a one-off car if documented.
But again, that's what this thread is all about.

 

Around 1970 my mom and dad had a 64 Country Squire wagon. White with red interior, bucket seats , console and a 4 speed with a 390.

 

At the time I had a 65 Impala SS 396 Four speed , He would blow my doors off . That car was beautiful and fast . I often wondered if it was dealer installed. I wished I had some kind of documentation, at least a picture. He traded it on a 70 Nova SS 396 - 375 hp four speed. The Nova is still in town , never saw the Impala again. My Uncle passed away in 1980. Bill

 

In '65, I had a female customer with a '62 Ford 'custom' 4 dr. sedan. She broke an engine mount, I replaced it; when backing it out of the shop, I noticed the steering mast was loose...
Called her to tell her I'd tighten it up, car would be ready at 5.
Imagine my wonderment when discovering the car had a swingaway steering! (T-Bird style...had seen them on some two door hardtops, convertibles...but never a 4 door!) I had to adjust the slide rod at the shift link. It moved when the engine mount broke.
She never knew it had the swingaway either...Bought the car when it was 2 years old; Just never discovered nor used it!

 

When I was a kid, a classmate's dad worked next door to a Pontiac dealership. I don't know the whole story, but with the help of some cases of beer for the dealership owner and calls to Detroit, (where someone knew a Pontiac VP), a 65 LeMans was special ordered with a 421 and tri power. I think it had 326 badges in it. Auto trans, A/C, power steering/brakes, etc.

That's all I remember about it - but I remember his dad cackling with glee as he opened the hood and pointed out the 3-carb air cleaner.

 

1970 Torino Squire wagon 429 Cobra jet with a shaker!

 

the 63 nova ss conv that i have was ordered with the gauge package bucket seats and auto on the column

 

In the early eighties, I saw a '67 Acadian Sport Deluxe that appeared to be a factory L-79, and a friend of mine has a 300hp 327 4 speed '65 Sport Deluxe convert that we have both known the history of since about 1973. It belonged to a couple that lived down the street from the present owner, we were both very much aware of its presence starting in '73, and he finally bought it off them in the early nineties.

 

There are also at least 6 well documented COPO L-72 '69 Chevelles that went through Mussallum Motors in Haney, which was my hometown as a kid. They were also long time Div. 6 SS racer, Buck Kinneys sponsor for at least 3 decades.

 

The younger brother of the guy who has the 4-speed '65 Beaumont Sport Deluxe convert had a green on white '68 or '69 Sport Deluxe with a bench, auto on the column, 396 and white vinyl top. Probably pretty rare in its own right.

 

Here's a '67 GTO I had in the late 90's. Not sure how rare, probably more unusual and odd; bucket seats, console with a heavy duty Saginaw 3-speed. The Hurst shifter was a factory item, first gear synchronized.

 

Can't say mine was rare, but I thought it was unusual. Had a '64 Impala 4-door back in the late 70's. Must have been ordered with every option, except trans, available at the time. 327, 4-brl, powerglide, and posi rear. But, it also had factory a/c, power and tilt steering, power seats and windows, along with rear seat speaker, but it didn't have S/S badges. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that 1964 wasn't a year to be spending big bucks on all the options, but what do I know?

Roger

 

Wow, really?