As was said, the single most important thing you can do is check it out very very carefully. Rot would be my biggest concern. Pretty much everything else can be fixed a little at a time and fairly easily. But major rust rot can get very expensive and time consuming and isnt neccesarily something for a beginner.

Check all the fluids, make sure the engine is running well. Take it for a drive and make sure it shifts correctly, check to see if it pulls to one side or the other. Check the brakes for working condition as well.

Crawl all over this car and see what it is you are getting yourself into. Go to websites like www.npdlink.com and see how much things like a underdash wire harness and guages are going to cost you, you dont want to buy the car and have it burn it up a few weeks later.

Just thoroughly check it out, and if anything feels wrong, walk away from it. You have to keep in mind, their are hundreds of thousands of chevelles out there, you dont need to jump on anything, their will always be another. The worse this economy gets, the more that are coming on the market and the cheaper they are getting. Dont feel as though you have to get this one or never get one, you'll get one easily enough.

That said, if it feels right for you, have a blast with it. From what I see, I love the car. I want a 65 really bad.

Jeff

Thanks guys,
Well it's not my car... yeeeet
Going in the morning to check it out I'll be sure to post some pictures and questions...

There is a lot of equipment that would be on an SS, like rear sway bar, boxed control arms, etc. You should see how much if any of these options are on this car.

Take LOTS of pictures.

Thanks guys,
Yeah i'm charging the camera. I though about taking my camcorder but that might be a little weird... But ya i'm taking pictures of every little piece on this car. I didn't realise the 65 SS didn't even have the 350 as an option ether 327 or 396 for v8's? Is that true? Not that it really matters since it's not # matching... What do you guys think i should offer on the car without lowballing him?

194 cid
230 cid
283 cid
327 cid

those were the engine options...

http://www.chevellestuff.com/1965/engine_id_codes.htm

Look over the info on this site about '65 Chevelles.

www.chevellestuff.com

Thanks Jake,

Wish i found that earlier...

You're absolutely right. Shows how much I know. :p

The page at Dale's site says it all. At least I know where the facts are available as a resource.

Wow it was really depressing... The guy knew very little although he pointed out the vin said RR which is rose red? lol But ya he just got it painted in Dec so he could sell it. He didn't know that even if you paint over rust it's still bad... And there was bondo which wasn't even filled right along with dings here and there... It was originally a 283 SS from Cal, It's ashame he painted it i probably would of bought it before he painted it. I loved the interior looked brand spanking new even though it was done in 1999. Oh well i guess my search continues :(

For sure! I don't want to get in over my head. My neighbor is trying to sell me his '64 mustang but it is in the beginning stage of complete restore but he has to move to japan so maybe he'll just give me it and i can learn how to do some body work and weld on it :D

How far will you go to buy a car?
What is your budget?
Are you only looking at Chevelles? or only A body cars? or only Chevy muscle?