L78/L89 powered 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 takes Musclepalooza XX Best in Show

Published by Mike on September 4, 2014

Kenny Pascoe and Frank Arone pose with the Best in Show-winning 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396. Photos by author, unless otherwise noted.

Picking category winners at Hemmings semiannual Musclepalooza isn’t based upon a critical scoring system, where every component, fastener and chalk mark is rated for authenticity and accuracy. Instead, our editors pick their favorite cars within each assigned category; given such leniency, one would think that making selections would be easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. Selecting the category winners (pictured below) for Sunday’s Musclepalooza XX may have been difficult, but one car rose to the top as a clear pick for best in show: the 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 convertible restored by Arone Restorations and exhibited for its owner by Frank Arone and Kenny Pascoe.

To call the restoration “extensive” would be an understatement, as rust had eaten much of the Chevelle’s cabin and trunk floors, along with its transmission tunnel, requiring extensive panel replacement. The body was straight and showed no signs of collision damage (at least in the images we’ve seen), but the tinworm had also eaten through the rocker panels and wheel arches, requiring replacement sheetmetal. Though any 1969 Chevelle SS 396 convertible would be worth the effort to save, this particular example had one more argument in its favor: beneath the hood was the original drivetrain, including the rare 396-cu.in. L78/L89 V-8 engine option, conservatively rated by Chevrolet at 375 horsepower (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and bolted to a heavy-duty Muncie M21 four-speed transmission.

Even the base L78 engine wasn’t an inexpensive option in 1969, as it added $252.80 to the price of a $3,148 Chevelle SS convertible. The L78 engine with the L89 aluminum heads, however, was truly a budget-buster for most, as it raised the price of the car by $648.75. As one would expect from such an expensive, racing-focused option, not too many cars (somewhere around 400) left the factory in this configuration during the 1969 model year. Exact figures may be hard to come by, but Frank Arone claims the Garnet Red convertible is one of just six drop-top SS 396 Chevelles with the L78/L89 option built for 1969 production. More impressive, this car may be the only surviving example with its original drivetrain.

Photo by Mike McNessor.

As one would expect from a no-expense-spared restoration on such a significant muscle car, its condition was impressive and the car was well deserving of best in show honors. Though its owner wishes to remain anonymous, he was kind enough to allow Frank Arone and Kenny Pascoe to show off the car at Musclepalooza XX, and it will be seen at other East Coast events in the coming months.

As always, we extend our thanks to those who participated in and attended our Labor Day edition of Musclepalooza. For a complete list of winners, accompanied by photos of the winning cars, follow the link below to the next pages.