Introduced in 1964 as Chevrolet's first venture into the midsize market, the Chevelle had developed into a fully-fledged muscle car by the end of the decade. In 1970, the company introduced a significant facelift, giving the Chevelle a more pronounced coke bottle styling. More importantly, Chevy also added the massive 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) V8 engine to the lineup.
The latter was a big deal because it turned the Chevelle into a massively powerful rig. Sure, the 454 LS5 wasn't all that wild at 360 horsepower. The SS 396 was only ten horses behind in base trim, while the beefed-up version came with 375 horsepower on tap. The LS6 mill, however, trumped the 402-cubic-inch (6.6-liter) V8 in the SS 396 by a large margin at 450 horsepower.
In fact, the LS6 delivered notably more oomph than Chrysler's 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8. In addition to providing an extra 25 horses, it also came with a bit more torque at 500 pound-feet (678 Nm). All told it was the most powerful production car available at the time—a Hennessey Venom F5 of its era, if you will, or a Lotus Evija, if we take modern electric vehicles into consideration.
The Chevelle SS 454 LS6 is also a rare classic. For starters, the engine was discontinued after only one year on the options list. And in addition to being a one-year gem, the 454 LS6 was also ordered in small numbers due to its expensive sticker, which added a 28% premium to the base Chevelle. As a result, the LS6 found only 4,475 homes.
The figure also includes El Camino pickups, which were part of the Chevelle lineup. There are no accurate statistics on how many utility coupes were ordered with the big-block V8, but experts agreed that about 500 were made. This means the number of hardtop and convertible Chevelles equipped with the LS6 drops to just under 4,000 examples.
Granted, it's not quite as rare as other muscle cars from the golden era, but not all LS6-powered Chevelles survived to see 2024. And many of the vehicles are still around are rotting away in junkyards and barns, awaiting for a second chance that may never arrive. The black-on-black LS6 you see here is one of those rigs.
Discovered by YouTube's "Backyard Barn Finds," this Chevelle has been hiding in a junkyard for years. Parked among first-generation Chevrolet Camaros, the LS6 is in pretty bad shape. The front clip and the engine are missing, while the remaining body panels are quite rusty. And it's safe to assume that the chassis isn't doing better, either.
It's a sad sight, to be honest. It's the kind of junkyard find many would take to the crusher. But it's a true-blue LS6 four-speed, and the owner reportedly knows the whereabouts of the original engine. So maybe, and I mean a big maybe, this Chevelle is worth saving. Sure, it would cost more money than its current market value in restored condition, but I feel like this hardtop is too rare and historically important to be scrapped.
On the flip side, I'm pretty sure no one is willing to spend a six-figure sum to save a rust bucket. It would be cool, but it's not going to happen. What do you think? Should this LS6 get a second chance, or is it one of those classics we should just forget about?
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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