BRUTE route 66 sign

66 Chevelle picture


They say time travel is a physical impossibility. But not for Larry Richardson. Every time the Clarksville, Tennessee accountant keys his gorgeous Marina blue '66, SS396 to life, it's like taking a trip back in time.
You see, Larry is one of the fortunate few to own a genuine low-mileage example of Bowtie muscle. He's the third owner of the time-capsule Chevelle detailed here, and as of this writing it shows only a tad over 27,000 miles on the ticker. Truth be known, it doesn't appear to have even that many miles. Of course, a repaint in the original hue by Frank Garrison (Elite Body Shop, Indianapolis, Indiana) goes a long ways toward maintaining that factory fresh appearance. But that's about as far as the refurbishing went.

Everything else on Richardson's'66 is factory original, including the black vinyl top, bucket seat interior, carpet, headliner, exterior trim, weatherstripping, dash chrome, spiral shocks, and.... well, you get the idea.

interior of 66 chevelle Like the rest of the car, the black bucket interior is mint original and was subjected only to Larry's cleanup and detailing. The carpets and dash chrome, too, are exceptionally nice for a 30-year old car!

Larry's Chevelle was special from the beginning, as it was built on the Framingham, Massachusetts assembly line; a plant normally committed to the production of Pontiacs. The differences in assembly procedures are quite evident in the trunk area, where the Chevelle was the recipient of black and gray trunk spatter paint (like the GTOS) rather than the generally accepted gray and turquoise trunk coating. The original spare, too, is unusual for a Chevelle. It's a Goodyear redline (not a Firestone like most Chevelle's), of the same variety generally found on GTOs of the same vintage.

Under the hood, though, everything is all Chevrolet and just the way you'd expect it to be on a car of this caliber. While the engine and its surroundings were virtually unmolested, Larry has spent considerable time detailing all the original components to bring everything up to his standards. Of course, his standards also called for a little more power, and to help satisfy his need for speed he bolted in a Comp Cams 270 bumpstick while the original 325-horse engine was out for detailing. To complement the added breathing abilities of the new camshaft, an original open-element air cleaner (like those found on 360- & 375-horse versions) replaced the single-snorkel unit normally found atop the original Holley four-barrel carb. The rest of the drivetrain is original too, and consists of a factory-shifted Muncie 4-speed backed by a 3.31 12-bolt posi.

front view of 66 chevelle Non-functional "air inlets" on the Super Sport hood were image-only items. Other SS accoutrements included the blacked-out grille with an SS396 emblem centered on it. Bold 396 fender flags help warn the competition.

engine in 66 chevelle The original 325-horse engine has been helped along with a mild aftermarket camshaft and lots of detailing. A cast iron intake mounts a Holley 4-barrel car, while combusted gases find their way to the atmosphere via cast iron exhaust manifolds.

Since Larry is only the third owner, tracing the history of his'66 wasn't that difficult. Originally sold in Lockport, New York in March of '66, the Chevelle led a fairly normal life for the first couple of years. That is, until it incurred a minor mishap while engaged in an illegal street contest. The damage was repaired, but the owner parked it with only 16,000 miles on the clock. The Chevelle changed hands shortly after the original owner passed away, and the mileage was run up another 11,000 miles before being sold to Richardson in 1994, with approximately 27,000 miles showing.

original documentation Through the years, all the documentation has stayed with the car, attesting to its finely maintained original status. Options include a rear antennae, positraction, tinted windshield, vinyl roof, buckets and console, 4-speed transmission, pushbutton AM radio, and mandatory (for New York) 4-way hazard switch. Owner specified dealer add-ons include an AM-FM pushbutton radio, bumper guards, and a tachometer mounted in the original "knee-knocker" location.

T-3 headlights While his pristine '66 Chevelle may light up Larry Richardson's life, these original T-3 headlights illuminate the road in fine fashion.

shifter in 66 chevelle Take a look at this shifter boot arrangement, '66 lovers. the lower boot appears to be the same used on non-console applications, while the upper boot is only a trim piece used to finish the shifter opening. Currently available one-piece shifter boots are late '66 or '67 production items, retro-fitted for the application.

While Michael J. Fox might have been able to travel "Back To The Future" in his hopped up DeLorean, we'd be willing to bet that Larry Richardson would rather travel through time in his original '66. We should all be so lucky!!! cw

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