1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible

Originally only available as the SS396 and then the SS454, for the 1971 model year Chevrolet made the SS package available with any V-8 in the Chevelle lineup except the lowly 307.

That meant you could get the snarly looks and sporty suspension of a Super Sport Chevelle with a Turbo-Fire small block 350 V-8 in L65 245 or L48 270 horsepower form, the Turbo-Jet LS3 400 cube big block rated at 300 ponies, or the snarling LS5 454 cubic inch big block, making 365 cowl-inducted dual exhaust horses.

The lack of "454" designators on the fender badges would indicate this '71 regtop is one of the lesser SS models. Well, maybe it's an SS. A lot of generic midsize GM A-body coupes got "upgraded" to SS, GS, or 442 status during the first muscle car boom in the late '80s via the Year One catalog and some judicious badge engineering.

I seen't it! (A faux GTO was a lot more expensive to gin up from a garden-variety Tempest, since you needed a hood and an Endura nose.)

When Motor Trend tested a 1971 Chevelle SS coupe with the L65 2-barrel 350, they clocked a 9.7 second zero-to-sixty time and a 17.1 second quarter mile at 80mph through the traps. Price as tested was  $4,160, or about $33,000 in 2025 dollars.

This one was photographed in April of 2022 using a Nikon D200 and 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens.