Many in the car community believe someone never really owns a car, that they’re just its caretaker until the next person comes along. Are you the next person who will enjoy and watch over our Pick of the Day, a supercharged 509-powered 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396? (Click here or any of the pictures below to go to the listing).
According to the selling dealer, this Chevelle was purchased about 40 years ago by an engine builder who dreamed of putting a blown big-block V8 in it. After he purchased the Capri-Cream-over-gold-vinyl coupe, he had it repainted black and replaced the original Turbo-Jet 396 with a 502 that he bored into a 509. The builder had additional mods in mind (especially a supercharger), but he died before he could complete the build.
Luckily, his daughter stepped in to make this Chevelle into the car he wanted it to be. There were a lot of parts that still needed to be installed, so she took her dad’s car to a shop to have it finish the build. Once the wrenches were put away and the fender mats were removed, the engine had roller lifters, a roller camshaft, forged pistons, dual Holley 750-cfm Double Pumpers, GM oval-port aluminum heads, Hooker headers, a four-core aluminum radiator, and much more. Of course, the shop also installed a Weiand 6-71 blower. The finishing touch was a dual-port, polished aluminum “bird catcher” that sits high above the opening in the custom hood. The end result of all those mods? According to the dealer, 803 horsepower on the dyno.
That monster engine roars through a three-inch X-pipe and a dual exhaust system with MagnaFlow mufflers. A Doug Nash five-speed manual gearbox with a hydraulic clutch, a heavy-duty driveshaft, and a GM 12-bolt Positraction rear end with 4:56 gears get its outsize power to the rear BFGoodrich radials.
The shop also did a lot inside the cabin, reupholstering the seats in black vinyl and installing a new dash pad, door cards, trim, and weatherstripping. Aside from the bellow of the engine and the shriek of the supercharger, there’s a Custom Autosound radio to listen to. In addition to a bunch of removed original parts, a Vintage Air system with the necessary brackets, plumbing, condenser, and compressor comes with the purchase of the car.
According to the dealer, “The car drives well, although it was designed in essence to do one thing – Go Very Fast in a Straight Line. The brakes stop the car easily from 60 MPH or so, I didn’t have a chance to get her up to any kind of track speeds.”
It’s a good thing they didn’t because something might have gone wrong and prevented this high-performance machine from reaching its next caretaker. If you’re up for the job and your bank account can take a $92,500 (OBO) hit, then you can take the leash off this beast and see what it can do.
Click here to view the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com.
Source: www.classiccars.com