[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Hi everyone,

I've been a member here for a few years, but my main purpose was to learn how to find out about my old car without having the VIN. I was offered many excellent suggestions from contacting the Insurance Company, State DOT, original Dealership, etc.

I had no success in those avenues, but by the grace of God I actually found the original paperwork and "window sticker" off of my beloved 1967 Chevelle SS 396 (L78) this week in an old file folder that had been handed down to me from my dear old Dad (RIP)! Thanks Dad! :-)

So, now I am armed with the VIN and all the options I ordered on the car, including the Invoice Order Sheet and the original registration in Illinois.

The car was ordered through Barkman Chevrolet in Danville, Illinois in June 1967, and I received the car late summer/early fall as I recall. I sold the car in 1971 in Danville, Ill before getting married and before going into the Army (I know, it's the same old story right?). I remember selling it to a father and his young son (who I believe had just received his license)...so off they drove in a car that was probably waaaay more powerful than the kid could handle (hopefully he didn't wreck it!).

I know now that this was a very rare car, since only 602 L78 Chevelle's were special ordered in 1967, and since that engine option wasn't even listed in the official brochure that year....only offered late in the run for 1967.

My car was Deepwater Blue with Black vinyl interior. Bench seat, 4-Speed, 4.10 Posi Diff., Power Steering, Manual Rear Antenna, Push Button Radio, Simulated Wood Steering Wheel, and the 375 HP Engine Option, obviously. There "cannot" be that many '67 L78 Chevelles out there that match this description!

I have a pic I could post but it doesn't look like that's allowed on this forum (shame).

I know it's a long shot, but I wanted to get this information out there.....maybe I'll find my old Chevelle. If any of you have seen a car as I described I'd appreciate an e-mail ( Im4BMW@aol.com ). Please feel free to share anything you want about my search...suggestions, places to contact and to look. I have already contacted the Chevelle Registry, but no response as of yet.

Now, here is the VIN:

138177K200753

If my car is out there, I hope to find it and possibly have the opportunity to purchase it and "bring it home"!

Thanks for allowing me the time to post this request,

John (in PA)

[Dean]

Well you never know John.
Someone posted the VIN of there old car here one time and when the current owner did a search on his VIN, google brought him to that post.

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Sorry about posting to the wrong place...seeing as there wasn't a specific place called Car Searches or some such thing (which IMO would be a very good idea), I thought the "Welcome" area was a good starting place....Chevelle Tech doesn't seem to be the right place, but what choice do I have? :-(

Just trying to get the word out!

John

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Correction....612 L78's were produced in 1967 (I had said 602 previously). Very limited run for the L78 that year makes L78's almost as rare as 1965 Z-16's (also great cars).

My best bet is finding a Registry willing to share VIN's with me. But, Deepwater Blue over Black (with bench seat) 4-Speed '67's can't be all that common, so I am hopeful that someone has spotted the car.

Is anyone familiar with the L78 Registry?

[AZCamino]

Congratulations on finding your VIN! Good Luck with your search.

Try doing a search at the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to see if the car is currently registered in any of the states currently participating. I tried checking this myself, but got a message that the site was down and to check back later.
https://secure.add123.com/NmvtisPpiW...200753&submit=

I checked the Chevelle Registry here at Team Chevelle and didn't find it.

Dale M. has a L78 Registry at his chevellestuff.com website. His user name here at TC is DaleM. You can find his contact information here:
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/member.php?u=437

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Thanks for the help Bruce. I'll give that a try.

[hpsherlin]

John,
If you want to post that nostalgic pic of your '67 L78, you can send me the pic at my email address and I would be glad to post it for you.
Best of luck on your search!!!

[hpsherlin]

John,
Here is the pic you sent me of your L78 67SS.

[hpsherlin]

Here's one more pic of John's 67SS L78 back in the day.
Gotta love those old pictures.

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Thanks Herbie! I hope my car is still out there somewhere in good health! :-) I've really seen very few Deepwater Blue 67's....anyone who has seen this color up close knows how gorgeous it is!

John

[JWA]

BTW you CAN post pics on this forum even if you're not a paying TC member (see my signature) The real shame is we have folks still who can't/won't figure it out after about 2 or 3000 posts on how to do it <<< This is not entirely directed at you but a general statement about web bulletin board usage. I wish you the best in you quest.

[JeffB]

Did you ever run that car at the strip? If so, what et's/mph?

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

My memory has faded from what I always "thought" I'd do in the 1/4 mile (I lived close to Indy too...went to the drags several times as a spectator, including 1968 when Bid Daddy Don won Top Fuel!).....but, as I recall, I really thought my car could break into the 12 sec bracket with slicks and the M/T headers I was running. That car was crazy fast!

Wish I had dragged it at least once at the strip....but I was actually pretty easy with it most of the time. I did drag a friend on his Kawasaki twice (1/4 mile strip outside town-every town had one right?). I beat him on his 500, but he blew by me on his 750! I was playin around with a guy in High School who had a '67 Chevelle 396/350 and I blew his doors off easy! You know, the ole pop the clutch just over the RR Tracks to the next street light??? :-) GTO's and Road Runners were no match either tooling around town. No brag, just fact! :-)

Probably the only car that could stay with an L78 Chevelle back then was a Hemi-powered car.

I say this "humbly" (after all of 40 some years), but my car was very well known to be just about (if not "the") fastest car in town. The torque in that engine made it easy to win bets with the money on the dash board trick....."nobody" could reach the "green" when they sat in the pass seat.

Oh, those were the days!

Originally Posted by JeffB

Did you ever run that car at the strip? If so, what et's/mph?

[Luke]

John You had one killer '67 chevelle! I hope you find it, and in the mean time save every penny you can because she's ain't going to be cheap when you do. LOL

[Chevelle SS 396/375]

Thanks Luke! I'm sure if it's out there in great condition it won't be cheap (actually, I probably won't be able to afford it). Heck, it won't be cheap even if it's in so-so condition, but that doesn't bother me, as I've restored cars before and restoring my old car would be a labor of love for sure!

I'm a little disappointed in that I haven't heard back from the Chevelle Registry or any of the other sources that have been recommended to me. It's a tough job searching. I wonder if there's a National Database somewhere that inventories salvage yard vehicles that are crushed? That would be a great place to start, to see if it's even still in existence (at least in one piece).

Originally Posted by Luke

John You had one killer '67 chevelle! I hope you find it, and in the mean time save every penny you can because she's ain't going to be cheap when you do. LOL