Back in 1970, a soon-to-be funk rock classic by The Ides of March began climbing up the Billboard charts.
Simply titled “Vehicle“, its unforgettable horn riff instantly seared itself into pop music—so much so that you often overlook the song’s actual lyrics:
Hey, well, I’m the friendly stranger in the black sedan
Won’t ya hop inside my car?
I got pictures, got candy, I’m a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star
…Look, we’re not going to tell you how to live your life, but something about the whole “strangers with candy” thing just doesn’t sit well with us.
McGruff the Crime Dog aside, what we can appreciate is a classic 1960s-era boulevard cruiser dressed in black paint with plenty of chrome trim.
But instead of a sedan, we dig ours in a coupe—which brings us to today’s Lot Shots feature vehicle.
With a script “Biscayne” on its rear flank, there’s no mistaking the model here, but if you needed additional help in making a positive ID (perhaps if you come across a de-badged one), the taillights offer some big clues.
When Chevy redesigned its full-size B-Body in 1965, it continued to give the cars separate round taillights, maintaining the trend of six for the Impala/Caprice, four for the Biscayne/Delray that was established in 1958.
In 1966, the rear went to a pair of rectangular taillight assemblies—and in keeping with the theme, the Impala’s were trisected, and the Biscayne’s bisected.
Then in 1967, that segmented taillight look was exaggerated. The Impala retained its trio of lights on each side, with a clear backup light sandwiched between each pair of red light lenses. The four vs. six trend continued, as Biscaynes had a single clear backup light with a lone red brake light on either side.
In 1968, the taillights for all full size Chevys moved into the bumper itself, where they remained well into the 1970s.
If you’re not hip to the distinction between the Biscayne and Impala…or the Caprice…or the Bel Air….during the 1960s, they were all flavors of the Chevy full size B-body passenger car. (The “Caprice Classic” would carry the full size Chevy mantle well into the 1990s.)
While the trim tiers aren’t always linear or consistent between years, here’s a breakdown of the Chevy full size lineup after its major 1965 refresh:
In the name of brevity, the party starts with the Biscayne, essentially the base model with an austere options sheet. The next step was the Bel Air, which got you some more features and some extra cosmetic moldings. Then the Impala really kicked things up a notch by offering some more options (including the Super Sport package). Finally, the Caprice trim could be added to the Impala as an option—to buyers, it brought the humble Chevy closer to Cadillac territory.
This particular 1967 Biscayne rumbled into Summit Racing’s Ohio Retail Store a while back, and we instantly fell in love with its clean, restrained style. The flat black hood appears to be a temporary measure; we expect it to soon be painted to match the rest of the car’s tuxedo black vibe. The red interior is just icing on the cake here.
True to its Biscayne roots, this is a “post” car, meaning it has the pillar behind the front seats bisecting the side windows, and the early Chevy Rally wheels are a perfect complement to its subtle look. All told, this sleeper-spec Biscayne is giving us serious Bis-Quick vibes, hearkening back to the amazing big block powered full-size Chevys that stalked the streets in the 1960s.
…Still though, we don’t know if we’d hop on the bench seat alongside a stranger—besides, we’re more “Blood, Sweat & Tears” fans around here anyway.
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