1966 Chevrolet Bel Air

Chevrolet produced the Bel Air from 1950 through 1981. The 1966 Chevy Bel Air was part of the sixth generation, introduced in 1965 and produced through 1970. It had an overall length of 213.3 inches with the same wheelbase size of 119 inches as the Fifth Generation. They had round taillights mounted high, curved window glass, and a new stamped grille with a lower extension below the bumper. Bodystyles included a 2- and 4-door sedan, and a 6- and 9-passenger station wagon. In Chevrolet's lineup, the 1966 Bel Air was positioned above the entry-level Biscayne and distinguished by full-length bodyside molding, Bel Air script and Chevrolet emblems. They also had a deck lip molding and roof drip gutter moldings.

While the Biscayne was priced from $2,380 to $2,770 with six-cylinder power, the Bel Air ranged from $2,480 to $2,950. The Bel Air two-door sedan was priced at $2,480, the four-door sedan at $2,530, the six-passenger station wagon at $2,835, and the nine-passenger version at $2,950. With the addition of the base V8 engine on either the Biscayne or Bel Air, the price rose by approximately $100. Chevrolet built approximately 83,200 examples of the six-cylinder Biscayne and 39,200 with V8 engines compared to the 72,100 examples of the six-cylinder Bel Airs and the 164,500 V8-powered Bel Airs. The combined 236,600 Bel Air total does not include the station wagon sales. A total of around 18,100 six-cylinder station wagons and 167,400 full-size V-8 Chevrolet station wagons were built in 1966.

The interiors of the Bel Air were done in cloth and vinyl and included a glovebox lamp, glove compartment lock, dual sun visors, carpeting on the floor, and front door courtesy/dome lamp switches. The base overhead valve six-cylinder Turbo-Thrift engine displaced 250 cubic inches and delivered 155 horsepower. A new 427 cubic-inch V8 engine offered 390 hp or 425 horsepower depending on the configuration. The standard V8 engine was the 283 CID V8 with overhead valves, 9.25:1 compression, a downdraft two-barrel carburetor, five main bearings, and delivered 195 horsepower at 4,800 RPM.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2019