Central Chev Olds London (having a sale)

[67HEAVEN]

Tri power was only available in the Vettes in 1967 as GM had mandated a ban on Tri power setups in passenger cars.

Y'all may find this interesting. Both the L-68 (400 hp) and the L-71 (435 hp) were planned for the full-size B-body Chevy. See the second line from the top, under Assembly Instructions, that reads 3891771 Chevrolet 15-16000 Series. This is from the full-size Chevy Assembly Manual.

Too bad they were cancelled.

It's notable to remember that the L-71 was a 3 x 2, solid-lifter, 11:1 version of the single 4-bbl L-72. Strangely, the L-72 itself was cancelled for 1967, but then returned in 1968. But wait.........at least one L-72 was built by the factory.

Okay, back to Central Chev Olds.

 

[427Carl]

In 1967 there were two (2) different 427 fender emblems. The standard one that you are familiar with goes on impala, impala SS, and caprice with a 427 engine.

The one you see in the article that looks like a "V" with the displacement above it is reserved for the special SS427. This option was separate from a standard SS RPO Z03. This option was quite rare and it came with th 427, special hood, and badging.

 

[67HEAVEN]

In 1967 there were two (2) different 427 fender emblems. The standard one that you are familiar with goes on impala, impala SS, and caprice with a 427 engine.

The one you see in the article that looks like a "V" with the displacement above it is reserved for the special SS427. This option was separate from a standard SS RPO Z03. This option was quite rare and it came with th 427, special hood, and badging.

Wow. Thanks, Carl.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Red wall tires?

Mmmmm. I like those.

 

[Keith Tedford]

This is curious. Back in '67, I believe, a salesman at Nurse Chev-Olds, Whitby tried to get me to order an L71 435 hp tripower Biscayne. He claimed that the only way to get the engine was in a two door post Biscayne. I've posted on various other web sites about this but no one ever knew anything about it. I believe that it was one of those deals where the option may have been cancelled before it ever got off the ground. I used to stop in at Nurse's lot quite often because they always had a Z/28 or two on the lot and I got to know the salesman quite well. In '69 they even set up a Z/28 with the cross ram intake and track cam. The salesman actually let me take the car for a short drive. It may be a performer above 5500 rpm where it was meant to be but was some soft, especially below 4000. I mean SOFT. It might have looked impressive but wasn't.

 

[67HEAVEN]

In '69 they even set up a Z/28 with the cross ram intake and track cam.

Like this, Keith?

 

[buckhorn76]

big bore x short stroke = rpm . you could shift those 302's at 7000 ,nooo problem. not a torque engine but definitly a high rpm screamer. back in the day before gm offered them, circle track guys were building them with 327 blocks and steel 283 cranks. they called em 301's.

 

[67HEAVEN]

big bore x short stroke = rpm . you could shift those 302's at 7000 ,nooo problem. not a torque engine but definitly a high rpm screamer. back in the day before gm offered them, circle track guys were building them with 327 blocks and steel 283 cranks. they called em 301's.

A guy in Oshawa had a new neat '68 Sequoia Green Z-28. We used to hang around the Simcoe North A&W. Now and then, we'd cruise down Simcoe side-by-side, and I did love the sound of his 302 at about 35 mph in 2nd gear.

Occasionally, he'd punch it. Now, that was a big mistake.

 

[buckhorn76]

mopar built a similar engine for the aar trans am guys by de-stroking a 340 down to 303ci. closest production car you could buy was the aar cuda 340 6pk. a guy i worked with back then had one. real cool car but not much difference performance-wise from my 340 demon.

 

[Keith Tedford]

That might be the same Camaro that I met in '68. One of his buddies came wandering over to where were were parked one night and started telling us how the Z/28 was the fastest car in Oshawa and they were looking for a run. I had my '68 Ram Air Firebird that had been gone through when brand new, competition valve job, CCd heads, headers, balanced and pretty well everything done that you could do to an engine and still be stock. Let's just say that he wasn't the fastest car in Oshawa and I'm pretty sure mine wasn't either. There is a guy named Dan in Courtice who might just have that same car. The Courtice car, I believe, was sold new ourt of Nurse Chev-Olds. Back in '68, Nurse seemed to always have at least one Z/28 on the lot. They sold a red COPO Camaro in '69. Those were the days.

 

[Keith Tedford]

Like THAT!!! For the life of me, I can't remember if it had the breather like that and cowl hood or just the closed cowl plenum breather. That was a long time ago.

Like this, Keith?

 

[67HEAVEN]

That might be the same Camaro that I met in '68. One of his buddies came wandering over to where were were parked one night and started telling us how the Z/28 was the fastest car in Oshawa and they were looking for a run.

I can't remember his name, but it was a Polish name. As you may know, Oshawa has a large Polish-heritage population. Sequoia Green with white stripes. Can't imagine what would make any Z owner think they had the fastest car.

I'd still happily own one.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Like THAT!!! For the life of me, I can't remember if it had the breather like that and cowl hood or just the closed cowl plenum breather. That was a long time ago.

I think the closed cowl plenum breather was for cars without the ZL-2 optional hood.

 

[Keith Tedford]

There was a guy named Achinsky or something like that around Oshawa in those days. I remember that there was one group that parked in front of the Millwork store, another at the gas station across from the A&W and us out of towners parked at the car wash.....when we weren't eating at the A&W or cruising. GM had a cowl plenum breather that you could buy for the '66 Chevelles too. It was an over the counter deal. I've only seen pictures of these units. Someone in the U.S. is making a very good repro of this breather, but it is expensive, like $2500 from what I understand.

 

[67HEAVEN]

GM had a cowl plenum breather that you could buy for the '66 Chevelles too. It was an over the counter deal.

I know you're well aware of this, Keith, but others may not be. The reason for cowl induction is that wind tunnel testing has demonstrated that the base of the windshield area is an ideal location for pushing air to the engine. Plumbing the air through the cowl just made sense.

Being at the centre of the hood, mine isn't an ideal location, but I like the looks anyway. That last 1/10th in the quarter doesn't matter to me anymore.

For those reading this thread, weren't the '60s a great time for car guys? Oh yeah, music guys too.

 

[Keith Tedford]

The Look

Back in the '60s and early '70s it was more about the look than functionality. The cowl plenum setup wasn't visible when you were driving down the street. It was strictly business. The cowl induction hoods , hood scoops and especially the enormous Dodge hood scoops were a performance statement......or something. Lots of stripes and rear spoilers did the same. How well all this stuff worked didn't really matter, it made the cars look fast and that was what really mattered to most people. As far as hood scoops, nothing looks better than the '67 stinger. I liked my old COPO Chevelle. Plain and simple. It looked like any other SS car except for the lack of emblems. Under the hood, it looked like any L78 Chevelle, again, with no decals. It just ran a little better. I've just always liked the sleeper look. My long standing line has always been, "Don't bark bigger than you can bite." I guess that's what I like about your Corvette. ALL BUSINESS, BIG BARK AND BIGGER BITE. Stan, a friend of mine has a black '68 Camaro. Looks stock as a rock on the outside, yet it runs very low 10s. My kind of car.

 

[67HEAVEN]

Well, Keith. Since Carl removed the Central Chev ad from the original post in this thread, I guess we can go most anywhere now.

 

[427Carl]

I didn't remove it on purpose :nono: Since I was using photo bucket to load pictures, I didn't realize you had to keep them in photobucket forever... I'll fix it

 

[Riley P]

That there is the spitting image of my Chevelle...except with rally wheels and a flat hood.

Question: The fender tags are missing. Is there any way to know if my car is actually a Malibu SS? My did has a dealer brochure from 66 and it shows a Malibu SS in the same color, same rear quarter panel emblems, and has a flat hood like mine. Ever seen one of these?

I know it's not a 396 car as the rad is wrong and the heater core hoses go straight into the firewall as opposed to angling out.

 

[67HEAVEN]

That there is the spitting image of my Chevelle...except with rally wheels and a flat hood.

Riley,
Beautiful car. The '66 and '67 cars are among my favourites.

Question: The fender tags are missing. Is there any way to know if my car is actually a Malibu SS? My did has a dealer brochure from 66 and it shows a Malibu SS in the same color, same rear quarter panel emblems, and has a flat hood like mine. Ever seen one of these?

At the end of the 1965 model run, in the U.S.A., the Malibu SS was discontinued. 1966 is when the Chevelle SS396 first appeared. Due to the Auto Pact and resulting import duties, the Oshawa plant continued making the Malibu SS for two more years. The Canadian cars did not get the domed hood, even when ordered with a 396.

In Canada, the Malibu SS was a trim (or appearance) option, rather than a performance option as in the Chevelle SS396 in the U.S. Instead of making new emblems for the small number of Canadian market Malibu SS cars in '66 and '67, GM used the 1965 Malibu SS emblems. Yes, you could order a 396 in a Canadian Malibu SS, but that didn't magically turn it into a SS396. There was no SS396 in Canada in 1966. It remained a Malibu SS that happened to come with a 396 engine.

In the U.S., the 1966 Chevelle SS396 was a performance option, and of course came with the 396 engine.

If your car is a 13617 model, then it's a Malibu two-door hardtop. If it's a 13667 model, then it's a Malibu convertible. If it also has the A51 Sports Option, then that's what makes it a Malibu SS, even if it has a 6 cylinder engine. That is unless it was a U.S. built car. Then the A51 option simply meant bucket seats.

Like I said before, isn't this 1960's Chevy minutiae an amazing thing?