Hot Rod Wagon: 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Concours 396
In the late 1960s, Chevrolet liked to name their station wagons differently than their sedans. So, the lineup in the Chevelle ranks was Nomad, Greenbrier, Concours, and Concours Estate, with the latter two being Malibu equivalents in wagon trim (with or without woodgrain siding). This one from 1969 has been souped up with a 396 cubic inch V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission. It looks to be fairly solid and might be a sleeper except for the SS-style hood stripes. Located in Eugene, Oregon, this zippy wagon is available here on craigslist for $12,000. Thanks for the heads up, Tony Primo!
Though station wagons could be ordered with a wide variety of engines, this Chevelle was rare when it was built. The VIN on the dashboard gives away that it was a 2-seat Concours wagon built with an inline-6 engine, of which just 546 were produced in 1969. Most buyers opted for a V8 because, well, it was a wagon and you bought them to haul people and stuff.
The VIN the seller provides in the listing differs from that on the dash and we can’t decipher what that means. But assuming this was an I-6 people mover when new, someone decided later on that it needed a lot more speed. We’re not sure which version of the 396 is present, but the tranny is a T10 and there’s a 10-bolt rear end out back. Power steering is along for the ride, but only drum brakes are used to stop this powerful wagon. The seller says a lot of spare parts will come with the deal, though we don’t know which ones.
It wears Forest Green paint and SS stripes which we assume we added later. There’s no visible rust and the body looks okay though at least one piece of chrome trim is missing. A grille from a 1968 Chevelle has been implanted. The black interior sports new seating material fore and aft (6-passenger wagon). But is that a 1968 steering wheel instead of the design used in 1969-70? We’re told it drives well and should make the trip to its home on its own – assuming you don’t live in Maine. The odometer reads 116,000 miles, but we don’t know how many are on the transplanted hardware. Looking for some muscle in your soccer mom wagon?
Comments
Might not be a bad starting point, needs a few things to bring it home. By the way Hurst does sell just the stick. That one seems a bit long, but was probably priced right. Should bring some smiles per mile.
The seller was probably going for the Ed “Big Daddy “ Roth look with that extra long shifter handle.
1st, I think it’s really cool, an automatic would get more buyers, but think of what this car was originally. Some hum-drum Chevelle 6 cylinder wagon, 3 speed on the column,( that should be removed) relegated to dads shoe shine business or company car, maybe a run to the Dairy Queen with all the neighborhood kids. Very few women drove a stick then, suddenly transformed into this tire smoking monster, that’s pretty cool, and could still take the kids to the Dairy Queen, just a bit faster than pops, is all.
My mother, grandmother, both female cousins, and all five aunts drove stick. Not saying you’re necessarily wrong – just bragging about how cool my female relatives were.
All the women iin my family could drive anything
An auto would get more buyers? Odd, I usually see people say, “man, if that was a 4 speed.” I certainly don’t think having a manual trans will hurt the sale of this wagon.
Like others are saying, many woman, if not most, drove sticks when this car was new. My mom drove one until she gave up her license when she turned 90. My sisters and ex-wife didn’t get automatics until the vehicles they wanted were no longer available with manual transmissions. I do agree that the column shifter needs to be removed and it does appear to have been powered by a 6 cylinder when it was new.
Most women I have known and still know are eminently capable of driving stick shifts. The difference is that this same set of women don’t really see what all the big deal is about doing hole shots, and don’t like the feeling of siding sideways. As the father of a late teenager, most of his male buddies struggle with stick shifts – the girlfriends don’t seem to have that issue.
Some ’68 parts on this one – grille, dashboard, steering wheel, tailgate & bumper (’69 had backup lamps in the tailgate, ’68 had them in the bumper). Draw your own conclusions.
68 side marker lamps as well, the 69 markers were much natrower and were amber in front. So I think this is a 68.
Transplanted VIN?
CCFisher…..Look at the partial background of pic4. That should answer the ?. There’s a junked 68 on that property somewhere. And Davey Boy, same goes for the 396. Nice car tho even if puzzle pieced together.
I agree with @Rickirick. Just my opinion but, this vehicle reminds me of Frankenstein, chopped up pieces put together with the hope of making it something it was never meant to be. I like the idea but the execution seems a little rough. I think this one needs a whole lot more work than at first appears.
I’m just guessing here but something tells me the motor came from a late 60’s pick-up or blazer. A friend had a 68 Blazer with a 396. The motor was painted the same color as the truck which was the same color of gold as the motor in this. Maybe just a coincidence I don’t know but this isn’t the only gold big block I’ve seen and all of them were in the round body pick-up or blazer. Like I said, may very well just be a coincidence. With that being said, I would love to have this car! I am and have always been a wagon fan and this ticks all the boxes for me. Nothing like the sound of a big block chevy motor coming out of a set of headers and I just Happen to have a set that would fit this car. Some things I would fix but what fun is a car you can’t work on just a little? Oh well. Life being how it is right now, I probably won’t figure out a way. But a guy can dream right?
I’m not seeing gold. It looks like a normal orange engine to me.
You have some mistaken memories Davey Boy.
Blazer didn’t come out until 1969 and it wasn’t offered with a 396.
you are correct sir. I spoke with him and it was a 69 with a 68 396 out of a pick-up. Oh to be young and inexperienced again. Now I’m just old and gullible. Not a great combination but I’ve learned to live with it.
I see this one has the very rare 2 shifter option , either 4 wheel drive or a 2 speed rear end !
Nice wagon but mine needs to be a 2 door !
I like this. It is as cool as my 67 full optioned Tempest Safari. I liked wagons before they were cool. This is a nice straight version.
That is a ’68, not a ’69. The ’69 had an extra horizontal bar across the center of the grill.
The dash is a 1968. 1969 dash has round gauge bezels.
I like it. Nice to see a 4 spd and a 396 in a wagon. Too far away for me but I hope someone saves it..
Due to the ‘rules’ I can’t say a whole lot of what I know on this vehicle / ad / seller so will simply quote Elmer Fudd: “Be vewy vewy careful”. :-)
On behalf of all the honest car lovers who have been lied to by car selling scammers , i thank you !
On behalf of all the honest car lovers who have been lied to by car selling scammers , i thank you !
This gives a whole new meaning to grocery getter. What I see a lot of is someone goes through all that trouble to put in a 4spd ( nice upgrade) and leaves the column shift there?…. And why not upgrade to disc brakes?
sure looks like a 68 to me
You are right I think that is a 68 dash with square speedo. 69 were round.
everything on it is 68 style
My wife is from europe and she took her driving test in compton in my new 6cyl crew cab stick dodge p’up work truck in 2007. The very tough looking female evaluator shook her head and told me I can’t believe you have her driving that for her test. When they got back from the drive the evaluator walked by me w/o looking at me and said in a huff “she passed”. I wasn’t surprised, she also was a war nurse and drove a stick ambulance. Ahhh the memories priceless! Lol.
if that is a 69 somebody went to a lot of trouble putting a complete 68 speedo assy not to mention the putting the key in the dash and change the column.would be worth more with the 6cly in it.
GO back to 64 and Buick made a wagon ( the model was called a Special) with a 300 cube V8 and a 4 speed. My dad had one and we towed a camper with it.