Rare SS Wagon! 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle 454 V8
Online sources seem to be divided on whether Chevrolet actually ever built a Chevelle Super Sport station wagon in 1973. But the ones that agree indicate the number with a 454 cubic inch V8 to be very small, perhaps as few as 71 (according to the seller). This well-worn example is available as part of an estate sale and does run although it’s been in storage for 33 years. Originally from Kentucky but located now in Minnesota, this rare wagon is available here on craigslist for $9,000 (the seller is in California). Another great tip from Pat L.!
GM redesigned its mid-size cars in 1973, which would have included the Chevelle. The automobiles were treated to “Colonnade” styling which eliminated pure hardtops but retained frameless glass in the doors. The Super Sport was still available on a Chevelle Malibu, but it continued as an option, the Z15. One source estimates the total SS population on just wagons to be 1,432 out of 24,553 overall units. That breaks down to 1,361 with a 350 and 71 with a 454.
If this wagon is numbers matching, the original owner wanted some spirit in his Family Truckster. There is no mention of the number of owners this wagon may have had, but we’re guessing just one since 1990 as that’s when the Chevy went into storage (from the looks of things, some of it may have been outdoors). This is a well-equipped Malibu, with a TH-400 automatic transmission, factory A/C, loads of power accessories, and a third seat to haul the kids to soccer practice.
The vehicle is not without rust, with some at least brewing in one of the wheel wells. The green paint is past its prime and the interior looks well-used at 134,000 miles on the odometer with the carpet needing replacing. This SS appears to be an interesting project for which few if any other examples still exist, regardless of condition. If you can sort out the car being in Minnesota and the seller in California, would this be one you’d add to your collection?
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Comments
This is a rare bird and looks to be completely stock! Apparently it has been parked for a looong time, I haven’t seen Remington XT-120′ tires in 30 years! I hope someone can put her back into shape and get on the road again.
That steering wheel is giving vibes…
This thing has to be a unicorn. It would make a great tow vehicle for a speedboat. Much cooler than some gigantic diesel pickup truck.
It’s not a unicorn.
really like (ford guy so appreciate only a few cheb.s) the 3rd/final chevelle model (sedan, coupe, waggy, camino). The big square grill, lack of ‘humps over the wheels’ (much of the ‘muscle’ era just B4 this), nice straight lines, AND esp the curved rear glass/hdbrd on the el camino. Well, some of 1st gen too (stamped 1 piece grill, square rear 1/4s).
Then again, known as Wagonman due to 40 yrs of ownership diff co.s/models, THIS one also floats my boat (as previous commenter).
One of the influencers/interneters/ car guy-talking head had a similar ford (428 motor?) completed a nice flip. Did some maintenance after buying (so – minor flip?) but hada full court press on its sale (9 mo? 12? of growing exposure). Published any/every where: 1st “Not for sale”, more exposure, then ‘for sale’, more exposure (may B on own or another’s uTube as final), growing from auction finishing w/on-line auction, etc. Got top price never would have reached thru other 1/2 efforts.
WELL worth restoring!! Some Chevy fans today STILL don’t think these were ever produced, but they were! I recall a couple `73 “SS” coupes with 454’s back when these were new. Chevelle fans had trouble warming up to this design, but I think these collonades are second only to the `64 original!
Wow, nice rare car with rare options, definitely worth restoring!!!
Fantastic! Super nice job as always, Russ, and you’re a magician to get those horrible vertical photos to work so well!
Weird, it’s a Kentucky car with Kentucky plates, listed on the San Francisco craigslist, and is located in Minnesota. Wait, it’s only 85 miles from me… hmm…
I see 4 power window switches, tho the rear side door windows look like they can only go down 4 or 5 inches!
I wonder if you could have specially ordered a 4 speed manual &/or bucket seats in this wagon.
those rear door windows will go down to where only about 2-3″ stick up above the sill.
And yes you could get buckets and a stick in these.
More like 6” inches. I rode in the back of one and it was a frequent gripe…until Dad got an early K car! Maybe I was smaller and it just seemed bigger. Lot of toxic outgassing from that interior. Always somebody having to get up over that window to puke!
You don’t see those anymore. If the floor and frame are solid this is worth a good resto. Theres a lot of elbow grease needed but if some has the week ends and a storage place this is worth it. Just one thing get rid of the damn roof rack and rear wing.
No way, the rack and wing gotta stay.
A friend had a sprawling newspaper motor route and one of these from the paper to make the deliveries. Bare bones and the smallest engine.
The Sunday paper was the largest of course, and we PACKED that car from the front seat out onto the rear bumper with the tail gate up and the springs down down down.
It was a lumbering ride with him driving and me tossing the papers onto lawns. Several hundred papers. The delivery note for one home said “Hit rock.” That was a mystery till we found the house and saw a long curving driveway, but at the street end was a large, flat topped rock. Seemed like the rock to hit, so there the paper went. No complaints.
The car came through every time. We called it the Mule.
It was a lot quicker empty than when we stuffed it solid. Much nicer car than we could afford then. But when you are young a motor route is a good time.
Very cool. I love wagons and the SS Chevelle is a rare beast for sure. I have seen them before and in better shape. I’d own one if I find one close by.
Another unicorn I’ve never seen other than in brochure pictures is the 1978-80 Loadrunner Volare wagon. Supposedly a 360 4bbl wagon with buckets and console and cast alum wheels. Along with Roadrunner type stripes. Wonder if any were ever made.
I like the styling on these mid-size GM wagons and this one, with the 454 and heavily optioned, is a rare exception to how these were generally equipped. Granted, by 1973 the anti-smog gear had choked most of the performance out of the big block motor, but some modern upgrades (intake, heads, exhaust and fuel injection) can restore this beast to true muscle car status with lower emissions to boot! Unlike some, I’d keep the factory roof racks, if for no other reason than nostalgia, but the roof racks also offer some utility when making a lumber run at the local lumberyard/home center for sticks too long too fit inside the cargo area with the rear seats folded down.
Here is more good info:
https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/klockau-classics/1973-chevrolet-chevelle-malibu-ss454-wagon-it-hauls-and-hauls/
I had one of the 1300 350 powered ‘73 SS
wagons back in the early 80s. Same turbine this example has. 350 was a four barrel dual exhaust version, but still pretty gutless. Factory suspension package with beefy sway bars, front and rear, was a very good handling car for its size. Pretty cool it had a full gauge package too. Bench seat column shift like this version.
Very unique and rare car here, but don’t get too excited about that 454, they were getting pretty wheezy by 73……….
If only they would’ve thought to come out with this model, just a couple years prior(?)
I agree about the wheezy engine comment. The anti-smog rules were beginning to bite pretty hard by ’73. As I said before, there’s lots of aftermarket parts for Chevy engines that can fix that in short order, while probably lowering emissions in the process, if your bank balance can stand the strain, LOL! Most states waive emissions testing for cars more than ten (10) years old, but I’d be curious to compare the exhaust emissions in stock form, versus a suitably modified version with new cylinder heads, intake, exhaust headers and electronic engine controls, either Tuned Port Injection (TPI) or Throttle Body Injection (TBI) with electronic ignition, just to see if such an engine modification program would in fact, lower emissions while improving performance.
Chevy should have made it a 2 door if they wanted to used the revered SS title again(& in later decades too) – tho with this “styling”, i would have rather this had been a ’70 SS wagon with 2 doors.
& they should have at least had a special 454(for ’73) as well – didn’t chevy have the funds to modify the 454 to compete with the SD-455?
Wow. Just saw the old Kentucky plate. Used to see this or one just like it back in the ‘80s around Louisville. It was pretty cool back then. My Dad had a ‘73 Malibu Estate, standard issue white, blue with wood. This was a real what should’ve been.
Dig that it still has the Turbine I wheels!
Yes it’s rare. And yes, I’m quite certain it is a factory “SS” wagon. But that doesn’t mean it should e wearing an “SS” badge. Not worthy of the name in my opinion. Nothing particularly “Super” or “Sport” about this car. Of course, having a big block V8 helps, but as others have stated, by 1973 the 454 was a mere shadow of its former self. Lower compression and emissions choked menat this thing wasn’t a super performer at all, and would’ve been blown away by many small block wagons from just a few years prior.
The least they could have done, was give it bucket seats and a floor shift with console. But alas, it is just a grocery getting wagon with a large and thirsty engine, that would be bested “stoplight to stoplight” by any modern Hyundai sedan.
Regarding your comment about “sporty” I felt that way when I would see a minivan “sport”edition. Just doesn’t make sense.
That 73 SS454 wagon used to belong to a family in Louisville, KY who lived a block from my house. They kept it outside in their driveway as their garage was too small to keep it in. I used to dream of buying that car. One day the house went up for sale and the wagon disappeared. I always wondered what happened to it. Glad to see it still exists. I knew it had to be a rare beast but never figured it was one of 71 produced. If you walked a block further, there was a guy who owned a 57 Chrysler 300 that was one of the few that still had a working fuel injection from the factory. Another unicorn! Sadly he died and I lost track of the car. He only used the fuel injection once in a while to see if it still worked. Usually he had the 2 four barrel carb setup on it. Boy do I miss those days seeing those rare cars.
I remember seeing it pull up in front of Highland Hobbies while I was racing slot cars on their track. The 300 with FI must’ve been a well kept secret. Kinda exotic for the Ville! Always more of a Galaxie/LTD town. Not much interesting stuff lurking around in neighbors garages like there used to be.
$9,000 is a ridiculous price for this.
What is this “one source” for production?
Watching the movie Legion in the movie theater many years ago when they started blowing up the possessed in their cars. I said out loud ” holy #$@# they just blew up a 73 SS Wagon!!. No one in the theater cared. What if it was also a big block…….
Am gonna watch the movie now. Just so I can say the same thing to whomever is within earshot in the house.
This must be rare collanade month! Cool ride. Yes, we all heard it’s a 1973 malaise car yada yada…put a cam, headers on it yada yada…No way. Too rare and cool. Bring this thing back to its 1973 collanade glory! You will have the only one for sure!
What’s great about 2023 is these days? It would be no problem to build that numbers matching 454 to look completely stock down to the manifolds and air cleaner, and still put out a power number that would eat a ‘70 LS6 for lunch, even in this heavy car. What a fun wagon, that would be!
Their is no such thing. That was Frankenstein together, Someone probably put the badges on it, I could see a 350 or the 454 , because it has the 454 it don’t make it a S.S., look at the trucks in the past, they were not Super Sports.
It’s an SS. Plenty of evidence out there.
Do you have the build sheet on it? Go do your research. Their is no such thing. Have a good night.
There are two topics at play:
Yes, it would need documentation.
But to say “there was no such thing” is incorrect.
I suggest you do some research. Checkout the SS Equipment Group for what it is available on.
researchhttps://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/klockau-classics/1973-chevrolet-chevelle-malibu-ss454-wagon-it-hauls-and-hauls/
This ad says nothing about matching numbers OR documentation. It is just like any other 69 and up Chevelle. With no factory documentation or matching numbers, it is NOT a real SS, even if it really is. Capiche?