MARKET ANALYSIS: 1968-’72 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE SS SHOWS ITS STRENGTH

Despite all the chatter about muscle cars being yesterday’s news in the collector car space, a robust market remains for many of them. This week, we take a look at the big-block 1968 to 1972 Chevelle SS, a staple of the collector car hobby and a popular auction lot.  This V8-powered muscle machine remains a valued collectible, with stable to rising prices, particularly for those examples with the most powerful factory engines or comprehensive restomods built to the highest standards.

We’re here to share what the market has looked like recently and what we think is in store for these A-body power houses. We’ve examined confirmed sales on the Hemmings Marketplace, at other auctions and from data aggregated by Classic.com.

We honed in on the results for the SS models with big-block V8 engines under the hood, which were available for the duration of this generation Chevelle. For the purposes of this analysis, we skipped the 1971 and ’72 Chevelle SS models with small-block V8 engines, but did include the data on clone and tribute vehicles built to resemble the looks and performance of the big-block SS cars.

The Appeal of the 1968-1972 Chevrolet Chevelle

First introduced in 1964, the Chevelle lineup featured a completely new look for 1968. Curves replaced corners and the car was a huge hit for Chevrolet. Chevelles were seemingly everywhere, including its most muscular version.

The 1968-1972 Chevelle SS Option

For 1968, the high-performance Chevelle SS396 was a separate model, but from 1969 through 1972, SS trim was a package option on the convertible and two-door hardtop. For 1969 only, it was also available on the two-door post coupe, a model rarely seen today.

Beyond badges, the SS option included a domed hood, black-accented grille, power-assisted front disc brakes, sport wheels, bright engine accents and “special chassis features.” From 1968 through 1970, the SS option required also opting for a big-block engine, of which there were a few choices that varied by year. For 1971 and 1972, the SS package could be included with any V8 engine, save the base 307.

Big-Block Engine Options for the 1968-1972 Chevelle SS

For 1968 and 1969, opting for a Chevelle SS meant opting for a Chevelle SS 396, which included a 396-cu.in. V8. Chevy offered the 396 in four states of tune from 325 to 375 horsepower. For 1970, the factory increased the bore of the 396 to give it 402-cu.in. displacement, but kept the SS 396 name. Chevy rated the 1970 SS 396 at 350 horsepower.

LS6 454: The Most Powerful Muscle Car

The big news for 1970 was the introduction of a pair of 454-cu.in. engines. Buyers could opt for either the LS5 454, which GM rated at 360 horsepower or the mighty LS6, which carried the highest rating for any muscle car up to that point: 450 horsepower! The potent LS6 Chevelle was known to beat a Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi in the quarter-mile sprint.

For 1971, the Turbo-Jet 396 was renamed the Turbo-Jet 400 (still at 402-cu.in.) and carried a rating of 300 horsepower. The LS6 was gone, but the LS5 featured a 365-horsepower rating. With SAE net horsepower ratings replacing the prior gross figures, the 1972 numbers looked dreadful, but were actually still fairly strong, with the 400 rated at 240 horsepower and the 454 at 270 horsepower.

1968-1972 Chevrolet SS Production

Between 1968 and 1972, Chevrolet produced more than 2.4 million variants of the Chevelle, including coupes, convertibles, sedans, wagons and even the El Camino, which was based on the same platform. Of those millions, Chevrolet produced approximately 192,000 SS models, though not all of them had big-block V8s.

1970 Chevelle SS LS6 Production Numbers

Among the highest-profile SS models at auction is the one-year-only 1970 Chevelle SS 454 with the 450-horsepower LS6 version of the big-block V8. Nailing down exactly how many Chevelles left the factory with an LS6 under the hood is a tricky task. The simple answer is that GM manufactured 4,475 A-body Chevrolets with the LS6 in 1970, including Chevelle SS hardtop coupes, Chevelle SS convertibles and El Camino SS models.

Records for U.S.-produced Chevelles during this period no longer exist, making it sometimes difficult to verify a true SS without original documentation. Only in certain years can a VIN determine the validity of a legit Chevelle SS. There are methods for narrowing it down, again dependent on the year. Paperwork and expert consultation are your best bets for confirming the legitimacy of a true SS. Records do exist for Canadian-built cars, many of which were shipped to the U.S.

Chevelle SS Clones and Tribute Cars

Given the abundance of Chevelle, Malibu, and 300 series models produced, along with a copious parts supply, you will find plenty of clone/tribute SS cars on the market. Clones may not be the thing for collectors who value authenticity. However, they can offer an excellent value proposition for those folks who simply want the Chevelle SS experience at a discount.

Recent Chevelle SS Performance at Auction

We’ve reported in this space in the past about a general retraction of approximately 20% in the entire field of classic cars since 2022. That number might be sobering for someone who bought at the peak, but there have been double and triple-digit gains for many models in recent decades. That means a substantial amount of value remains with these cars. It would be incorrect to say that the “bottom has fallen out of the market” for most models—and it certainly has not with the Chevelle SS.

In the case of the Chevelle SS, data aggregated by Classic.com shows an average value that has climbed from approximately $73,000 in early 2021 to roughly $78,000 today, a positive sign in a collector car market clouded with volatility. We looked at publicly available auction results for 1968-’72 Chevelle SS and SS clones over the past 12 months to calculate the information below.

The results are largely consistent year to year, which is not surprising given how little these cars changed during this generation. So, what’s the deal with that big jump for 1970 Chevelle SS? A three-character code from the Chevrolet order book says it all: LS6. If you’ve got a legitimate Chevelle SS 454 with that most powerful of “rat” motors under the hood, it sits in a class by itself in terms of value.

The average price for a Chevelle LS6 sold at auction this past year was $202,011. An LS6 convertible—a former race-winning drag car—famously sold at Barrett-Jackson’s 2006 Scottsdale event for $1,242,000. With the overall economy cratering from 2007 through 2009, the bottom did fall out of the collector car market then. That same LS6 sold three years later for $264,000. In January 2015, it went unsold on a high bid of $450,000 and then appeared in the pages of Hemmings Motor News with an asking price of $575,000 immediately after.

Last May, a 1970 Chevelle SS 454 LS6 convertible sold for $660,000, a new high mark since that 2006 sale. We were able to find no fewer than 10 original LS6 Chevelles that sold for $150,000 or more in a public sale in 2024.

Taking the LS6 models out of the above chart for the 1970 model year still leaves a strong average value of $81,998. The 1970 Chevelle SS does have its fans who believe it’s the most attractive of the bunch. The body color horizontal bar in the center of the grille is perhaps its most distinctive difference, along with a rear end redesign that saw the taillights moved from the quarter panels down into the bumper. The optional twin stripes across the hood and trunk of the SS are another popular feature that debuted in 1970.

Those 1970 Chevelle SS 454 coupes and convertibles that came from the factory with the LS6 engine are the most valued Chevelles from this generation of Chevrolet’s A-body models.

Chevelle SS Clone/Tribute Values

One surprise we found in studying the data is how closely tribute and clone cars have paced those cars with documentation verifying them as factory SS models.

Why do the tribute cars fare so well? We pinpointed a couple of factors. In plenty of cases, these tribute cars feature more than just badging and big-block engines that transformed them from lowly 300 or ho-hum Malibu models to SS powerhouses. The auction market last year saw lots of tributes with restomod features like driveline, brake, suspension, interior and wheel upgrades to go along with the rebadging as an SS.

The second factor is that we saw clones that were impeccably prepared, in seemingly flawless condition. While authenticity matters in the collector car market, condition holds a lot of sway with bidders’ wallets as well. After all, if you’re building an SS clone from scratch and you start with a body-off restoration, the parts and services are available to make it perfect.

Future Prospects for the Chevelle SS

Given the strength shown by the most valued authentic examples and comprehensive tributes over the past 12 months, we expect to see continued stability in the more common models that represent the bread and butter of the Chevelle SS market. That this popular muscle machine has bucked overall market trends in recent years is a good sign for the next 12 months at least and a sign of its staying power as a leading collector car with broad appeal.

The post Market Analysis: 1968-’72 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Shows its Strength appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.

2025-03-17T16:38:58Z