Earlier this week, I had written about a ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air, one of the most celebrated combinations of year, make and model in American automotive history. That particular example, however, wasn’t a hardtop. It wasn’t even a coupe. It was an example of the ritziest four-door wagon that Chevrolet offered that year. In the condition the featured car was in, it would hardly be considered collectible or even a candidate for restoration.
All the same, it had me asking myself the following questions: What if that car hadn’t been terminally rusty and had merely seen a lot of miles? Being in a relatively unpopular body style among collectors, would it have been acceptable when I had spotted it in 2012 as a daily driver if it had still been in decent condition, or should it have been garaged just as soon as possible for a future restoration?
This called to my mind another sighting, just one month prior to the one referenced above, of a ’72 Chevelle hardtop coupe spotted in a parking lot of a strip mall. I still hit secondhand stores every once in a while, and I was on such a mission with two friends on a Spring Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I had never been to this particular shop, but my thought process was that with Ann Arbor being a college town, with a wide range in the age of its residents, and also brimming with artsy eclecticism, I might score some better-than-average finds.
I was hoping that an older professor who had been my age back in the ’70s might have cleared out his closet and left some goodies on the rack for my shopping pleasure. I was the last one getting out of my friend’s minivan when I saw this Chevelle pull up. You all go ahead… I’ll see you inside. Just go. I waited until the driver disappeared into one of the storefronts before I got out of the van and snapped a few shots.
This generation of Chevy A-Body, especially in this particular configuration, a hardtop coupe, has always been popular for as long as I’ve been alive. I had wanted one at one point, as did many of my classmates. In contrast to the four-door station wagon body style of the ’57 Bel Air, this exact Chevelle (in great condition) would be many a Chevy fan’s dream. The paint was shiny, it sounded great, and aside from its disconcertingly missing “teeth” and bent hood up front, it looked to be in otherwise great shape. The presence of the surface rust at the leading edge of the hood where the paint had flaked off seemed to indicate this damage had been there for at least a little while.
This got me thinking. In the event that I had owned both this Chevelle and another, newer car that I had used as my daily driver, and if my financial situation had changed for some reason where I was able to afford just one car, would I have sold my prized Chevelle for a tidy profit and kept my three-year-old Malibu (this is Michigan, after all, where loyalty to GM products still largely exists), or would I have sold the Malibu and turned my Chevelle into my daily driver? Would it also have affected my decision if the Chevelle had some sentimental value, say, having previously belonged to a relative who had let me help wrench on it?
Of course, all of these questions are hypothetical, as I didn’t actually speak with the owner (nor have I ever “wrenched”). The sad truth is that my own fear, and my fear of the consequences of others’ fear, will sometimes prevent me from initiating certain interactions. Context is everything, though, and I have a pretty decent sense that if this car hadn’t been parked at a strip-mall, and perhaps instead in a different kind of place where my apparent enthusiasm about this car might have been more welcomed, I would have had no problem with using some of the fact-finding skills I’ve honed over the years, to good effect. Regardless, I hope that this footnote to my piece from earlier this week has reiterated the wonderful, inclusive motto of Curbside Classic: that every car has a story, even if we can’t guess at much of it with any degree of accuracy.
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Saturday, March 24, 2012.
I’m so used to seeing an SS in the grille of these, even that brochure pic feels like there’s something missing. Like Groucho without glasses and tache.
Perfectly put!
+1.
And Don, I’ve often thought that our ’72 Chevelle SS and your ’72 Holden Monaro GTS could have been fraternal twins.
This looks like it could have been the Pontiac to that Chevy. 🙂
Hard to say if it’s an SS but without a shot of the dash and fenders. Lack of a remote control mirror on the driver’s side is dead give away though.
Next ro the Tri-Fives, probably the most popular Chevrolet’s (non-Corvette) ever. And it’s been decades since I’ve seen one that doesn’t look like a Friday night cruise car.
I wonder if people younger than me have a clue as to what a bone-stock example looks like.
For some of those younger than you, we do know what stock examples look like. They are few and far between, and have been for some time, but we know.
In my area an old timer named Elwood Falloon (I love that name!) was daily driving a brown four door ’71 or 2 Malibu well into the 80’s. I loved seeing the car, but not getting stuck behind it if I was in a hurry.
I used to have an elderly neighbor who drove a medium blue Chevelle sedan complete with those bowl-shaped dog dish hubcaps and blackwall tires. He bought it new and it was the last car he owned up to his death in the late 90s. The 72 Chevelle (especially as a sedan) did not present all that well in its lowest trim. The right body style and a higher trim level make all the difference with this one.
I also had an elderly neighbor who had a ’71/’72 Chevelle in a root beer brown metallic color, this was in the mid ’80s, it was a 2 door hardtop in a higher level of trim, had AC, 307 engine. She kept it looking like new and didn’t drive much, the miles were in the 20k range. After her (ex) husband lost his license due to too many DWI’s, he sold me his green ’68 440 powered New Yorker for $100. Only kept it a few months before loaning it to my sister who needed a car. Blew a freeze plug and seized the engine a few months later and to the junkyard it went.
Something tells me there’s more Chevelle SS’s now then there ever was back in the day…cool to see a survivor!
Love it, love it, love it! The 1972 Chevelle is one of my most coveted cars ever. The proportions are as perfect as can be, at least in hardtop coupe form.
I’d still like to own one if I could afford it, even with a 250 cu. in. 6 cyl. Powerglide drivetrain! With me, it’s all about style, not power.
Question: Why, whenever I post a comment, a screen appears that says in part “Service unavailable”?
When I re-enter the site, my comment is there, but without the edit function?
That’s been happening to a lot of users. Curbside Classic has been having big problems with their hosting service for some time now.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/housekeeping/qotd-anyone-know-a-good-wordpress-mechanic/
Amen, brother. Spot on.
What’s interesting is that the slightly facelifted ’72 Chevelle wasn’t supposed to happen. The colonnade intermediates were originally scheduled for a fall 1971 intro, but GM decided to delay the cars for a year in order to work in the newly-mandated impact bumpers. So the old cars got a quickie update and held the fort for a year.
Keeping that generation bodystyle around for one more year is probably the only good thing that ever came out of the 5 mph bumper mandate.
All of the 1970-72 GM intermediates, especially the 2-door hardtops, were definitely one of GM’s Greatest Hits. There just wasn’t a bad one in the lot (my fave is the Cutlass version) and it was pretty much all downhill from that point on.
IMO the Colonnades are underrated but too big to be “mid-size”, the A/Gs needed only roll-down rear windows and a TH350 as the minimum offered automatic to be Greatest Hits (at least in non-aeroback Chevy form), and the FWD As were quite good for what they were in their time but ill-suited for cruise-night toy status.
Things didn’t get really dire until the GM10s and even those have their defenders, having matured into “good used cars”.
Are there any pics of non-5mph bumper colonnade prototypes? I’m not sure it would have made a world of difference, but I’m sure they would have been better than the railroad-tie versions that did appear.
Yes! Paul included one rendering here in this piece from October 2017. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/cohort-classic-1973-chevrolet-chevelle-deluxe-sedan-the-no-frills-colonnade/
I actually prefer the production ’73 better than the prototype – in all forms.
I stand by my original assessment that getting a mildly refreshed ’71 for one more, final year was a much better deal than getting an early, non-5-mph bumper colonnade.
Besides the better-looking front end, the hardtop roof was just so much nicer than the elongated, fixed-quarter window colonnade. For once, GM played it right.
Totally agree.
the outtake of the proposed 1972 colonnade concept was sourced from Collectible Automobile magazine – when the colonnades came out pundits did not consider it a Chevelle since it did not have the aggressive coke bottle lines of yrs past – when penned in studio John Z DeLorean was the Chevrolet chairman and he ended up Europeanizing some model lines (the Camaro and Vega were handling on par with European sedans and sports cars – he also did the same when the squarebody trucks were under development – also the influence of the A body colonnade coupes with the large window was duplicated with a touch of Giorgetto Giugiaro (the Italian designer) lines when the DeLorean DMC 12 was penned…
Did not know this. How ironic. In my opinion, the slight refresh of all the GM mid-size cars in 1972 were marked improvements over 1971, not that the ‘71’s were less than desirable. Seems there was judicious use of blackout treatment used on the ‘72’s; it worked really well.
This car with its slightly deformed hood shows an awkward relationship between the front facia pieces, the hood and the (missing) grille that I had never noticed before. Too many seams.
These never really called my name, but perhaps this because I experienced these A bodies firsthand via a 72 Cutlass Supreme. For once Oldsmobile outstyled the comparable Chevy.
It’s really tough for me to pick a favorite among the 1970 – ’72 GM A-bodies among the Chevy, Olds, and Buick. (The Pontiac is okay, but the other three have always seemed to have looks that were a cut above.)
I like the Chevy’s Everyman vibe, the Oldsmobile’s class, and the Buick’s quiet confidence. Even at this writing, I can’t rank ’em.
Alan’s (commenter below) new ’72 Skylark makes a strong case for those…
Nice find Joseph.
Perhaps indicative of how much Chrysler attempted to mimic styling elements of Ford and GM in the 70s, Dodge later used a very similar hubcap design to the one seen on early 70s Chevrolets. I remember seeing new Dodge Aspens as late as 1979, wearing this cloned hubcap. With the generic crest that Dodge used at the time.
Thanks, Daniel!
Yes, Chrysler seemed to have a thing for that. In my Colonnade Chevelle / Malibu post from this past January, you might have noticed that my ’76 Malibu Classic was rocking hubcaps from an early ’80s Dodge Diplomat (complete with that crest you described). I didn’t complain about that too much, as they looked similar to the original, factory wheel-covers.
With the full-size Chevy starting to pack on the pounds at this time, these were the real descendants of the tri-fives. Pleasant styling and just the right size. Priced right too.
Regarding the popularity of SS models, there were 24,946 Malibu SS’s built this year, of which 3,000 were 454’s. This is out of 390,000 for the entire Chevelle series.
My “little” sister bought one of these, a 70, in the late 70s/early 80s. Her’s had the very popular 307 V8 with Powerglide. Her’s also had a vinyl roof. A gorgeous dark green with white top and interior with bench seats.
I drove the car once or twice and found it to be a decent car. I also had a chance to drive a friend’s 69 SS 396. I agree with a previous comment that these cars are OK with even the 250 in 6 cylinder engine, but in my opinion…buy one with at least the 350 if you want something more than a pleasant car.
BTW, my sister still has here 70 Malibu. I don’t think it is driven much, and in the winter it gets to sit in the garage while her Escape sits in the driveway.
I like this generation of Chevelle and although a Malibu SS would be ideal in my garage, its never going to happen.
I would gladly welcome any Chevelle or Malibu of this era. But i’d want it to be as stock as possible. No mags or mudflaps for me.
I love it ..I’ve never really grasped what exactly defines a true survivor. Would repairing the front end take away from its survivor status?
I’m a great believer it keeping vehicles as bone stock as possible. Personally, if that was mine, I’d be tempted to do a frame off restoration. I could live with non matching numbers. Though other then maybe paint, and tires she would stay factory correct . All that, and the old Chevelle would sleep the winter months away in the garage.
The ‘72 is my favorite Chevelle from this generation, I like how the grill is simplified (and often blacked out) version of the ‘71. Thought your CC might be a “Heavy Chevy”, but the Hood lacks the raised center also used on the SS.
Whilw growing up there were two houses with large yards behind my parents home in suburban Madison WI that provided a steady grass cutting income for my older brother & I. Both of these houses had a single elderly widow occupant and a dark blue ‘68 & ‘69 Malibu 2dr hdtp in their driveway. Around 1975 both ladies traded in their Malibus for a light blue Chevy Nova 4dr sedan, a more sensible vehicle that was a lot less fun to look at.
In addition to missing the hood bulge, I don’t think it was possible to get skunk-stripes on the Heavy Chevy; they only had side-stripes from the factory.
But the skunk-stripes on a non-hood bulge car are interesting. Although I guess it’s possible, I’d be willing to bet there were no non-hood-bulge SS Chevelles and these stripes on a non-SS Chevelle weren’t available from the factory. So, although they look like they were done well, these are most likely an aftermarket addition to a non-SS Chevelle.
As someone else pointed out, slapping SS emblems and stripes on a non-SS Chevelle wasn’t difficult and a popular modification, particularly on the ubiquitous 307/Powerglide cars..
My first car was a gulf green 1972 Heavy Chevy. I have always wondered why the ’70 to ’72 Chevelle never offered a two door post body style. The ’70 to ’72 Cutlass, LeMans (T37) and Skylark all offered two door posts in those years and the Skylark even had the same roofline as the Chevelle.
I’d guess that GM figured if someone wanted a low-trim Chevy 2-door post sedan in 1970, they could buy a Nova. The other divisions kept their intermediate 2-door post cars because they didn’t have a compact until Pontiac got the 1971 Ventura, then Buick and Oldsmobile followed with their Nova-clones for 1973,
In high school, in the late 70s-early 80s, a friend’s dad always drove four or five of us to concerts. His car was a ‘72 Malibu 4 door sedan, a sort of burnt orange metallic with a painted white roof. It also had the factory 14” rally wheels, sans the trim rings and center caps. Even then, it looked old and tired, and he hardly ever washed it. Funny, considering his wife stayed in a gleaming, late model Sedan DeVille, and he personally kept his house and yard in tip-top condition. He kept that car until he died about 10 to 15 years ago; the “look” of it never changed.
Regarding GM A bodies. I recently bought All original 72 Buick Skylark hardtop coupe with original 55K miles. 350 4B, Factory AMFM radio, Factory AC, rally wheels, manual windows. here is link to my Buick https://www.connorsmotorcar.com/vehicles/445/1972-buick-skylark
Beautiful car, Alan. You should be very proud!
Grandma bought a ’72 Skylark 350 new. Except for the wheels, same equipment. We only sold it a couple of years ago because mom no longer drives and none of us had room for it. Too much car for my newly licensed 18 year old grandson who needs economical transportation. He would have been the fourth generation owner in the family.
This Buick drove like a dream. The 350-4bbl tolerated modern E10 quite well. The only hint of traditional Buick mushiness was the excessive nose dive with hard braking.
I see absolutely no reason why a car such as this could not be used everyday. These have a very strong aftermarket support in the US so parts won’t be a problem. The SBC has an almost infinite possibilities if you want to play with it. And if you get tired of the drum brakes and imprecise handling, disc brake conversions and suspension uprates are available at reasonable cost. Similarly, a lock-up autobox or a 5sp manual would do wonders to your fuel consumption (if a consideration). Safety-wise it will never be as good as a modern car but that’s something you have to accept (other than installing a full role cage and 6 point racing harness).
I’m in the EU so a Chevelle (or my Mercury Comet) would be totally out of question as an everyday car, but we have an equivalent in VW’s Golf (Rabbit) Mk. I, II and III…
Not exactly the same, but less hypothetical, I was willing to daily drive a ’74 Dart into the ground because it was a 4 door. I would not have done so with a 2 door, as the value at the time seemed to run 5 to 10 times that of a sedan.
Generally, I would be glad to drive a 72 Chevelle daily and ditch the modern Malibu. As T.Turtle pointed out, parts are easy to come by and it would be one of the easier classic cars to keep up even if it got in an accident. Whatever was holding up the owner of this car from fixing the front, it wasn’t lack of parts availability.
What I wouldn’t be willing to do is daily drive it in Michigan in the winter. That would be criminal neglect, so if I lived in the Rust Belt, I’d have to keep the modern Malibu around for the winters. If I could only have one, I’d have to let the Chevelle go until I could afford two cars.
I think most people who drive around a 40 year old car are always glad to be told their car and tastes are appreciated. You don’t drive a car like that to be anonymous. However, I can be a bit shy with strangers myself and I understand how you felt. Thanks for sharing.
Jon, you make an excellent point about the Michigan winter. If I could only afford one of the two cars I had mentioned, and if I needed to drive for work, etc., I think I might be tempted to let the ’72 Chevelle go – perhaps in the hope that I could maybe buy it, or one like it, back one day.