Ok I hate to beat a dead horse, but I am gonna try again. I have a 65 SS. VIN and dataplate confirm SS with correct color and interior color and all options. The interior is dark/med fawn. Only part that confuses me is that there is a bench seat (which matches the rest of the interior). There is also a column shifter which also matches the interior paint of the car. As far as I know, neither of these options were offered for the SS package. Did the chevelle 300's have these options and maybe the source for these parts being in my car? I do have a big ol' hole in my floor where there appears to have been a shifter, and brackets that look to have been cut off that would correspond to the console location.

Thanks for any theories or opinions.

You Could order the SS with bench seats and column shift starting in 65. All the 64 SS had bucket seats and floor shift.

that's cool. I was totally baffled by this one. Dunno why anyone would want those options really, but ok. You are the first person to tell me that was an option in '65. funny thing is the shifter hole in the floor that is covered up with a piece of metal that looks like it was a worker safety sign or something of the sort.

thanks for the info.

Sorry to doubt you Bob, but from everything I have read bucket seats and a consoled floor shifter were standard for 64 and 65 SS cars. From what I have read, the option to have a bench in an SS started in 1966. Of course, I was born nearly 20 years later so I could be wrong.

troposcuba(name?),
Bench seats and column shifters came in regular Malibu(non SS cars) as well as the 300 cars. They might have been the donors of your column and bench seat.

Maybe one of the 65 experts(Rich?) will pop in and give the final judgement for ya. smile.gif
Good Luck!

I concur, the SS option was a trim package, buckets, console, special exterior treatments.It could be had with 6 or 8 cyl engine. What would the point be to order that option then delete the stuff that makes it SS? My guess is somebody didn't like bucket seats,and swapped it for a bench, and column.

They should have used a STOP SIGN :D
The old seats were probably ragged out and somebody probably got some cheap parts, thats my guess.Unlikely some dealer used some sort of sign to patch the hole in the floor!

Tropo,

You mention the cowl tag/ data plate indicating the correct interior, but the code should also be specific for not only the color, but for bench or buckets (Okay, I am not a 65 expert). So by being able to decipher that code, you should be able to determine what the correct seats would be.

Console brackets would only be installed if the car was to get a console. Have you looked for inner bucket seat mounting brackets?

The same goes for the "shifter hole" in the floor. There was NO hole if the car had a column shifted transmission...

I personally doubt anyone would pay the dealer the money for the SS option and then have the dealer replace the buckets with a bench seat, when you could order a Malibu with the same drivetrain... I am sure it would cost far more money and time then to just find the correct options in a Malibu. If the dealer were to pull a "new" seat out of another Malibu, where would the buckets go (no brackets on the bench seat car). And how long would it take to order a new seat, as opposed to finding another car?

Remember, on the early SS cars (up until 1966), the SUperSport package was NOT a performance package, but a styling package (buckets, console, guages, trim). This was true for Novas, Impalas and Chevelles. They were available with 6 cylinders as well as most any V8.


From what I have read, the option to have a bench in an SS started in 1966. .

Steve, you got it backwards here... In 1966, the Bench seat was STANDARD on the SS Chevelle. Buckets were an option, as was the console, and the guages, etc. The 1966 SS only had the additional trim and the 396 engine and 12-bolt rearend. Pretty much all the fancy stuff was optional. The Base 1966 Chevelle would have a 325HP/396, 3-speed manual on the floor and a benchseat, 12-bolt non-positraction rearend, no guages or tach. Pretty basic. All manual transmissions were floor-shifted, but the Powerglide could come with the optional column-shifter.

This is the first SS car where the SS became a performance option with all SS cars having the 396 engine.

Anyway, back to Tropos car... Its possible that the seats/console/column were taken from the car at some time in the past 37+ years, and a subsequent owner replaced them with what he found. Two-tone fawn was a pretty common interior color. If the front seat looks old, its probably from a Malibu (I think the 300s all have cloth seats). Or maybe they used a repro seat cover (been around for years) or an upholstery shop copied the back seat.


Tropo,
why don't you post the info from the data plate, and someone can help decipher it...

Tony,
Yup, that's what I meant. But your wording is a heckofalot better than mine! smile.gif

I always feel the need to explain myself really clearly, which is why most of my posts get extremely lengthy...

I'll post a couple pics of the data/vin plates when i get home from work tonight. I already deciphered them (correctly i think, but any help is always appreciated). The read that I got on the plates says; SS, built 4th week Dec. Kansas plant, ermine white ext. dark/med fawn interior, pg trans... think that was it from memory. anyway, I have owned the car since '87. It was fairly complete when i bought it. All knobs etc. in place. Engine had been swapped out. Fender badges say 327 (of course that isn't really an indication of what was there origionally). When i pulled the engine it turned out to be a 350, and I found old pull style beer tabs in the lifter valley and sticks and twigs and stuff. Since then i have ripped out carpet door pnls etc. starting toward the resto process. I always figured someone replaced the seats somewhere along the line. But the column shifter thing is what really threw me. Thanks all for the info. Pics to follow in the am.

Truth be told, bucket seats were included in the SS package in 1965 BUT the buckets could be deleted by request in favor of a bench. Also, the console was included with the SS package IF a 4-speed or Powerglide were also ordered. If you ordered an SS with a 3-speed you got the buckets, but a column shift by default with no console.

Of course if you chose to delete the buckets for a bench you automatically did not get the console.

While it's possible the buckets and console were swapped out by a previous owner, it is also very possible it was built that way in the first place.

If your car was originally built with a fawn bench seat interior, the interior trim code on the cowl tag would be 765. If it was originally a bucket seat interior it would have an interior trim code of 770.

In 64, Many people wanted the SS with bench seats and could not get it. With the feed back from sales, You could get the bench seat in 65. In 66 the bench seat was standard on all Mods. and the buckets was the option. I could be wrong, It would be the first time. :D
Bob J.

Tropo,still hoping you post your interior trim code for us.I find it hard to believe they would patch the hole in the floor with some sort of sign and cut console mounting brackets off, from the factory or even a dealer
Did you look to see if the inside bucket seat mounting brackets are there?
Has anybody seen a true bench seat 65 SS and was that or those floors patched also? I have not, that is why I am so interested in this post.
I'm not poking at anybody, just trying to learn more about 65s
DANO

well i took the digital pics. how do i post em to this forum?

Originally posted by troposcuba:
well i took the digital pics. how do i post em to this forum? You need to upload them to the picture forum provided by Team Chevelle and then make a link to them in your post. To set up a picture file, send an e-mail to Al or Dot and they will set you up.

If you want to avoid the hassle, e-mail the pictures to me and I'll post them in this thread.

richnat@concentric.net

Originally posted by LKN BCK:
Tropo,still hoping you post your interior trim code for us.I find it hard to believe they would patch the hole in the floor with some sort of sign and cut console mounting brackets off, from the factory or even a dealer
Did you look to see if the inside bucket seat mounting brackets are there?
Has anybody seen a true bench seat 65 SS and was that or those floors patched also? I have not, that is why I am so interested in this post.
I'm not poking at anybody, just trying to learn more about 65s
DANO I have seen a bench seat column shift '65 SS. I never got to look under the carpet but my guess would be that the body would have been made with no hole in the floor and with no console brackets unless Fisher Body messed up and it was fixed at the Chevy assembly line. Chevy would not have used a piece of a sign to fix anything though, that had to have been added by a previous owner.

My guess is in this instance, if it is indeed an orignal SS car, that a previous owner swapped out the buckets and console for a bench for some reason.

When we get to see photos of the cowl tag we can likely more definitively answer these questions.

Rich-L79,Thank for replying.
DANO

DANO,
I have seen a 65 SS with bench seats and PG shifter on the column, It had 195hp/283cu, Ext color was brown and was build at the Fremont plant. I had talked to the original owner that orderd the car new. I did not looked under the carpet. The last time I had seen the car was in Mt. View, Ca. 1989.
The Vin & trim tags along with everything else said it was a 65 SS. I dont recall what the trim code was
but the color was beige
Bob J.

rich-79 you've got mail!

Originally posted by troposcuba:
rich-79 you've got mail! I haven't received anything yet.

Rich-L79 i'll try again. I must've typed your email in wrong. lemme know if ya get this one. startin to look like i can screw up even the simple things in life huh? you can expect the email from: sean@smithcliff.com

thanks again

alright i finally got my act together (I think... lets see if this works). the pics should be available for all to see at:
http://www.geocities.com/troposcuba/bu.htm

for what it is worth, i had a look under the seat and found what appears to be bolt holes in what would be about the location that i am guessing a set of bucket seats would mount up. I also noticed that the seat covers front and rear are a different pattern but same color. so i am thinking that this bench was a donor out of some other car somewhere along the line after all rather than some strange factory event.

Okay, I got your pictures. From what I can see it sure looks like a previous owner did that. Your cowl tag reads:
12D
ST 65-13837 KAN 8337 BODY
TR 770 C-C PAINT
E2KM 5
===========================================
12D = Builts last week of December 1964
ST 65-13837 KAN 8337 BODY = Malibu SS V8 coupe, built in Kansas City
TR 770 C-C PAINT = Interior was originally Fawn buckets, originally Ermine White
E2KM 5 = it was originally built with tinted glass all around, air conditioning and a Powerglide transmission.

Likely story is that a previous owner wanted a bench so they tore out the console and floor shifter, put in a column shifter and in order to get the carpet to fit they chopped off the console mount brackets. Other than the SS package and air, it's a pretty low option car.

yeah, that is what i figured to be the case. it does still have the a/c and the origional tinted windows. the other thing it has going for it is very straight completely rust free sheetmetal except the floor pans. and the car is complete with very few missing parts. so i figure not a bad place to start. thanks for all the info. i'll post the completed pics of the car in a couple years!