Looking at the promo ads I noted 2 items that my Chevelle SS does not have regarding the tail panel.

1). The tail panel on my car is painted the color of the car - not black
2). The tail panel on my car does not the the "Chevelle" script. Follow on about the script - there don't seem to be any attaching holes there either - were these attached with adhesive?

What is "correct" for the 1966 Chevelle SS in regards to the rear tail panel?

Promo ad for the 66 SS:
http://www.chevelles.com/years/66/redss.jpg

Mine (car domain page):
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/822091

Either is "CORRECT"

The Rear Black Out Panel was the way the Factory initially intended the 66 SS ( not malibu ) to look. That is why the original literature ( 1st version ) shows it as such. Many early production 66 SS's received the black out panel just as it was shown in the literature., but this did not last very long, as the demand for the 66 SS, esp at the Atlanta Plant was greater than what was expected and painting that rear panel Black as opposed to body color, well.. that was an extra step.. and soon the powers that be, put a halt to it. note is made here that this was intended to keep that same look the front grill had, all blacked out... on the rear.

This did create a problem of sort though.. customer takes delivery of his new 66 SS and ses his rear panel is not black .. like the ones in the literature?? customer says.. "hey.. I like it that way!!" No problem, dealer says, we can paint it for you.. and as such.. many dealers did paint the rear panel Black just as shown in the literature.. well almost... Dealer Rear Painted Panels were masked outside of the brake/tail light bezel and the black didn't extend quite as far as the factory painted ones.. but this was so very small, almost un-noticable. I say this only b/c I know guys that have what they consider Factory Black painted rear panels and they are not... they are dealer painted... and when examined against Factory ones, one can see this small difference.. very small. and it also takes care of the guys who say, " I have a later production car and mine is Blacked out., yes, b/c maybe the dealer did it.

OR

The late cars may have it b/c as the 66 Model yr was coming to an end.. they were gearing up for the 67 SS production.. and this idea of painting the rear panel Black, once again came up.. so yes, even some Late 66's got the Rear Black Out Panel... One has to remember, all 67 SS were going to get this treatment.

and yes, even with all this said, there are some early 66's that did not get the rear panel blacked out at all, was this a Plant specific thing? hard to say, I know I have seen or spoken with owners of 66 SS's from just about every plant and it can't seem to conclude that one Plant did it this way while others did it another way...

The Factory Literature shows that RED 66 SS's in the 1st version with a Blacked out Rear panel, but the second version shows the same car with a body color Rear Panel... this was not uncommon for the Factory to release early Lit. with one thing and then later actual production to be different.

Mike


On the other issue of your "CHEVELLE" Script not being there and no holes evident.. That is a bit concerning to me.... No, they were not attached with any kind of adhesive. There most definitely should be holes there.. and I hate to bring this up... but with no holes there, one has to wonder if this car was not a Malibu made into an SS?? Yes, I see the TRIM TAG shows 138176.. but does it look to be at all tampered with, maybe not quite exactly where it should be, rivets or holes off abit? How about the VIN tag on door pillar.. look okay? The fact that you don't have those holes on rear panel and the entire front end is MALIBU style ( chrome ).. ie.. no blacked out grill or headlight extensions., makes one at least be curious. :confused:

66 Malibu's got the CHEVELLE script attached to the trunk lid, not on the rear panel, so one would not expect to see holes on rear panel of a Malibu. The Trunk lid looks to be rough, worse than rest of car, so was it possibly replaced.. hence I doubt you see any holes on the trunk lid either?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6164&item=4543324967&rd=1

Just an example of a BAD CLONE job.. note the rear area.. has SS script and trunk script and rear panel script.. quarterpanel super sport scripts are wayyy low...

maybe your rear panel holes were just covered up during some previous work, ie.. maybe car was hit from behind?

Great info the the back-out tail panel...

Yep - Looked last night and the tail panel holes are plugged, it was dark and we didn't have enough light but it seemed to be at least 4 filled in holes (2 on either side of the trunk catch) and I may have missed one behind the catch. Better light this am so I'll determine look again. Once I start pulling it apart, I can better determine if the car weas rear-ended or not...

Still a mystery about the front grille though.... Why would it be replaced with a non-SS grille??? strange.

Pulled the front grille assembly off the Chevelle this weekend - actually my 15 year old daughter and 16 year old son did. When it was all seperated out it looks like the (non-SS) grille came from a junk yard??? Has the letters "66 Chevel" hand-written script in yellow metal marker on the bottom of it.

Also, my son pulled the carpets out of the car - what a mess in the floors. Looks like I'll need full floor pans too. He also showed me where someone had drilled 20 or so holes in the rear floor pans, probablly to let some water out?????

Once the sill plates were removed, chips in the paint seemed to reveal what we think is the original Aztec Bronze color...

I'm getting out the digital camera to record all the before and after - like I did with my son's 66 Nova project - but this looks like MUCH more extensive work :(

JMHO, but Aztec Bronze cars look awesome. Have you seen Randy Kirker's car?

Some picts of Aztec Bronze cars "may" change my opinion on the final paint, send links if you got 'em...

Some picts of Aztec Bronze cars "may" change my opinion on the final paint, send links if you got 'em...

Aztec is a difficult.. very difficult color to get RIGHT.. and even photos don't do it justice.. Randy's 66 SS is Hands Down best in the country IMHO., see some links here plus another car...

http://www.superchevy-web.com/events/0403_scs_chi/

http://www.superchevy-web.com/events/0306scs_martin/
http://superchevy.com/events/0501scs_gainesville/

http://www.true-connections.com/projects/mendozas_66.htm

Mike

Sure is a pretty color :)

Bronze #1 (http://www.chevellestuff.com/66velle/gallery/m_aztec_bronze.jpg)

Bronze #2 w/fawn vinyl top (http://www.chevellestuff.com/66velle/gallery/m_2.jpg)

Bronze #3 - convertible (http://www.chevellestuff.com/66velle/gallery/m_aztec_bronze_convert.jpg)

Randy's 66 SS is Hands Down best in the country IMHO.,

I dunno, have you happened to see a particular white '66 from Nebraska? :D

Yes, I've seen it Rich ;) but I still stand by my statement.. from a Points Judging standpoint... I think even Steve would have his hands full with Randy's 66 SS.


I do however put Steve's car in my own personal TOP TEN 66 SS's in the country today. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the pictures!!!!!! The Aztec Bronze from "True Connections" is a winner for me.... VERY NICE car with the FAWN interior. not sure if it'll look as nice with a BLACK int, but we may see....

My son has a 66 NOVA with COBALT BLUE paint and the FAWN interior --- looks nice too....

Bought a 66 SS new from the showroom in Buffalo, MN in Sept of 65, it was made in Janesville,Wi; it was Red with a B/W interior and the rear panel was red.

I think I'll be painting the rear panel in the black out style like this picture from the 66 promo ad
http://www.chevelles.com/years/66/redss.jpg

"66 MYSTERY CHEVELLE " stated that the dealers did it differently than the production line, slightly different but one could tell if they knew what they were looking for.

2 questions...
1). I'd like to know how the production line did it? Where were the tape lines (top and bottom behind the upper and lower moldings) and where did it end (in the rear panel extension panels or before them)
2). What color did they use? Did they use the Tuxedo Black for that year? (PPG 9300 color?)

Is that the Randy from Colorado?



Rocky

After reading all the messages it appears that its owners choice on black out or not if the original state can no longer be determined. Was the black a flat or semi-gloss?

Thanks for the bump - to restate the 2 items about the tail panel black out...

1). Where was the black-out section? left to right and top to bottom
2). What paint was used?

I'm receiving a few items in the mail soon on 66-67 SS's and after looking at it I'd have made my decision - correct or not. It'll be close and what looks good to me for the car...

Thanks,

Regarding your grill question....it may be as easy of an answer as my car. I bought my Super Sport Convertible in 1982, it had had some front end repair as the front bumper was rechromed. the grill is not blacked out. I assume that it was replaced and never blacked out. I bought the car from the original owners daughter/son in law. I still haven't blacked it out in all these years. Maybe this summer I'll paint it. My assumption is that the factory replacements were not blacked out to cover Malibus and SSs. Your mileage may vary. Dougb.
1966 Chevelle Super Sport Convertible
Originally white with fawn interior
Now Madiera Maroon with fawn interior since 1982

I put the black on my rear. In my opinion it just looks really good.

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=showMyPhoto&albumID=246113454&photoID=319974645&security=ynTVME

Saw your picts by looking through the album in your sig (the specific link you provided gives me a security error).

Did you use gloss / semi-gloss? Black paint code??

Thanks.

BTW: Nice Marina Blue color

NO GLOSS. Rear should match the front grill sheen...

Does any one know what paint was used, semi-gloss, flat???

NO GLOSS. Rear should match the front grill sheen...

So one of the colors I *MAY* replaint the 66SS is Tuxedo Black. Can I assume that this color is the same that was used in the tail panel on a Tuxedo Black car? or did they repaint it with the 'sheen' version of the black which matched the front grille...

Thanks!

If your car is Factory Black, then the tail panel is same color.

thanks - that's what I figured but just wanted to make sure