1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Walkaround with Steve Magnante

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[@rogermason5833]

This was the car that fired up my 12 year old imagination about the world of muscle car performance in the mid-60s. A neighbor got one of these SS 396's new and gave me a short demo ride in it. My lasting memory is seeing nothing but sky out the windshield as the driver floored it from a near stop and the car's nose lifted. I was most impressed..

[@gteefxr3094]

The cat's "Meow", the dog's "Bow Wow". This Chevelle's the "Hottest Thing in Town".🏁

[@hornetbrown]

Groovy, man, groovy!

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

😍Great looking Chevelle!!!! 👍

[@fabiohaddad2531]

Looking great! Nice interior and correct wheels and hubcaps.

[@mikescaffo4850]

When I look at this car I think of a better way of life it was back then this car is all class

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

This era of American cars is the best. My favorites are from the 60's to 80's. I know people complain about the lack of power and downsizing in the 70's and 80's. But I don't keep anything stock. The styling of cars in the 60's to 80's is just great. I just wish 1970 wasn't the only year GM made the premium fuel big block cars. I've never driven a big block car. But I know I would enjoy it. I don't need speed. I like quickness. Off the line torque.

[@jakybakey8473]

Steve Magnante could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves.

[@MrMike-fm8bp]

Ha ! Ain’t that the truth

[@johnblum2829]

On a summer day

[@petergardner8532]

original 1966 138 cars had the headlight eyebrows all black so they matched the grilles, this one the eyebrows are 1/2 black/1/2 chrome, and the body panel fitment..

[@markg7030]

No view of the driver's side either.

[@rondpert5167]

1) The mid-horsepower L34 engine was rated 360 hp in 1966 and 350 hp from 67 to 70. 2) Some early cars had the black painted tailpan but as the story goes it slowed down production, so it was suspended until near the end of the run and continued through 1969. Since the black panel was shown in sales material, many dealers painted the rear on their own to boost sales.

[@jimthomas1989]

I put a 1971 small block LT1 350 with 11:1 compression and 4 bolt main in my 66 Chevelle , I added a 750cfm Holley carb and Long tube Headers , 375hp . 11 inch clutch and 4 speed trans with 50s on the rear . Just drove it 10 hours ago

[@googleusergp]

Yup, a real SS 396 with the VIN for the win: 1 for Chevrolet, 38 for Chevelle SS 396, 17 for two door sport coupe, 6 for 1966 model year, A for Atlanta, GA assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Atlanta, GA plant was located in Lakewood Heights, GA and closed in 1990. The last car made there, a square body 1990 Caprice was given to an employee. A two-hour video of the last day the plant operated can be found online. With the tag, you can brag: 02C for the third week of February 1966 production, 66 for 1966 model year, 13817 for Chevrolet (1) Chevelle SS 396 (38) two door sport coupe (17), ATL for Atlanta, GA assembly, 763B for Black imitation leather bucket seat interior trim, Y-Y for Lemonwood Yellow lower and upper exterior paint, W for tinted windshield only (RPO code A02), Group 2 accessory code L for 4 speed manual transmission (RPO code M20), G for center console (RPO code D55), Group 5 accessory code Y for deluxe seat belts (RPO code A39) and the significance of the "L" is unknown. The "138" on the cowl in chalk is reproduction of what the line workers put there to denote this is a Chevrolet (1) Chevelle SS 396 (38), and the Y-Y means Lemonwood Yellow lower and upper exterior paint.

[@johndillinger8482]

lot of real ss cars had 136 vin

[@garymckee8857]

Nice Chevrolet

[@googleusergp]

@@johndillinger8482 Depends on the year. In 1966, the 138 means it was specifically an SS 396.

[@jimthomas1989]

@@johndillinger8482 , NOT in 66 and 67 ALL 138 were SS ALL 136 were Malibu Then after that Chevelle changed it again , A Super Sport Chevelle in 1970 was 136 I have the Code Book And Three 1966 Chevelle Cars 2 are 138 Super Sport 1 is a 136 Malibu

[@bruceh92]

A great example all around, butternut yellow, dog dish caps, manual 4 speed, sporty black buckets, wow. Someone is a happy camper now!

[@glocke380]

It also has that Chevy door squeak, no extra charge.

[@hornetbrown]

Love it.

[@joaquinalexander9]

It's a GM thing no doubt. My '68 DeVille always reminds me of my long gone '65 Malibu's doors.

[@MANNELLA126]

Love this guy, so knowledgeable! If I had him in HS I would be a doctor!

[@Geoduck.]

The absolute beauty of Butternut Yellow on a vintage car can only truly be appreciated in person.

[@johnrunion8309]

1966 - 1967 , there was 325 , 360 , 375 HP , Not 350 hp that didn't happen until 1968 . The 360 Hp had a little better cam. High rise Cast iron intake , holley carb . As far as running with the Hemi , put money on L78

[@jimfima]

The 360 looked like the 325 HP but an open air element. No high rise cast iron intake till you got the L78. Also the 350hp was a replacement for the 360 in 67.

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

The only thing that gets me about this era/style of car is the air filter setup. I know an open element gets the air in quicker. But it's drawing in extremely hot air from the engine bay. I bet a cold air intake system would help these cars a lot. The only cars that got anything like that were the Ram Air, Cowl Induction, Air Grabber type cars. Some got a fresh air snorkel tube. But it was usually too small to make a difference.

[@M21L35]

@ D.A.L.78.....WRONG! Chevrolet had a parts dept. option called 'cowl plenum induction'. It ducted high air turbulence from the base of the windshield thru rubber ducting attached to & thru the cowl, allowing that "rammed air" access to the carburetor. In fact 1966 was that unique assembly's inceptional debut. FYI, the provenance behind that blacked-out rear panel being definitely part of ALL SS396 Chevelle's is highly controversial. Most are of the opinion that that panel was more "correctly" painted body color. To be succinct, the middle 396 was rated 360hp in 1966, not 350. In '67 the Holley carb was replaced w/a Quadrajet (Rochester or Carter) & horsepower was re-rated @ 350.

[@markg7030]

@@M21L35 You are correct about the 1966 396/ 325, 360 and 375 horse power. There was no 396/ 350 horse power in 1966. There was a cowl plenum and air cleaner assembly for the serious racer. I have seen both painted or blacked out rear panels.

[@kevinjackson6568]

Summer of 1966 I first seen one at my uncle's house . I was in love with that Big Block sound😅 Just like that.😅

[@janetdanner9706]

My husband had a 69 chevelle when we were dating. It was a beautiful car

[@sebastianmuglia7451]

Steve keeping it casual selling cars in his slippers

[@gteefxr3094]

Dig that color.👍

[@kevinkendall3122]

I had the twin to this car minus the L78 but with a black vinyl top

[@tedecker3792]

I bought a 2 year old Malibu with a 327/Saginaw 4 speed. It had been ordered with the Strato bucket seats and console.

[@bobby9623]

As my grandpa used to say, look how many body’s you can fit in the trunk. Uncle Bob too.

[@RexCars1]

It's a shame.. That Bowed hood really stands out..

[@AtlasCroc]

....and maybe grease the door hinges.

[@RexCars1]

@@AtlasCroc Agreed..

[@hornetbrown]

Ugh, yeah. You're right.

[@daviswall3319]

Really cool looking

[@jackthereefer1]

No one drove a SS with those steel wheels on the street. They might keep them on until they bought nice rims. I thought you could only get a power glide transmission in 1966. The 3 speed autos came out in 1967.

[@stevencole184]

I think in 66 there was a Malibu or an SS , not a Malibu SS. My parents had a 66 Chevelle Malibu . It was that exact color, it was a 2 door, had a 327 ci motor and was an automatic.

[@dennisgallear409]

Nice!

[@RichardGoodman]

Standard engine was a 325 hp and optional was the 360 hp. Do not believe the 375 showed up until 1967. Sincerely, Richard Goodman

[@johncallan9927]

The 66 had a 375 version

[@RichardGoodman]

I did some checking and you are right. It came out latter but was not available when I bought mine.@@johncallan9927

[@jimfima]

You are correct about the 325 and 360HP for 66. about 3100 L78 375's were built in 66 and the L78 was only available for a portion or the year in 67 and only about 602 were built.

[@RexCars1]

in 66.. the rear trunk panel was NOT blacked out ONLY in 1967 did Chevy do that

[@jimfima]

in 66 some of the chevelles had the blacked out panel and some didn't. Depending on the time of production and the plant it was built at.

[@Hoonagen]

Um… Steve…? Why aren’t we discussing that Red LaFerrari tucked away in the background too?

[@RexCars1]

There is no mention of the 138 Vin number.. or any other identifying info that this is a Real L78 car..

[@googleusergp]

The HOC website has the VIN and cowl tag and they indeed show a "138" making it a real SS 396.

[@RexCars1]

@@googleusergp Good Deal..

[@dannyschoolcraft5984]

​@@googleusergpGood evening googleusergp. Does the 138 actually specify L78 396 or just a V8. The cowl tag reads L78 to identify size, correct? And what specifies the SS package? I've heard Steve read many on the auction and 138 meant V8. He said these L78 were 1 in 10 maybe? Thanks!

[@googleusergp]

@@dannyschoolcraft5984 For 1966, the "138" in the VIN means it's a SS 396. It doesn't tell you which version of the 396 the car has, but it does confirm it's a 396. "136" denotes a Malibu V8. Don't forget that in some years you can get an SS that's a six cylinder, so each year, each VIN, each cowl tag has to be taken on a case by case basis.

[@Sarge0311]

I would remove the fake air vents

[@Tsunami007]

Manual non-power brakes 😂😂😂 I wouldn’t drive in this thing. Way too dangerous

[@paulrambone6705]

I`m sorry but I see body parts not lining up. Not a great restoration. Needs redone.

[@rickj6048]

You never saw poverty hubcaps on a muscle car back in the day.

[@jimparker7778]

The 66-67 Super Sports had wonderful high compression V8s and awesome power. Unfortunately, the cars of that era had lousy brakes and tires.

[@TheRacerbrown]

This same exact motor in a 65 Corvette was rated at 425 hp, hmmmmmmmm?

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you Steve

[@SolamenteVees]

Great stuff, as usual. How do GM people authenticate an L78 396?

[@googleusergp]

Build sheet, original paperwork, in some rare cases the cowl tag. In 1966 the VIN also tells you. The "138" in the VIN denotes that this is a Chevelle SS 396.

[@richardwilkerson5755]

Sorry steve but all 66 ss Chevelles did not come with a blacked out rear panel. There is no way to tell the Chevelles that had the black panels. I have an original with 40,000 miles and its not blacked out. Ive read articles of this issue. Some do and some dont 100%

[@savedin87ify]

My sisters first husband put a tilt front on one. Looked a lot like this one. Back in 84. My parents wouldn't let me buy it off him. They said I would kill myself with it.

[@stephengauthier8146]

Great car…nice value. Steve is the man to pitch cars!

[@jeffreycarleton1535]

Me Likey! ❤

[@rrydinhigh2452]

MO, Steve did an outstanding job of giving us a quick, yet very informative introduction to an amazing & outstanding piece of American History. Thank you Steve, for bringing the facts, lights & camera to this awesome AMERICAN machine, and sharing this Top Notch vehicle with us. -🤩👌💛👊

[@calvincooley1074]

...and nobody noticed the Enzo

[@Bill-cv1xu]

The cats pajamas.