[68ChevATL]

I've heard that the A/C option was not seen on very many of the SS cars. This is somewhat surprising to me. I would not expect A/C to be a rare option. Does anyone have any good information on this?

 

[wambams69ss396]

what years are you talking about?i would say 64-68 uncommon and 69-72 common.my 69 SS chevelle hardtop is an AC car.

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

My 66SS has factory air.

Now I can say "it is the rare factory air option!"

Hey, I read it on the Chevelle forum.

 

[68ChevATL]

what years are you talking about?i would say 64-68 uncommon and 69-72 common.my 69 SS chevelle hardtop is an AC car.

It is a '68. Thanks.

 

[DaleM]

Generally (not SS-specific) A/C picked up in sales over the years.
1964 - 9%
1965 - 11%
1966 - 14%
1967 - 19%
1968 - 25%
1969 - 33%
1970 - 54%
1971 - 63%
1972 - 70%
Again, these are overall sales of A/C for a given year.

 

[68ChevATL]

Generally (not SS-specific) A/C picked up in sales over the years.
1964 - 9%
1965 - 11%
1966 - 14%
1967 - 19%
1968 - 25%
1969 - 33%
1970 - 54%
1971 - 63%
1972 - 70%
Again, these are overall sales of A/C for a given year.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

[65 Skylark]

While technically it's not a Chevelle, my `65 Skylark has factory a/c. I think it has more to do with where the cars were destined to spend their first years. In my case the car has been in FL all it's life, and down here there are times of the year you can barely breathe without it. I'm originally from WI and it was pretty rare to see an old car up there with factory a/c. My grandfather bought a new `68 Cadillac without it. In his words, he didn't need it.

 

[DaleM]

Quite right. Destination had a lot to do with options ordered. I was looking over some dealer paperwork from up north for 1970s and almost every Chevelle came with the T60 HD battery - that's just the way the dealer ordered them.

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

Yep - destination was definitely a factor. For example, my day's 64 Cadillac also had no air. It was an Ohio car. To me it was almost shocking to see a 64 caddy with no air. It was the only one I ever saw without it.

Guess what we added when we moved South? An under dash air unit! In a Caddy!

 

[66 chevelle 496BBC]

i think if was high revving like a L78 you could not get AC because it revved higher than the compressor was speced at. you experts can set it straight.

Jim

 

[DaleM]

The L78 (and LS6) could not be ordered with A/C.

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

But DALE! What about the L-78 that was sold on eBay a few years ago. You know... that 66 L-78 convertible that came in rare Tasmanian Teal? You know...with air, power seats and Am/fM with reverb dual speakers and dual tissue dispensers and a rear window defroster too?

Now I know you've been working Chevelles since about 1964, and you've spent about a bazillion hours researching on them… But you must be mistaken about "no air in L-78" because this guy said he KNEW it was an L-78 because the guy from whom he got the car was an "Chevelle expert" and he had a letter that SAID it was an L-78. He even posted a copy of the letter. Most of all, IT WAS ON EBAY!

 

[elcamino]

I was looking over some dealer paperwork from up north for 1970s and almost every Chevelle came with the T60 HD battery - that's just the way the dealer ordered them.

I specifically recall when I ordered my 1970 Chevelle SS454 the T60 HD battery was a required option. I recall the salesman calling me and telling me the order was help up and they had to add the extra cost HD battery in order to get the SS454 motor (LS5).

No serious hot-rodder would order AC IMO. I would not have been caught dead driving an A/C car in those days especially an SS. Now, you can't find one without A/C.