Member: Bob and Doreen Patterson

Car: 1968 Chevelle SS

In 1973 I was driving a 1963 Impala and the opportunity arose to upgrade our ride; a '68 Chevelle SS was available at a good price. I just had to check it out! The SS had been purchased new at the GM dealer on the Southside of Nanaimo and the original owner, a young fellow, had driven it very hard. He had encountered some difficulties with the four speed tranny and decided it was time to get rid of the Chevelle.

While Inspecting the car I also noticed that he had been in a minor crash and had a new fender installed along with some other minor body damage repaired. The owner explained that he had taken second gear out of the tranny and he was unable to fix the problem. We bought the SS for $1100.00 becoming the second owners. When I got the Chevelle home, I removed the transmission and looked things over. I put the synchro rings in the correct way; put the tranny back in the car and the Chevelle was ready for the road! It was now our daily driver.

While I was attending Nanaimo's Malaspina College in 1975 the 396 engine expired, so I got a deal on a new L88 427 and installed it myself. We kept driving it as a family car, however, by 1979 it was getting rusty rear quarters, wheel wells and front fenders. I started to think that I would like to save the Chevelle, so in May 1980 I made the decision to take the car off the road for a few months and get busy on some body work.

I had been helping a friend with his body shop and he agreed to do some work on the car in exchange for my help. The two month plan was progressing nicely until he lost his shop space and my car came home stripped to the bare metal. The two month plan was now to be extended!

We were at this point expecting our third child (Bejay) so there was no money to finish the car.

I stored the Chevelle in the garage as a future project and got a different car. The family needed a larger family sedan anyway. While it was in the garage I took the body off and rebuilt the suspension, I also managed to trade for lower compression cylinder heads and changed the camshaft to make the Chevelle more street friendly.

In 1997, my two months "off the road plan" had now reached 17 years so I made a deal with a friend who has a body shop and he agreed to work on it in his spare time. It was a year long project but it did save on some of the cost. It was back on the road for its first car show in June 1998. It came off the road the year Bejay was born. He could have gone to graduation in it when it went back on the road.

I still enjoy the Chevelle SS we purchased 35 years ago. I enjoy working on the car and participating in cruises and car shows. As with many members cars, it is an ongoing project.

Bob and Doreen Patterson

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