Car: 1965 Chevelle 300
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My 1965 Chevelle story begins in March 2004 in the Fraser Valley city of Abbotsford B.C. My wife, Melissa, and I were delivering flyers for the kid’s school on a sunny Sunday afternoon when she spotted the rear end of a car that she thought looked like mine - I’m in the process of restoring a 1965 Acadian Canso Sport Deluxe. What she had noticed turned out to be a 1965 Chevelle 300 Deluxe 4 door sedan. Curiosity made me stop and take a look; her sharp eyes had discovered a 69,000 original miles Chevelle that had a ‘FOR SALE’ sign hung in the back window. After looking at the Chevelle for ten to fifteen minutes I knew this would be a great car for collector plates since it was all original – even the spare tire! I test drove it two or three times and was amazed at how well it drove, almost like a new car. We agreed on a fair price and I bought the car on April 6th, 2004.
The original owner had bought the car from ‘DUECK’ in Vancouver, B.C. (the dealer emblem is still on the trunk lid). The car was bought April 1965 and brought to Abbotsford. The original owner lost his license sometime in his seventies (70’s). The car at that time only had 30,000 miles on it. The car was then parked for about 15 years as the owner was unwilling to sell it even though he couldn’t drive. When he passed away, the car was willed to his son who wasn’t interested in the car at all. He had several offers from people to purchase it, however, they all wanted to use it for parts. A co-worker of his thought he would be foolish to sell it for a parts car and told him that he would like to buy it as a weekend driver and to tinker with it. The car found it’s new home and second owner.
When he purchased the car it still had the original bias ply tires on it. He updated the car by replacing the tires, gas tank and overhauling the brakes, conditioning the transmission and rebuilding the carburetor.
All I have had to put into it is a little elbow grease and TLC. I drive the car almost daily, transporting the kids around town. I haven’t had it documented by GM but I did find the line sheet under the back seat and had the Chevelle Club figure our the codes. (Many thanks guys!)
Brad’s ’65 Chevelle is equipped with the following
- Option Codes Description
- C14 - 2 Speed Wipers
- L26 - 230 140HP
- M35 - Powerglide Automatic 2 speed
- N40 - Power Steering
- X22 – Base Tire Equipment
- Paint Code: S – Sierra Tan
- Interior #762 – Fawn
- The only option added afterwards was a radio.