Longevity

Time Capsule 1965 Pro Street Chevelle Has Stayed Nearly the Same for Over 40 Years!

- Steven Rupp

Back in the before times, our hot rodding hobby was the wild west. Yeah, 40 years ago there was an aftermarket, but it didn’t even remotely resemble what you see today. Four decades ago, there weren’t terms like Pro-Touring, resto-mod, or even the Internet. There were no tubular control arms, and handling, for the most part, was left to Porsches and ’Vettes. You got your parts from brick-and-mortar speed shops and a few chains like Super Shops. But what we did have was Pro Street. Why? Well, because most of the aftermarket for hot rods was focused on drag racing, and guys worked overtime to meld drag race parts to their streetcars. This is the story of one such Pro Street Chevy that was iconic in the ’80s SoCal street scene, a 1965 Chevelle owned by Mark Abbott called Quicksilver. What you see here is pretty much how the car has looked for the last four decades, in essence a Pro Street survivor and a window into our hot rodding roots.

But besides being a survivor of an era, it’s also an excuse for me to kick down that editorial fourth wall. You see, I grew up with this car, drove it, got tickets in it and it’s a huge reason why I became a car guy. Back in the early- and mid-1980s, I was fresh out of high school and rockin’ a 1967 Camaro. I would do the big cruises, hit car shows, and hang out at the local street races. This is where I met Abbott. Back then, he was showing the car at RG Canning, the ISCA, and other big events. The car was stunning. Abbott and I became great friends, and I spent a lot of time with this Chevelle. Lots of good times and great stories. Of course, some of the stories need to be weighed against the statute of limitations before being shared.