Chevrolet was at the forefront of American high-performance starting in 1955. Fuel injection gave Chevrolet international flair starting in 1957, and then the early adoption of a four-speed manual (factory for 1959, earlier for factory-sanctioned dealer-installed) certainly couldn’t hurt. The introduction of the 409 in 1961 was icing on the cake, with the Beach Boys a cherry on top.
But the Pontiac GTO ruined it for Chevrolet because, now, the world was a mid-sized performance car market. Chevrolet was a bit slow out of the gate, but the 1966 Chevelle SS 396 was able to carry the torch for Bow Tie performance.
Yet, strangely, in 1967, Chevrolet decided to offer a dedicated full-size performance car called the SS427. Based on the Impala SS, the SS427 package included a 385-horsespower 427, unique hood, and special badging, among other features. The special performance package continued into 1968, though the unique elements were shuffled up a big. Nineteen sixty-nine was the final year for the SS427 but it lacked the special identifying features that made it stand out from other Impalas. For 1970, it was replaced by the Monte Carlo SS454.
Join Muscle Car Campy as he catches up with Gordon Frank and his loaded 1968 SS427 convertible. This car has features such as power windows, gauges, AM/FM 8-track, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, and fiber optics, among other features. Gordon has modified it slightly for better performance, but who can blame him for wanting to wake that Rat up?
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