I am helping with a restore on a nice 69 SS396 basket case and we are working on the shopping list from ground up currently.
I was under the impression that "ALL" SS396 cars came with tach and guages and this car is missing the dash and I will need to order the correct one.
Did they come with steel or plastic inners?
Also it has no console in this bucket seat car and was hoping someone may have some interior pics to see what this will look like.
The car is originally a code 57 Fathom green color and we are thinking of changing this for one of the other colors that were offered in 69 that may have a little more appeal!
Any opinions on this?. Pics?
We will be pulling seats and will post a build sheet if found.
Thanks all!

I painted my 69 daytona Yellow Vette Code 984, which was a special order color on SS cars. Monoco Orange (hugger orange) Vette Code 990 also special order on SS cars looks good too.

hanseng123- Did you add a stripe package?

I was under the impression that "ALL" SS396 cars came with tach and guages and this car is missing the dash and I will need to order the correct one.


Not true. Tach and gauges were an option and not standard SS equipment.

You asked for opinions so here is mine. Depending on how original it is, the L78 is rare and should be built to original specs. If you have proof it is legit, you should consider the future for this car because of it's rarity and history.

If you don't have proof of what it is, and it is not original now, then it won't be any different from other SS Chevelles.

I too have the same car in the same basket case condition and was thinking of painting the car anything but that not so good looking green. My is so bad it may not be worth fixing but it came with 1 original exhaust manifold,Left side ,original m-22 trans case only and the original engine block. Not alot to work with but I would hate to break it up but the parts may be worth more seperately. Parts are so expensive you may want to buy a nice parts car and make 1 out of 2. Good luck.

As for "inners" both plastic and steel were used. Some cars even had one of each........ (I like the look of steel and that's what I used on mine. It came originally with plastic but they crack and generally don't wear as well). As for no console, I don't recall seeing a 4 spd bucket car without one. And I'll admit that I don't even know if it was possible. Pretty sure that all bucket "auto" cars had a console though.

As for color, if I was going to all the trouble to make it "correct" I'd stick with the tag color. If I was building a 'driver' I'd make it the color I wanted.

A '69 with or without the SS396 option and with (any of) the optional automatic trans came standard with a bench seat and column shifter. If you added the bucket seat option but did not also add the console option, the shifter was still on the column. If you added both bucket seats and console options, the shifter was on the console.

Johnny,

Ditto what info other guys have given. Most everything was a seperate option in 69'. You can take a look a the pics in my signature they may be of help. I have since taken out the add on tach and added a factory tach and guage set. My car was originally a bench seat 4 speed car. During the restoration I added the bucket seats and console. I painted my car the original Cortez Silver, but then again I really like Silver.

Brian and Von are good people to get '69 info from. An SS396 car would have power disc brakes, and SS wheels wearing F70 X 14 tires. Pretty well everything else was optional. Our L78 Chevelle is almost a twin to Brian's. Ours is bench seat, 4 speed, and has no factory gauges. We have a '72 Lemans Sport that is a bucket seat, 4 speed, no console car. You get used to the lack of console pretty quickly. The Pontiac unit was pretty bland anyway. The console storage box can be handy though. An L78 car is worth restoring to original if you want to get top dollar for it down the road. Fathom Green with the white D96 stripe is a sharp combination. Our Chevelles, one February and the other July, both have plastic inners.
Plastic or steel don't seem to be a hard and fast rule. The aftermarket plastic inners that I have seen looked terrible. The steel that I have used fit, unlike the aftermarket plastic ones. The old original plastic has a bad habit of cracking around the bolt holes. I can show you some.

Thanks for the replies.
Oldtime-We fortunately have a canadian import on our hands here and George Zapora has all the docs coming asap and I will be posting a build sheet then.
Von-What has me confused is that the hump has no console brackets and yet the correct bucket mounts are in place ! Also the shifter hole is is the big square one and not the long slotted one like I have in my 71 4 spd car.
Are all 69 holes the big square one?
Brian-Cant make your links happen.
Kieth-This is also a july car(11th) ,also whom makes the steel inners? Are they GM restoration parts?
I will try and gets some pics posted asap.
Thanks.

Johnny-I put the stripes on didnt like em so much and took em off. I made it a COPO REPO, got most of the power options on it. I just have to explain what a COPO is at car shows.

The shifter hump with the square hole is for a floor shifter for a manual trans without a console. This could be possible with either a bench seat or buckets without a console. The hump with the long slot is for a manual trans floor shifter with a console, which could only be had with buckets. If the hump is original, it sounds like the car had a manual trans when new. If the bucket seat brackets are original (repros are available but are different than originals), it sounds like it was a bucket seat car without a console. Not that uncommon.

Johnny, if you go to the www.yenko.net web site you will find our Chevelle there. Go to the Main Index and to Members' Rides. We are on about page 4. There is a copy of George Zapora's GM of Canada information there along with the car pictures. Yours will be very similar. Great stuff to have. People look at the paperwork as much as the car when we are at shows. Nothing like a little history.

Sorry , I guess my pic links are no longer working??? There are 2 different 4 speed humps, one for non console cars and one for console cars. They are pretty easy to change out. Then there is an additional bracket for the console. It is welded to the floor board hump right underneight the storage compartment of the console. You will want to swap out the hump first. Then use the console to locate the proper location using the holes thru the bottom of the storage compartment. The repop console kits are nice. Got mine from OPG several years ago. The console bracket should be available as well but an easy piece to make if you wish.

Anyone have a clue what happened to the links in my sig not working? I went to the index and can't find the pics anywhere in the showroom either.???These pics were loaded a few years ago. Thanks

Thanks for the replies!
Keith- I will check your site out also.
johnny.