1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 wagon: It hauls—and hauls

Klockau-Chevrolet-SS454-Wagon-Lead
Thomas Klockau

For most classic car fans, a Chevelle SS or Malibu SS isn’t exactly an uncommon sight at shows and auctions. As one wag once joked, Chevy built 63,000 in 1967 and only 130,000 survive today. But how about a wagon? Yes. One was made—for only one year—and last year when I posted a photo of one on a ’70s car group page, one armchair expert insisted that it was simply a Malibu wagon with a 454 and someone just tacked the emblems on.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon
Thomas Klockau

I get the same thing when I discuss the 1965 Fleetwood 75 (“It’s a ’64; the ’65 was a totally different body!”) and the 1959–60 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham (“It’s just a ’60 or ’61 regular Cadillac!”). Even when I post a picture from the brochures, it tends to fall on deaf ears (or eyes). People love their preconceived notions, that’s for sure.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon
Thomas Klockau

As many of you undoubtedly know, in 1973 GM completely redesigned its A-body intermediate cars. Everything was new, convertibles were no more, and pillarless two-door hardtops were replaced with pillared “Colonnade” styling. It was very modern for the time, despite the shrieking from those who adored the 1968–72 midsizers. But that’s a story for another time—though I do have photos of a spectacularly original bronze ’72 Chevelle two-door hardtop I need to write about soon.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon
Thomas Klockau

At any rate, somehow along with the myriad of new mid-size cars, was a peculiar new model. For while the SS coupe continued to be available, albeit in an all-new body, somehow there was now an SS package available for the Malibu wagon. Why? Who knows. Maybe it came up during a three-martini lunch. Maybe some product planner said, “Hey, let’s make the SS available on the wagon with a 454 and see if we sell any!” Perhaps it was the same guy who decades later said, “Psst, hey, put a Corvette engine in the Cadillac CTS wagon. And give it a stick.” I love that guy … if he exists!

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon interior
Thomas Klockau

It wasn’t prominently advertised, either in the showroom brochures or in advertisements. The first I heard of this model was back in the late ’90s. I had recently acquired some 1973 Chevrolet wagon brochures from a very nice eBay seller, Bill Hilyard. I bought a lot of brochures from him back then.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon interior rear
Thomas Klockau

The ’73 brochure touted that the Chevelle and Malibu wagons were “brand new, all with a hatchback tailgate … They’re smooth and quiet too, with a new cushioning system and precision tuning of the front and rear suspension.” And as I was flipping through the brochure (which I still have, and which assisted in the writing of this article), I found way in the back, listed among the available options, confirmation of the SS package for station wagons.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon feature sheet
GM

As you can see above, it was largely a décor package, though all wagons got a V-8 from the get-go; there would be no SS wagons with the “Turbo-Thrift” 250-cubic-inch six-cylinder, thank heavens.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon reverse seat
Thomas Klockau

The most noticeable features were the contrasting paint on the lower body, blacked out grille, and of course, the SS emblems. The standard engine was the tried-and-true 350, but if you had the cash and could afford the gas, you could get the 454 V-8 and surprise the other dads in their Country Squires and Grand Safaris.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon corner
Thomas Klockau

Finding production information on these special wagons is not particularly easy. I have copies of both American Cars 1945–75 and Chevrolet: The Complete History, but I came up empty. However, I did discover that in 1973, a total of 28,647 Chevelle Malibu SSs were built, of which 2500 had the 245-horsepower, 454-cu-in V-8. Logically, most of the SSs sold were coupes and not the elusive station wagon.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon badge
Thomas Klockau

Fortunately, my friend Sean Flanagan saw my post awhile back on this car and referred me to a link to G3GM.com, which provided the numbers I sought: A total of 1432 SS wagons were built, with a breakdown of 1361 with the 350 V-8 and a mere 71 with the 454. Yes. she is a rare birdie.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon trim
Thomas Klockau

I wasn’t sure of the color, but fortunately my Chicago pal Jim Smith worked at a big Chevy dealership in the ’70s when he was in high school, prepping new cars and the like. He identified the color as Chamois. As he related, “That’s the name Chevrolet called it. We took a few ’73s in on trade that came in that color.” It’s a very ’70s color, to be sure!

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Wagon front
Jim Smith
1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Wagon rear
Jim Smith

Jim was also kind enough to provide some pictures of another ’73 SS wagon he had. While the Chamois one is oh-so-’70s, colorwise, I love the red with the contrasting dark silver, even though red is such a cliché on Chevy SS models.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Wagon build sheet
Jim Smith

I found it interesting that both the car I photographed and the one Jim shot had the third-row seat. It seems kind of counter-intuitive that one would order an SS package for the wagon and then order the third seat as well. Apparently, for dads who wanted to haul—and haul!

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Wagon rear
Jim Smith

I spotted the Chamois example at an AACA regional show last August at Bend XPO in East Moline, Illinois. The show didn’t officially open until Saturday, but our office closes at 1 p.m. every Friday, and I was looking for something to do. It was a warm but rather gray day, and I didn’t feel like making a gin and tonic and reading a novel on my postage-stamp deck without sun, so I stopped by my friend KV Dahl’s garage, and he was showing some cars to another car guy, Dave Mills.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon
Thomas Klockau

As we were chatting, KV said, “Hey, go on over to the show, no one will mind.” So after ogling several of KV’s classics, I said my goodbyes, and snuck into the show venue.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon engine
Thomas Klockau

Unfortunately, I was only there about a half hour before they started turning off the lights as folks finished detailing their classics for the show. I didn’t have much time to gawk at all the beautiful cars, but I covered as much ground as I could. There were many nice cars—including several others that I’ll be writing about at some point, including a fantastic “flat-top” 1959 Impala Sport Sedan—but I was pleasantly shocked to see this SS wagon.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon front end side
Thomas Klockau

I knew they existed, but I’d never seen one, ever. It was so cool! Practical, yet crazy. Just my style. Of course, I returned the following afternoon with the rest of the showgoers and took many, many photos. The SS wagon was such a cool idea. Sure, it didn’t sell, and today most people don’t even realize these were ever made. It’s good to know that stuff like this was once put on the market. Just do it. No focus groups, just offer i,t and see what happens. I love it.

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS454 Wagon rear three quarter
Thomas Klockau

 

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Comments

    I remember ordering a few cars during the 70’s. It seemed crazy even then, that you had to check a box to get tinted glass and color matched seat belts (easy to miss, and ruined the car if not checked). Also nuts, that AC added 10% of the base price! GM really milked the upcharges for radios, until dealers caught on and started spec with “radio delete” and installing much better after-market systems and keeping the profit. Sad that the SS package was diluted to a tach, rear anti-sway bar and some stickers, by 73.

    I’d forgotten these existed too. It’s both surprising and disappointing Chevy didn’t offer the swivel buckets and console as options too. That would have been more appropriate for an SS don’t you think?

    I’m typically not enthusiastic about mid-seventies styling, having grown up with early hot rods, fat-fenders, and ’50s thru ’60s beauty, but this strikes me as a singularly attractive car. The “colonnade” pillar look really turned me off, so seeing actual thin pillars on this wagon is nice. The Chamois color looks particularly super on it, too. Would have been a nice grocery-getter in the day, but I doubt that all those cubes under the hood would have done much to impress the rodder in me!

    I had one of these, 350, same color, woodie trim, with brown leather interior. I don’t remember the huge rear overhang. Almost identical in size to the next year Impala.

    That is a lot of overhang. My dad had a ’70 Kingswood Estate wagon, and this cars butt is as big as that much larger vehicles was. Good observation, Duke.

    I remember this very brochure. In basic training at Lackland and was anxious to see the 73 models when I finished and was assigned to tech school at Sheppard Air Force Base. I always thought the wagon was the best looking of the 73 Chevelle. Never a fan of the the 2 door roofline. Olds and Buick formal roof versions carried it off much better. This wagon is gorgeous.

    Mike…. Thank you for your service. I was assigned @ Sheppard AFB Tech Training Center from ’69 to ’71. Wichita Falls was an interesting trip, being a Yankee.

    I remember these. Mom had a sedan the same color here.

    The 454 by this point was not anything that hauled.

    Nice rarity if you want something special.

    A ’73, just like me. I like that it does not have fake wood panels. I don’t remember these as a kid with a 454.

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