1965 Chevelle Malibu SS, only 201 made... out of 70,000 Chevelles that year

Only one was covertible, built for Dan Blocker, because he played a rancher on the tv show Bonanza, and his cowboy hat was huge... and he wanted to drive in parades in character with that huge hat, and Chevrolet was a big sponser of the show.

When Chevrolet released the Chevelle Malibu SS in the summer of 1965 it produced only 201 of them out of a total of 70,000 Chevelles of various models. This muscle car had all the ingredients to be a hit; stunning good looks, power, and a very limited number. And it was a major hit. Chevrolets sponsorship of the hit tv show Bonanza helped push the brand with one of the stars, big Dan Blocker, who played Hoss, being an enthusiast of the Chevelle Malibu SS. Most of the car magazines ran some sort of article on the 65 Malibu SS that year and they pretty much waxed lyrical about this special sports car.

Thanks to this heavy promotion of the 65 Chevelle Malibu and the fact that only 201 of them were made meant that it was a runaway seller. Many Chevrolet dealerships never got to see one of these babies let along get the opportunity to sell one. Those that did get one on the car-yard had no trouble selling it.

Looking at the 65 Chevelle Malibu SS today, it is one of the most sought after classic muscle cars around. There are only around 60 to 70 of them left in good to pristine condition, so if you happen to come across one of these in a car graveyard then it is well worth the effort to bring it back to life.
info in italics from http://bruizer.hubpages.com/hub/The-1965-Chevelle-Malibu-SS

Original owner 1964 Chevelle Malibu SS convertible partially restored, it's been repainted, but still has original top and back seats

After seeing the above magazine (yup, this exact one) Miss Santow and her mom went to the local Chevrolet dealership and ordered it's exact duplicate

I forgot to get a photo of the owner, this is Just A Car Gal Tere in the car... she wants one someday

Here are a couple of shots of the album the travels with the car of gas and oil consumption

Original sales reciept and order form

Motorhead madness, Poway Transmissions annual car show

1930 Pontiac, about 27 thousand original miles the sign said
The radiator cap is so scarce, and attractive, that the owner told me that ebay has these going for around 5 thousand dollars.

I wonder how long the courtesy and civility of the "Correspondence pertaining to" was on the body tag, before the company types were tired of getting letters about the cars they produced? It is a notable sign of that generation's more civil and polite behavior, I believe. We now see all traces of such customer service courtesy have been removed, and replaced by "press 1 for .... and press 2 for... press 3 if ... " etc.

I dig the designed handles and ashtrays of the 30's cars

When a "hub cap" was literally capping the hub, and not a big piece of adornment to cover up the rim, and cheaply change the looks of an unattractive rim to appear similar to an expensive aftermarket rim.

The gas cap, and original key to it

I noticed the cool design of the rear speaker grill...

This is still in the hands of the original owner, who bought it at the young age of 18, when her father went down to the dealership with her to co-sign on the financing. She married a cool guy in the next year, and they are still married, with a couple of great Mustangs.

These were found under the sound deadener in the back of the blue car when it was restored....
Click on them to get the full size
His is the blue one on the right hand side

Great looking shop interior!

59 and red on the left, 55 blue and white on the right


I love before and after photos

Beautiful suede and chrome!