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factory ss427 66 chevelle

10K views 149 replies 36 participants last post by  MikeN 
#1 ·
what a crock of bs what u guys think
1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 in Turquoise & 427 Engine Sound on My Car
 
#4 ·
Yep I recall several over the years. Most of the time the new member making the claim leaves in a huff usually saying something along the lines of members here are Aholes.
I recall one guy that was claiming he knew a guy with a 70 SS wagon from the factory. He was so upset when he was told no such car existed that he threatened several members and was banned in his original thread.
 
#5 ·
Of course I have no expertise or authority in this area, but I'll play the devil's advocate.

Everybody says there is no documentation that Chevrolet ever put a BB 427 into a 66 Chevelle. But what if they did and intentionally never documented it? I mean - they did have them readily available as they put them into Corvettes in 66, right? And they looked like a 396, so they could pass as a 396, right?

It's like my company that I retired from; upper management would do a "word of mouth" request in for a special product, and magically a special model would make it down the line and put aside to be picked up "later". So who can say an undocumented 427 special request never happened during the entire 66 production run at any of the manufacturing plants?
 
#7 ·
Of course I have no expertise or authority in this area, but I'll play the devil's advocate.

Everybody says there is no documentation that Chevrolet ever put a BB 427 into a 66 Chevelle. But what if they did and intentionally never documented it? I mean - they did have them readily available as they put them into Corvettes in 66, right? And they looked like a 396, so they could pass as a 396, right?

It's like my company that I retired from; upper management would do a "word of mouth" request in for a special product, and magically a special model would make it down the line and put aside to be picked up "later". So who can say an undocumented 427 special request never happened during the entire 66 production run at any of the manufacturing plants?
its possible
 
#22 · (Edited)
NO I AINT!
Yeah, sure I built one, first with a straight L88 and then with the FAMOUS highly produced L67 option - RIGHT IN MY GARAGE and NOT in my mind.
No FACTORY 427s in A bodies until COPO 68s UNLESS you had a HUGE IN at the dealership and popped your 396, which happened ALOT. The pop, not the 427 CE replacement your buddy slid across the counter.

427 was the king shit of GM back then, which is why MOST OF US dreamed of slipping one between the frame rails and many of us DID!

No more, no less.

As it used to say in my bond trading page when your search criteria were too wide - NO BSMF! Concept may apply here. TC is known as a MASTER OF REALITY site......bullchips walk.......

Sorry!!!! EDIT P40's bullshit meter is on proper squelch.
 
#13 ·
There are some real 427 cars 65 66 67 i have seen some BUUUUUT they did not leave the factory with that engine. Some were dealer installed some bough new wrecks and took out the 427 and put it in the chevelle. None were assembly line like the later C O P O ,S. Alex
 
#33 ·
Yes - and then some other non-factory things I quickly saw on this video;
  • exhaust is exiting at the wrong place (although I like this exit better than what the factory did)
  • tail end with the blacked-out center (although I like this better than what the factory did)
  • 3 speed trans & 3 speed console (not available in 66)
  • chrome on the wiper arms (65 was last year for that)
  • painted black hood hinges (66 should be plated)
  • Tonawanda sticker on valve cover (not in 66)

And I'm sure there's more that is not factory correct, which is annoying since this video is all about recreating what the factory did.
They did admit to the 3-speed trans. and MSD distributor, so that's good.

I wasn't playing devil's advocate about this 66. I was referring to the possibility of any 66.

Same old deal. Unless you can PROVE it IS, it isn't, and the burden of proof is on YOU, not us. The one question you have to ask yourself beyond COULD the factory have done something, is WHY. What possible reason would the factory have for putting a 427 in a Chevelle, and NOT documenting it? Even if it was an "executive" car, there would have been a paper trail.
I'm with you, droptop72 - I would need that validated documentation that a 66 Chevelle left the factory with a 427 in order to believe it happened.

The WHY - we know why!

The saved documentation that existed back in 1966 is nothing like we see today. Look at the lack of paper trails we can obtain from the GM factories from the 60's. We are dying to find a build sheet in our classic cars just to prove my car was born with its options. Canada did a better job of keeping records than the US did. Could a US factory have done a 427 install and mysteriously "lost" all the documentation? That's a question I doubt we could ever prove either way IMO.

I'm can't say either way if GM did or did not install a 427 into a 66 Chevelle. As of today (as far as I've read) I believe we have no proof that they did, but that doesn't mean it never happened. So until we have validated proof that they did build it - then we have to assume it did not happen. And you know what happens when we assume. ;)
 
#16 ·
Yah I can confirm that car is a 427 factory 66 Chevelle. That was my old neighbors car. I remember the day he got it. If I recall correctly Houdini delivered it.You’ll never guess what was found in the trunk. It was Jimmy Hoffa.
 
#23 ·
Same old deal. Unless you can PROVE it IS, it isn't, and the burden of proof is on YOU, not us. The one question you have to ask yourself beyond COULD the factory have done something, is WHY. What possible reason would the factory have for putting a 427 in a Chevelle, and NOT documenting it? Even if it was an "executive" car, there would have been a paper trail.
 
#25 · (Edited)
427 was a Corvette only thing, the same reason their arrogance kept the tripower off the 1967 Chevelle , even atop the 'common' 396. According to Don Lightfoot here, also off all other GM cars after 1966, just like their 427. 1967 tripower option L64/L67 .

Skip Cain ( charter member here - RIP) built such a beast...... L67.... and I copied it!

Wheel Automotive parking light Car Tire Vehicle
 
#29 ·
427 was a Corvette only thing, the same reason their arrogance kept the tripower off the 1967 Chevelle , even atop the 'common' 396. According to Don Lightfoot here, also off all other GM cars after 1966, just like their 427. 1967 tripower option L64/L67 .

Skip Cain ( charter member here - RIP) built such a beast...... L67.... and I copied it!

many 66-69 Impalas got a 427.
 
#26 ·
Real or not it's an absolutly stunnig Chevelle, one that I would love to own and drive the wheels off of. If I built a '66 this is how I'd do it, color and all. But you hurt your argument of being an ultra-rare factory unicorn when you say it's "back to factory" and it's originally code YY 'Lemonwood Yellow' with a 797 Ivory interior.
 
#28 ·
I didnt see the video CMCE only because I abhorr bullchips like the plague anymore... shame its spread on a nice car. Sort of like dogs I suppose , owners are iceholes and canine's fine.
 
#30 ·
I've oft wondered how that got by the Corvette exec's, maybe as they were family boat tow cars? Local fella has one with a very very cool cowl fed air cleaner assembly which looks very " Smokey".
 
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#48 ·
too bad we don't have any old gm factory guys that worked in the gm skunkworks or development department. I bet they could tell stories about some of the GM factory test cars that were built but never sold.
Didn't gm bulldoze some of thier test cars into the ground at thier az test grounds?
Anyone think someone working at a assembly plant never snuck stuff into cars that wasn't supposed to officially to be installed?
wasn't there a story about some Chrysler assembly line prank where they badged one side of a car a demon and the other side dart? I bet that never had a RPO number. jim
 
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#49 ·
Anyone think someone working at a assembly plant never snuck stuff into cars that wasn't supposed to officially to be installed?
Chevelle engine installer: "Hey supervisor. The crane just dropped this car's engine on the concrete and cracked the block."

Supervisor: "We ain't stopping the line, grab the next one in line and drop it in the chassis while I get a replacement for the next chassis in the line."

I often wonder if that may have happened to my original SS396. Maybe it incidentally got a 360hp instead of a 325hp since it outran other Chevelles and GTOs of the era.
 
#60 ·
Yes but your thought process is still flawed. Even after again shut down the grand sports Zora still had the likes like Roger Penske to get factory engines for free while building production cars at the plant. But Penske had to install the L88. GM knew what was going on
 
#66 ·
To a point, yes, but the rationale for much of the stuff was that it was loaned to the teams who would then try to break it and send back to Zora for evaluation. That's a lot different than what we are talking about in the context of this forum. GM corporate surely knew or suspected certain things were going on, but liked to keep a cloak of plausible deniability when it came to racing because they were still adhering to the manufacturer racing ban. I always found it interesting that when "factory" programs like the 57' Black Widow cars to the Grand Sports to the Mystery 427's were closed down, the cars and parts were given to the teams, not taken back and destroyed. GM obviously was not trying to totally discourage people from racing GM products, they just didn't want to be connected to it in an official way.
 
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