TC member #735 jhudgins4
A few years ago I heard about a green base model 1971 Chevelle for sale located in Los Angeles, California. I was told the car was in decent shape and had been owned by the same owner for more than two decades. It had been sitting in a garage completely covered with everything but a proper car cover. I called a friend of mine who lived on the west coast and asked him to go by and take some photos when he had a chance. When the photos arrived, the car appeared to be a well maintained 71 Chevelle with a 350 small block. The exterior was rust free and the interior sported a green plaid cloth bench seat.
I decided to make the purchase and when the Chevelle arrived in Georgia, it was just as my friend described with few exceptions. My goal for the car was to clean it up and drop a big block in it (making it a sleeper hot rod, of sorts). As all good projects start, I left the car in dry storage for about a year before starting the disassembling process. One of my first tasks was to replace the gas tank. After I removed the gas tank from under the car, I discovered a very dirty but complete build sheet still resting on top of the gas tank. I took several pictures of the build sheet before I attempted to remove it from the gas tank in case the build sheet was too fragile to lift off in one piece. To my surprise, the build sheet peeled off in almost perfect condition.
NOTE: I later learned my Chevelle was built at the Van Nuys plant and spent its whole life in California, so there is a lot to be said for the dry California climate as it relates to preserving rust free automobiles.
With the “original” build sheet in hand, I decided to delay the project of making my car a sleeper “hot rod” until I understood just how this Chevelle started its life from the factory 37 years ago. While reviewing the factory options (or lack there of) listed on the build sheet, the last option stated “YF3 – Heavy Chevy décor”. My curiosity was peaked so I decided to do some on-line research about the history of the 1971 Heavy Chevy. It turned out the executives at Chevrolet decided to offer a mid-year production 1971 graphics option package on the base model Chevelle called “Heavy Chevy” in order to compete with the other automobile makers during the rise of insurance and gas prices.
Heavy Chevy Background
The RPO – YF3 option was offered to the public on the base model Chevelle at a total cost of $142.20. Production of the 1971 Heavy Chevy was only 6,727 and only 9,508 for 1972. If ordered, the Heavy Chevy option added the following items to a base model Chevelle;
- Doomed (non-functional) hood with hood pins
- Blacked out grill and headlight bezels
- Special body stripes running the length of the car (black or white) – See note below -
- Decals displaying “Heavy Chevy” placed on the hood, trunk lid and fenders
- Special interior door panels with white stripes for 71 & wood grain stripes for 72
- 14” x 6” egg-crate style rally wheels without trim rings with bright lug nuts & special center caps
Note: Choice of either black or white stripes available except when vinyl roof cover or black or white painted roof was specified.
The idea behind the Heavy Chevy option was to provide the buyer with a budget minded alternative to the Super Sport model. The base model Chevelle could be ordered with a "Heavy Chevy" package as well as some other equipment found on Super Sports with a couple of big differences. While the 1971 SS was based upon the Malibu, the Heavy Chevy option was based upon the base Chevelle model, which had less trim. The Heavy Chevy could be ordered with any V8 engine except a 454. It could also be ordered with an M-20 4 speed and round instrument gauges. However, most Heavy Chevys were ordered with 350 a small block and an automatic transmission. Like the Malibu 400 cars, many Heavy Chevys have been converted to SS clones. The VIN on a '71 Heavy Chevy starts with 13437, while the VIN on a V8 Malibu or SS coupe starts with 13637.
“Lime” Green With Envy
I was pleased to discover that my Chevelle had never been molested or modified and all of the original drivetrain components were still in tact. My Lime Green 71 sports a factory L-65 245 HP Turbo Fire 350 V8, M38 automatic transmission, factory A/C, power steering, power disc brakes, AM radio, paint code # 43 Lime Green exterior and trim code #736 Dark Jade cloth bench seat interior. I had it painted the factory Lime Green color (basecoat/clearcoat) in 2006 and recently rebuilt the original engine and transmission. It has 62,500 original miles, all original sheet metal and all original interior except for the base model Chevelle green rubber mat which was replaced with green carpet before I purchased the car.
After much deliberation, I decided it was best to preserve my car as close to factory original as possible. Since it is a low production Chevelle featuring an unusual color highlighted by the “Heavy Chevy” option package and a documented numbers matching drivetrain, my final conclusion NOT to turn this California dream car into a “hot rod” was an easy decision after all!
Jim Hudgins, Roswell, Georgia
69 Malibu Convertible 350/300HP/M38 Garnet Red
70 SS EL Camino 454 LS5/TH400 Champagne Gold
70 SS EL Camino 396 L34/TH400 Fathom Blue
70 SS 454 LS5/M22 Cortez Silver
70 SS 454 LS5/M22 Astro Blue (Project)
71 Heavy Chevy 350/M38 Lime Green
Team Chevelle #735 / ACES #4012
www.peachstatechevelles.com -
More photos
April 2002 Feature Chevelle
