396 cubic inches of Turbo-Jet V8 power, a fully synchronized 3-speed transmission with a floor-mounted shifter, special suspension, a sinister blacked out grille and distinctive emblems and air-scoop styled hood – just some of the key characteristics that defined Chevrolet’s 1966 Chevelle SS396.
No longer just an option package on the Malibu, the 1966 Super Sport was now a stand alone model, available in coupe or convertible body styles. All new sheetmetal replaced the Chevelle's boxy look of the previous years with attractive Coke-bottle contours, a forward leaning wraparound grille, and a rear window recessed between flying buttress C-pillars.
In standard trim, the Super Sport Chevelle came equipped with the L35 MK-IV big-block, putting out a respectable 325-HP. If that wasn’t enough, there was the optional 360-HP L34 396 or the thundering 375-horse L78. Other options included a 4-speed manual or Powerglide automatic transmission, RPO A51 Strato bucket seats, RPO D55 console with an integrated clock and storage compartment, and a few alternative wheel treatments, including the RPO N96 Mag-style wheel covers. With a base sticker price of $2,776, the SS396 Chevelle offered affordable performance and style and secured a stronger street presence for the A-body muscle car with 72,272 Super Sport models sold in 1966.
As popular as the 66 Chevelle was, it’s no surprise that AutoWorld didn’t hesitate to put RC2’s 1/18-scale Authentics Super Sport to good use. Dressed in Madeira Maroon with a black interior, the model combines a high-grade finish with the usual Authentics-caliber features – opening hood and doors on real aspect hinges, opening trunk, fully functional suspension, and rotating driveshaft – and plenty of authentic detailing, like real chrome plated trim parts (not painted on), and precisely reproduced emblems and tampos. The photoetched SS badges and Chevelle block letters in the blacked out taillight panel are a couple of my favorite hallmarks of this series. My sample does have a few bubbles in the paint on the rear quarter, but the rest of the model has a stunning glass-like quality.
The Authentics Chevelle does a good job of capturing additional Super Sport attributes, like the unique hood with its twin power domes and chrome plated vent inserts and the ribbed rocker panel moldings. The model rolls on a set of color-keyed steel wheels shod in redline rubber with nicely rendered dog-dish caps with bowtie emblems. The wheels have a flaw in their design in that the depth of the rim is too shallow, but overall, I think the shoes look sharp on this Chevelle and enhance its “sleeper” personality.
Beneath the hood is a remarkable replica of the L78 396, the first of the 1/18-scale 1966 Chevelles to feature the MK-IV big-block in its top-of-the-line configuration. AutoWorld did well capturing the L78’s specific details, like the 375-HP decal atop the chrome open element air cleaner lid and the painted aluminum intake manifold. The fully wired and plumbed 396, with its chrome valve covers, is surrounded by the “usual suspects”, like a factory stock brake master cylinder, a period correct battery with painted terminals and battery cables, and a painted fluid reservoir, along with a couple special surprises – the painted insulation under the hood and the exceptionally authentic creased inner fenders.
Chassis detail is pretty standard for the most part without extras like fuel or brake lines, however, in addition to the aforementioned working suspension and rotating driveshaft, there’s a remarkable amount of paint detail covering everything from the bell housing and manual transmission to the rear axle and 12-bolt differential as well as the gas tank and accurately formed exhaust which are decorated with a realistic stainless steel finish. The chassis is home to other hidden details like the painted fuel and oil filters and wired starter. The Chevelle’s opening trunk is hiding a few details of its own, like a genuinely patterned full-width floor mat, a full-size spare wrapped in its own redline, and caution and jack instruction decals on the underside of the trunk lid.
The 1966 Chevelle SS396 was something of a milestone, being the first in Chevy’s line of A-body’s to deliver big-block muscle to the masses, unlike the 65 Z16 which only made the 396 available to a limited group of VIP’s. AutoWorld’s Authentics Madeira Maroon 66 Chevelle is something of a milestone as well, being the first in the series of 1/18-scale 66 Super Sports to pack the pavement-pounding rat power of the 375-horse L78 under the hood. With a take-home price of just under $70, the 1/18-scale model, like the 1:1, offers a lot of bang for the buck, and if you’re a Chevelle enthusiast like me, or are just a fan of muscle cars in general, then this is one you don’t want to miss.
Happy Collecting,
DetourDave
AutoWorld Authentics
#AMM905 1966 Chevelle SS396
Madeira Maroon
Photography & Review by Dave Nicholson
The Chevelle’s black interior is dressed to impress with the dark setting serving as the perfect springboard for the brilliant chrome accents highlighting the accurately molded dash, steering wheel, center console, and door panels. The optional Strato bucket seats tilt forward and are detailed with amazingly lifelike stitching and woven fabric seat belts. The glove box opens, the sun visors are posable, and the floorboards are fully carpeted with rubber floor mats and chrome “Body by Fisher” sill plates. The Chevelle’s optional column mounted “Knee-Knocker” tachometer joins these and other details, like the thin turn signal stalk, dome light, and detailed console with its chrome plated shifter, large round dial clock, and gear pattern plate, in helping to make this one of the most detailed interiors ever to be showcased in an Authentics model.
