After 20-years in his care and untold thousands spent on performing a meticulous rotisserie restoration, the owner of this stunning 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 Convertible is in a situation where he must part with a classic that he has loved and cherished. When it isn’t seeing active duty, the owner stores the vehicle in a facility that protects and preserves it. That facility is being sold, and with no place to keep the Chevelle, the owner has listed it for sale here on eBay. The Convertible is located in Binghamton, New York, and while the bidding has rocketed to $50,350, the reserve is yet to be met.

When you are confronted with a classic like this Nevada Silver Chevelle, it is hard to know where to look first. The owner purchased the vehicle around 20-years-ago and drove it for about a decade before he treated it to a rotisserie restoration. The result is a car that still looks stunning today. The paint shines beautifully, with no flaws or problems worth noting. Scrutinizing the exterior reveals laser-straight panels with gaps that are tight and consistent. As part of the process, the owner installed a new soft-top that still looks showroom fresh. All of the stripes and decals have been replaced, and these show no signs of shrinkage or other deterioration. The owner chose to replace some of the badges and trim with NOS items during the restoration, but components like the bumpers made a trip to the platers and returned in as-new condition. The glass and wheels are in excellent order, and there’s no doubt that the Convertible will turn heads wherever it goes.

I haven’t mentioned rust to this point, and that’s because there isn’t any. There is nothing visible around the vehicle’s exterior, but when we climb below decks, we find floors and a frame that are spotless. If you are looking for a surface from which to eat your lunch, I think that we’ve found it. There are no signs of dirt, dust, or stone chips. The Chevelle’s cause has been helped because it has only clocked 350 miles in the 10-years since the owner completed the restoration.

From 1970, the Chevelle SS 396 was hiding a bit of a secret. The “396” component was now something of a lie. Chevrolet had increased the bore of the big-block by 0.030″ from 1970, which saw the engine’s capacity rise to 402.2ci. However, the company decided that the original designation was so ingrained into the buying public’s psyche that they could see no reason to change the name. This SS is a numbers-matching classic that features the 402ci V8, a 4-speed manual transmission, power steering, and power brakes. The owner quickly points out that the decal on the air cleaner is inaccurate and that this is the LS3 that produces 300hp. He has the original air cleaner with the correct decal, and he is including this in the sale. That big-block should be capable of propelling the Chevelle through the ¼ mile in 15.3 seconds, which represents some rapid “wind in the hair” motoring. The owner doesn’t indicate whether the vehicle received any mechanical refreshing during the restoration process, but he says it has only covered 350 miles since the work was completed. There are a few minor items in the engine bay that will need detailing, but he doesn’t indicate any mechanical problems. He includes many of the parts that were removed during the restoration, along with the original Protect-O-Plate.

You’re probably as unsurprised as I am to find a perfect interior when we open the Chevelle’s doors. With so few miles since the restoration, there hasn’t been a chance for the Black upholstery to become tried and worn. The dash and console are just as impressive as is the carpet. If you are in the market for a classic and the term “showroom fresh” is anywhere on your essentials list, this Convertible has to go close. There aren’t many luxury appointments inside the SS, but the pushbutton radio will provide entertainment on the move, while the Hurst shifter should make shifting duties a pleasure.

It is possible that you might have longed for a Chevelle SS 396 Convertible when they were new in 1971, but found that it was out of your price range. Perhaps you were too young to buy one, or maybe you hadn’t been born yet! There are many reasons people didn’t buy these cars when they were new, and none revolved around their quality. They were well designed, they had performance to burn, and the build quality was on par with anything else on the market at that time. It was almost invariably a question of economics, practicality, or age that ruled them out. Let’s take all of those excuses out of the equation because parking this Chevelle in your garage is as close as you are likely to get to owning a brand new example today. You may have missed out in 1971, but are you going to do it again?