Jump to content
SASS Wire Forum

Chevy SSR pickup


Recommended Posts

First off my apologies up front to Chevy owners. I was driving down the road today following a Chevy that looked like a VW beetle had sex with a Chevy love pickup truck and this was its kid. I had never seen. Chevy SSR before and I hope I never see one again. Even throwing the name pickup truck into the same add with that abomination probably has pickup trucks in scrap yards around the country rolling over in there rusty graves. Someone needs to slap the design crew who came up with that thing

  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, they do look funny, like something got wet and shrank.  Used ones are pricey.

 

Quote

It was supposed to pay homage to the classic Chevy pickup trucks of the late 1940s and early 1950s but its quirky design and relatively high prices led to sales below expectations. According to different sources, a total of 24,150 SSRs were produced and 24,112 of them were bought by the public

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said:

First off my apologies up front to Chevy owners. I was driving down the road today following a Chevy that looked like a VW beetle had sex with a Chevy love pickup truck and this was its kid. I had never seen. Chevy SSR before and I hope I never see one again. Even throwing the name pickup truck into the same add with that abomination probably has pickup trucks in scrap yards around the country rolling over in there rusty graves. Someone needs to slap the design crew who came up with that thing

Who was on top????

 

Texas Lizard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said:

First off my apologies up front to Chevy owners. I was driving down the road today following a Chevy that looked like a VW beetle had sex with a Chevy love pickup truck and this was its kid. I had never seen. Chevy SSR before and I hope I never see one again. Even throwing the name pickup truck into the same add with that abomination probably has pickup trucks in scrap yards around the country rolling over in there rusty graves. Someone needs to slap the design crew who came up with that thing

I agree. To me they’re about useless. They don’t carry much and they can’t go very fast and they look like, well, like a Beetle mated with a Chevy Luv, like you said. :lol:
 

Every time I see one it’s ‘73 Corvette Yellow and there’s some white haired dude driving it wearing a Chevy tee shirt…or maybe I keep seeing the same one. Who knows. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

Even the AMC Pacer was a better looking vehicle...probably held more cargo also.:P

The Aquarium. :lol:
 

Some guys I knew dropped a Chevy small block V8 with auto transmission in one back in ‘77. Too much engine for the car. The car didn’t see ‘78. They crashed it coming into a turn after burning up a straight stretch. Luckily no one was badly hurt. Except for their egos. 

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Chevy SSR is no slouch!

 

Under the hood is a 390hp LS2! 366 cubic inches and is fuel injected.

 

Stock, in the quarter mile, it’ll run low 13s. With a simple retune of the ECM, some good tires, and a little work on the suspension, a friend of mine had his running mid 11s!!

 

There are suspension packages that are available to make it really handle.

 

NO!!  It won’t win any beauty pageants, but back in the late seventies, we had a lot of guys cutting up and shrinking the ‘48-‘55 Chevy/GMC pickups to create a similar vehicle!!

 

I’ve driven a couple of ‘em including the one I mentioned above.  They drove nicely, they’re well appointed, even stock they don’t handle badly, and for a little over a grand, my friend’s would run with a lot of the top tier sporty cars in production then AND now!

 

Not only that! You can drop an LS7 right in with very little trouble and most ALL of those LS6 and LS7 parts are a direct swap!!

 

There’s guys out on the street everywhere running variations of that combo that are making over a thousand horsepower!!

 

I don’t particularly WANT one, but I’d be careful about jumping on one at a traffic light. Ya’ might get embarrassed!!

 

The one I mentioned is Corvette red with tan leather interior and you’ll mostly see it with the top down and this huge, (6’7”, 300+ lbs) bearded guy driving it!!

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife was laughing at a yellow SSR yesterday!

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, seems like I'm with Blackwater on this. I like them and my favorite color of one is yellow. To each his own. Yes, it might be totally useless as a pickup but but I doubt Chevy designed it to haul bales of hay or a load of gravel. Come to think of it, any street rod or customized restored pickup is pretty much useless for hauling stuff. It is for cruisin' and that's about all. Think about the Dodge Prowler as another example of a crusin' vehicle. First time I saw an SSR it reminded me of my great uncle's 53 GMC pickup. I rode many miles in that thing with him and have many great memories. When my wife and I see one, our first thought is,"That would  be a sweet ride to hold our guns and gun cart to go to a shoot". 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There’s been uglier cars than the SSR like the Gremlin, Yugo and the current Tesla truck!

Actually I think the SSR is kinda cool and I agree with Blackwater and Seamus!

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933 said:

Same design team as the HHR.

The HHR was an unusual car. I was issued one as a company car a drove it for a little over 4 years. You sat low in the car and with the short windows, I felt like I was driving a coffin. It carried a lot of stuff for work and was allowed to take it on vacation on the company's dime. It was a very decent driving and dependable car but was terrible in the snow with the wide tires. Many a winters day it sat at the bottom of my driveway while I trudged up the hill. Would I have bought one? NO, but I'll drive anything that you give to me and pay the expenses. 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

There’s been uglier cars than the SSR like the Gremlin, Yugo and the current Tesla truck!

Actually I think the SSR is kinda cool and I agree with Blackwater and Seamus!

 

The Gremlin might have been ugly but a few of them were pretty impressive performers.

 

 

Edited by Sedalia Dave
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

The Gremlin might have been ugly but a few of them were pretty impressive performers.

 

 


The same should be said about the SSR!!  AND!!  It beats HELL out of the PT Cruiser, (the other “retro” styled automotive offering of the period) for style and performance!!!

Edited by Blackwater 53393
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

It is a Super Sport Roadster, not your grandpa's farm truck.  The bed only needs to hold two spare tires to replace the ones you burn down in the smoke show.  The 6 liter aluminum block with a supercharger puts 525 street friendly horsepower in a stiff 4,600 pound package.   Chevy gave some on style to fit all those horses under the hood.  They knew not to repeat Plymouth's mistake with the V6 Prowler nor did they want to drop in the 8.1 to go toe to toe with the Viper.  

 

The auction prices speak for themselves.   

Edited by sassnetguy50
To clarify: Chevy did not install a supercharger on these but the designers made enough room for it. They were commonly added as aftermarket kits.
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SSR is the pickup i spoke of in a recent message.  It's a cute little truck that belongs to a friend's wife...well, actually they are both friends ... and it's got a spectacular flame paint job on a traffic light yellow body.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/1/2024 at 11:23 AM, Texas Lizard said:

Who was on top????

 

Texas Lizard

 

On 7/1/2024 at 11:23 AM, Texas Lizard said:

Who was on top????

 

Texas Lizard

Asked and answered the question in two lines.  :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Came out about the time as some other retro-mobiles: Plymouth Prowler and the last Thunderbirds.

Everyone at the Big 3s was drinking the Kool-Aid.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That last edition of the Thunderbird WAS pretty pitiful. Weighed too much, didn’t perform well, wasn’t comfortable to drive or ride in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.