Automobile aficionados can testify that the 1960’s were a roaring decade of non-stop excitement. These were the years where cars were more powerful than ever, and the muscle was palpable. These muscle cars were a huge hit during the era, and perhaps the greatest corner stone of the period was the Chevelle. It was a dominant, respectable muscle cars and possibly one of the most powerful sedans to ever be produced. It made a name for powerful automobiles and is still heavily sought after, undeniably one of the greatest Chevrolet vehicles to hit the road during the golden age of the 1960’s.

Background
Cheverolet initially introduced the Chevelle model on September 26, 1936, and its production went on until around the late seventies. The mid-size offering was intended to outsell the Ford Fairline and rally up the excitement Chevrolet gathered with their Bel Air product line.

The Chevrolet Motor Divison poured quite a bit of their marketing budget promoting the vehicle through much of the mid-sixties and consequently the Chevelle became one of their biggest hits! Due to the popularity of the muscle car, people were demanding more horsepower in the sedans—inspiring a major shift in the auto-making world.

Z16 Chevelle
Chevrolet desired a product that could compete with many of the ferocious power models on the market, so the Chevy Chevelle was loaded with a 327 Cl engine in 1964. It wasn’t until the year 1965 that the Z16 was released carrying a 396 Cl engine. This new Z16 model was heavily marketed and acclaimed by various automotive publications at the time. At the time of its release, it was considered very reasonably priced and its top of the line model, the Chevy Chevelle Z16, was sold for around 15 hundred dollars. Continue reading →