Chevrolet Chevelle

The Chevelle was a mid-size vehicle that was built between 1964 and 1977. The car was intended to compete with the similarly sized Ford Fairlane and supplement the Chevrolet range with a model that was based on the popular models from 1955 to 1957 in terms of size and concept. In the model range of the 1960s, the Chevelle and its luxury version Malibu occupied the mid-range between the Corvair and Nova and the large Impala and Caprice models.

The Chevelle model range extended from affordable sedans and station wagons to high-performance coupés and convertibles. The more powerful versions were called Chevelle SS. From 1978, the name of the luxury version Malibu became the type designation for the entire model series.

The range of engines was diverse. Small and big block V8 engines as well as L6 engines were offered in various dimensions. The names of the engines were „Hi-Thrift“ and „Turbo-Thrift“ for the straight sixes, „Turbo-Fire“ for the small blocks and „Turbo-Jet“ for the big blocks. The engines, regardless of whether they had six or eight cylinders, were installed longitudinally. They had OHV valve timing with two overhead valves per cylinder.

Power was also transmitted in very different ways. Manually, automatically, via a steering wheel gearshift or via a gearshift on the center tunnel. The sliding-wheel gearbox had a choice of three or four gears and overdrive on request. The automatic Powerglide torque converter transmission had two gears and was available from 1950 to 1973 before it was replaced by the Turbo Hydra-Matik transmission with three forward gears.

The first-generation Chevelle was generously revised almost every year, which is why we are jumping straight to the popular 1970 model year at this point, which clearly stands out from its predecessors.

Visually, the 70 model was designed to be significantly more powerful. The front and rear were significantly redesigned. The headlights were now housed in a painted front panel and no longer in the radiator grille. This was given a different V-shape with a central strut painted in the body color. The rear windows had four corners instead of three, the indicators were moved into the bumper and the new, larger rear bumper now featured horizontal tail lights. The standard equipment now included seat belts, a lockable glove compartment and front head restraints. Electric windows and electric seat adjustment were available for an extra charge. New extras included central locking and inching windshield wiper operation, as was standard in every vehicle today.

From 1971, the Chevelle had even more massive bumpers and brighter individual headlights in the strongly contoured front end. The front indicators were surrounded by chrome and sat as a combined unit with the parking lights in their own housings on the protruding vehicle corners. The front grille now had a narrower, chrome-plated strut instead of the painted center bar, and the new rear bumper housed two round tail lights on each side. The Astro ventilation, which had previously only been available in luxury versions, was now also standard in the standard Chevelle. The same applied to the side impact protection of the doors. The side skirts were slightly revised and allowed better water and dirt drainage.