Alright guys. Get ready for a long confusing tale that will have a series of questions that follow.

I bought a 69 Chevelle a few month ago and I am in the process of a ground up restoration. The vehicle was pretty much junk but I couldn't bear to watch it die so I purchased it for a measly $900.00. I am currently welding the body back together and need to dry fit all the trim (so that all the holes that are there are supposed to be and those that aren't are gone) prior to sending the car off for e-coating.

It appears that this car is, or once was, or maybe was a good clone of a Super Sport. It's hard to tell on a 1969 because you can't authenticate by the VIN number and the SS was a trim option on the Malibu.

Anyway...I want to dress it out as an SS and since the suspension is totally redesigned, the engine will be a 502 Ram Jet and the transmission will be a 4L80E, no one will ever mistake it as a true SS so I see no harm.

The problem is the badging. I know the SS 396 emblems appear on the grille (and this has an SS grille complete with enblem), on the fender (and the holes are already there), and on the rear of the car (and the holes are already there) as well the interior door panels. However....here is the question part:

1) Did the "Chevelle" badge appear on the deck lid of an SS (because there are holes in the metal for the "Chevelle" logo on the car I bought).

2) Did the "Chevelle by Chevrolet" badge appear on the nose panel (left front) of an SS (because there are holes in the metal for the "Chevelle by Chevrolet" logo on the car I bought).

3) What goes on the dash above the glove box door (because there are holes and that piece is totally missing).

I have never had an SS, only Malibu's, so I'm not sure of the answers to these questions. The holes for the "Malibu" emblem are not in the quarters of this car. So either the car is not a "Malibu" that was dressed up as an SS, or somebody welded up the holes and metal finished them, or it's an SS body with "Malibu" stuff, or.....

Awww..who the hell knows. It's an SS clone now so please help.

Thanks,

Bill

[This message has been edited by 1969sleeper (edited 10-18-2000).]

I'll try my best here:

1. I'm almost positive that the "Chevelle by Chevrolet" was on the SS trunk lid. I have a reprint of the sales brochure and it shows the rear of the Concours, Malibu etc. but not the SS. In each of these, there is the "Chevelle by Chevrolet" badge. On the Concours, there is a "Concours by Chevrolet".

2. Absolutely. The brochure planly shows the "Chevelle by Chervolet" on the nose of an SS.

3. If you are not talking about the strip trip over the glove box, you may be referring to the "Astro Ventilation" badge. If you are, I have a book that shows two different strip trim pieces. One that says "Malibu" and one that just has "SS".

I hope this helps.

Bob

Every 69SS396 I have seen, authentic or otherwise, did indeed have Chevelle badging on the nose and rump. The factory drilled holes in the decklid are perhaps the only thing that precludes one from correctly installing it on a 68. The strip over your glovebox should bear the SS396 name to the far right hand side. Be careful here...The 68 also has the SS396 name in this location, but the similarities between the two stops there. What you need is the dash strip where the typestyle and coloration of the "SS396" closely resembles those found on your door panels. This of course assumes that the emblems on your door panel are of the 1969 variety. Confused? Check out the pics in a catalog from our sponsors..."Ground Up"

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1968 SS 396

OK here goes,,, i have owned 6 true SS396 cars,,, the decklid was the same as the malabu, badges were chevelle-by chevrolet... nose was the same as malabu, these two had nothing changed on an ss,,, the badge above the glove box was a distinct ss piece and was the same size but different color as the malabu but had ss396 in the written in molding pc
the fenders has SS 396 on both sides and the rear had ss396 badge, the door pannels as well,,, also all ss's had ss style wheels, and had wheel well moldings,,, they also had no crome across the bottom at the body seam, the ss's also had a different eyebrow molding for the grill area than the malabu,, the ss eyebrow stoped at the bottom of the grille and didnt go to the curve on the fender,,, besides the drive train that pritty much covers the body

Thanks guys!

When three people give you the same story it just doesn't get any more sure than that. I appreciate the info.

Thanks again,

Bill

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"It's not about the loss of money, It's about the love of the car!"

Dear Bill: Could you please let us know how the tranny/engne combo works out...I don't know what you mean by Ram Jet....probably my ignorance, but I have a 502 and was thinking of backing it with the 4L80E ( mainly for the overdrive )...according to published torque spec. she won't handle it, but we all know that products are usually overbuilt by a considerable margin. Congrats on savin' another great car! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif R.B.

I believe there should also be a SS emblem on the steering wheel center.

69 sleeper check out my site below. It has some pictures of the areas you are asking about. The part above the glove box is just like a 69 Malibu but instead of the Malibu script it says SS396. In the pictures you can't make out what the header emblem says but it is what you think. My car had never been touched untill I bought it so what you see before body work started is how it came from the factory.

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Gold Member #164
http://sites.netscape.net/superchevyss396/chevelleskickass
Camden Arkansas