Thursday, October 20, 2011

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

1 comment:

  1. Hey man, Chevy made Thousands of Malibu Super Sports in 1965. 201 RPO Z16's (396 equipped). Dan Blocker's Z16 was a hard top, not a convertible.

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