It is a commonly held belief that, in the early days of the muscle car era, the high-horsepower engines were most commonly installed in the cheapie models for drag racing. However, our Pick of the Day, a 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne, is evidence that this is not really true as it is much rarer than its fancier brother. This two-door sedan is listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Colombus, Ohio. (Click the link to view the listing)
In the world of high-performance Chevrolets, the first famous flyer was the “Black Widow,” a handful of 1957 Chevrolet 150 Utility Sedans painted in a black and white color scheme as determined by the crew of the Southern Engineering and Development Corporation Operation. Per Chevrolet’s 1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide,” different 283s could be specified, but we tend to associate Black Widows with RPO 578, the fuel-injected, 283-horsepower 283 and three-speed manual on the column. However, if you look at fuel injection production for ’57, the Bel Air Sport Coupe (hardtop) was most popular. This has been proven to always be true with the available data that we have.
By the early 1960s, the limitations of the “Mark I” 348 and 409 big-blocks were already known. By the time the 409’s replacement arrived early in calendar-year 1965, the new “Mark IV” 396 gave full-size Chevrolets (and Corvettes) a more modern way to dispense horsepower. The “regular” 396, RPO L35, was rated at 325 horsepower, while the solid-lifter L78 was rated at 100 more.
For 1966, Chevrolet bored the 396 to produce the 427. While the L35 was still available, the L72 427 superseded the L78 as the solid-lifter big-block. It also was rated at 425 horsepower though the extra cubic-inches (and torque) gave it more suds on the strip. Full-size vehicles and the Corvette were available with the L72. There also was a new L36 427 with hydraulic lifters and 390 horsepower.
Of course, more race-inclined folks may have spec’d out the cheapest and lightest model and stuffed it with the most horsepower, but the truth is that most L72s were installed in the Impala Super Sport (1,246, per the GM Heritage Center). That makes this 1966 Biscayne two-door sedan with the L72 quite a rarity as only 225 two-door sedans (that’s both Biscaynes and Bel Airs) were built out of 1,856 L72 full-size vehicles. This Biscayne originates from Superior, Wisconsin, with the buyer trading in a 1965 Tri-Power GTO. Alas, Uncle Sam came calling a year later, so he sold it to 20-year-old Leroy Levens, who managed to blow the engine within a year.
According to the seller, “The engine was quickly replaced by a service replacement block, and Leroy went on to race and enjoy the car for almost 20 years before treating it to a frame-off restoration in the mid 1980s.” A new coat of Tuxedo Black and a host of NOS parts were installed, then the Bow Tie was sold several years later to a New Jerseyan, who then managed to find a date-coded L72 block and rebuilt it to factory stock.
In 2013, the Biscayne found a new home in Ohio, with the new owner spending 300 hours refreshing it to be even more correct, resulting in this Biscayne becoming an AACA show winner. Equipped with the right color combination and M20 four-speed, transistorized ignition, AM radio, tinted windshield, heavy-duty battery, F41 suspension, and Positraction, could there be a more desirable full-size 1966 Chevy? For $105,995, you won’t find many better than this.
Click here for this ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day.
Source: www.classiccars.com