• We chose this 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 396 as our Bring a Trailer pick today. (BaT, like Car and Driver, is owned by Hearst Autos.)
• The Chevelle has a four-speed manual and a 402-cubic-inch V-8 engine.
• The auction ends in four days, and bidding currently sits at over $55,000.
Let us tell you what Melba Toast is packin' here, all right. We got 3:31 Positrac out back, 402 cubic inches, 10.25:1 pistons, single four-barrel carb, Turbo-Jet 350 horsepower. We're talkin' some muscle. Say, do you own this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 that's on Bring a Trailer? No? It'd be a lot cooler if you did.
That's because this car has a Muncie M-21 four-speed transmission, front disc brakes, and cowl induction, for when your buddy rolls up alongside in White Lightning and wants to prove he's got better shoes. But this isn't some stripped-down racer, no sir. It's got luxury, too—check out the vinyl roof and the AM/FM radio. And that trunk would look just right filled with ice and your favorite beverages when there's a fiesta in the making out at the moontower. The spare tire is in there, too.
No need to have your friends watch the leather, man, because the interior is black vinyl. It used to have a white interior, but black was the original so they put it back that way. Crazy. Speaking of, what's up with the badges saying "396" but the engine is a 402? Did it get bored out or something along the way? No, that's just what Chevy did back in '70. They stashed an extra six cubes in there and didn't tell anybody. Right on. That's what we call livin', man: L-I-V-I-N.
The older you get, the more rules they're going to try to get you to follow, so keep that in mind when you're deciding whether to bid on one of the last great Heavy Chevys. Maybe your financial advisor says not to invest in Chevelles, but that's what a square would say. A car like this keeps getting older, but it'll always make you feel the same age. Alright, alright.
Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He's now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
