In 1969, William’s parents bought their first new car. It could have been any car, but William’s parents chose something a little sportier: A 1969 Chevelle SS396 hardtop.
This 1969 Chevelle Super Sport ended up being the family car for a number of years. William can remember getting hauled around town with his brothers as kids. They even saw Jaws for the first time at the drive-in with this Chevelle!
Over the next several decades, William’s father could have sold the Chevelle SS many times over, but he instead waited until the time was right to hand the keys over to William. The Chevelle is mostly factory, save for an early ’70’s 396/325 horsepower short block, which was installed when the original engine had oiling issues.
The car still retains the original Muncie 3 speed transmission, center console, parchment bucket seats, SS wheels, 12 bolt rear end, and most of the sheet metal. A lot of people don’t believe William when he tells them it’s a Super Sport because it doesn’t have a 4 speed, but that’s the way it came right from the factory.
“Let’s just say I was a little overwhelmed, The car needed a lot of work and I’m very much on a fixed income. I ordered most of the parts from Ground Up – from sheet metal to vinyl top and carpet, etc.”
– William
So far, William has done all of the work himself including removing the original quarter panels, stripping everything to bare metal, applying three coats of primer, painting the car the original Daytona Yellow, installing the carpet and headliner, and installing the vinyl top.
William was also able to source some new original trim, which he installed himself to replace his own dented and dinged original trim. Future plans for the car include ordering a new chambered exhaust kit.
William’s folks haven’t seen the Chevelle since the restoration because they live many miles away, but they soon will. After all of the work, William is very excited for them to see it again, just the way it was when they bought it!
