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1967 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE SUPER SPORT COUPE

~ SORRY, SOLD IMMEDIATELY! ~

1967 was the year of the First Heart Transplant by South African, Christian Barnard. Commonplace today it was considered the "Story Of The Year" back then.  Actress; Julia Roberts was born ( along with 3,520,959 others in the U.S.*) while Carl Sandberg (Poet), Jack Ruby (Assassin), Vivian Leigh (Actress), "Woody Guthrie ( Musician), and "Che" Guevara (Revolutionary), would all die. It is also memorable because on April 15th,  300,000 participants including Prize-winning Novelists, Rock Stars, Hippies, Acid-Trippers,  Rebel Professors, Middle-Class Homeowners, and just regular folks would all gather in New York City to participate in "The Summer of Love'  a protest of the Vietnam War. The Anti-War Movement drew over 300,000 people and embraced young and old. That year; "Breathalyzers" were implemented in Britain, Amana developed the 1st Microwave, 'Quartz' watches were offered for the First Time and "Rolling Stone" issued the First Magazine featuring John Lennon on the Cover.  Billboard Magazine crowned Aretha Franklin the "Queen of Soul". She sold more than one million copies of her album " I Never Loved A Man" and released 5 Top Ten Hits including "Respect". Two 'radical' movies hit the Box Office like a bombshell;  "The Graduate" and  "Bonnie and Clyde".  Both symbolized the change of lifestyle and substance of serious American Cinema, as well as, the rebellious 'Baby Boomer Spirit' that seemed to be prevalent everywhere.  Dustin Hoffman is seduced on screen by "Mrs. Robinson", his girlfriends Mom , backed by great music by Simon & Garfunkel- all of which push that film over-the-top at the Box Office. Then the story of the Rage of the Texas Bandit's:  "Bonnie & Clyde" was released played by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunnaway who evoke the sometimes cheerful yet, gruesome true story of these violent criminals. Though panned by some media ( 'New Yorker' Magazine's Pauline Kael, for starters) the film slammed the Box Office like a freight train breaking all gro$$es. China would detonate their First H-Bomb on June 17th and the U.S. would retalliate by announcing at year-end a new Anti-Ballistic Missile in defense. Remember "Twiggy" the 17 year-old Cockney (British) Model ? She would take the Fashion Industry by storm  with a bobbed-haircut and stacked, triple-rows of eyelashes. She exuded youth, high-school innocence, and knock-knee'd adolescence all in one bean-pole package. Fickle as the American Public is: She retired within the decade. 1967 would also be the year of the 'Tet Offensive' in Vietnam. American Forces would take a real 'hit' as 67,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers carried out attacks against them all across South Vietnam. American's were stunned. Viet Cong succeeded by smuggling weapons inside Saigon in flower pots and coffins- requiring the cooperation of 1,000's of sympathesizers. A city called "My Lai" symbolized the frustration of the Vietnam War's madness where 500 were killed. General Westmoreland requested 206,000 more troops to win the war and Lyndon Johnson gave him 13,500. Then, Johnson relieved Westmoreland of his Command. Shortly after, Hanoi agreed to attend Peace talks in Paris.  The U.S. lost  58,212 brave souls in that War, 153,452 were wounded and 1,711 are still reported 'missing'. We salute those Brave Men & Women.

Few will argue the 1967 model Chevelle to be One of the Most Sculptured Beautiful Designs penned by Chevrolet's General Motor's. Other's feel the 1970 takes Top Honor's. For the most part, Chevelle's were 11 inches longer than the Chevy Nova and 16 inches shorter then the full-size Chevrolet...almost a compact car in comparison...yet, penned an 'Intermediate'. They could be tailored to suit the consumer's needs with, at times, 14 different engine / transmission options but, they benefitted by the 'newer' Muncie Transmission instead of the dated Borg-Warner T-10. By 1966, the Super Sport option carried a 396 / 325 h.p. motor as the Standard Motor (optional only on El Camino's) plus, a 360 h.p. version. Despite 'popular opinion' Bucket Seats were an OPTION in 1966 and 1967, not automatically included with every Super Sport, The Tach and Gauges also ( a $67 option). By 1967, Chevrolet added a 350 h.p. version. Despite hierarchy management compression: 612 L78 375 h.p Chevelle's were sold in 1967 despite the fact, they were not advertised, or mentioned in the brochure, and basically were forced to underground sales.  The heartbeat pulse improvement on this model was .... the Jello-roll suspension was finally redesigned... which gave the Chevelle the best handling body in the GM lineup. At least according to Robert Schilling of Motor Trend Magazine. Even as early as 1967, the muckity-mucks on the 14th Floor of G.M. were putting the squash on horsepower yet, Oldsmobile and Buick still managed to squeak through with the high-performance W-30 and GS Models. Management edict was "no production line models could be marketed with more than 10 lbs. per horsepower". In the Intermediate range, that equaled 350 h.p. on the Chevelle's. There is no explanation of why / how the 375 L-78's made it through except in early production. Perhaps, it was because they revamped the 1967 Chevelle incorporating a host of new Safety Features in order to appease the folks upstairs, as well, as the Congressional Gods.

The 1967 model is harder to find because G.M. built less of them in previous years (only 63,006 **) due to increased sales and fierce competition from other Intermediates, including their own GTO. In my opinion, the biggest improvement for 1967 was in offering the 3-speed Turbo-Glide Automatic Transmission , a welcome option over the hideous 2-speed Powerglide. Though today, a 4-speed will bring $5,000 more than an Automatic. To make the record perfectly clear ~ General Motors never built a 427 Chevelle (small dealers like Yenko & Baldwin Motion did transplants). Why?, it's regrettable but, it's all explained above- it would have exceeded the "no more than10 lbs. per horsepower" G.M. Mandate. History speaks the rest: No other Big Block Intermediate turned as many heads as the 1967 Chevelle Super Sport.

* THIS FIGURE INCLUDES THE 2 BIRTHS AT THE WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL, 1 IN A CAR AND 1 BY HELICOPTER TO THE HOSPITAL (BUT, NOT THE 4 MISCARRIAGES)

** 72,272 Chevelle SS's built in 1966, 72,500 in 1965 (including 201 Z-16's), 67,100 in 1964