1964 handed the humble Chevy II its first-ever V8 option, a 283 cubic inch small-block available in 195 or 220 horsepower tune, right as the brand-new Chevelle arrived to steal its thunder in the same showroom. Over 25,000 buyers chose the small-block Chevy II anyway, proving this overshadowed compact had more going for it than anyone chasing the flashier new mid-size ever gave it credit for.
The Chevy II is initially in show rooms to bring customers a good functional compact that offers basic transportation while delivering a low sticker price, to attract buyers on a limited budget. The  Chevy II is in  direct competition with the Falcon and the Valiant for the compact  market, offering a full roster of  body    styles to choose from. The ’64 model year the Chevy II looses sales to the Chevelle, a new addition to the Chevrolet line-up.  There are  two larger six       cylinder engines now on the table and this is also the first year the 283 (4.64 L) V8 is offered as an alternate to the basic 152 (2.5 L) six. There is a three speed and a four  speed manual  transmission available as well as the 2-speed Powerglide automatic.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Our thanks to Gateway Classic Cars for these images
1964 should have been a coasting year for the Chevy II — a cheap, honest compact that existed purely to keep Falcon and Valiant shoppers from wandering off the Chevrolet lot. Instead, Chevrolet quietly handed it something it never had before: a proper V8 option, and buyers noticed even while a flashy new sibling was stealing the spotlight down the same showroom floor. That new sibling was the Chevelle, and it ate into Chevy II sales almost immediately. But over 25,000 people still walked past the Chevelle that year specifically to put a small-block under the hood of the humble little compact instead. What did they know that everyone chasing the new Chevelle did not?
The First V8 Changes the Equation
For 1964, Chevrolet finally let the Chevy II carry a proper V8 — the 283 cubic inch small-block, offered in a 195 horsepower two-barrel tune and a 220 horsepower four-barrel version, both sharing the same 3.875 by 3.00 inch bore and stroke and a 9.25 to 1 compression ratio. That is real small-block Chevy hardware in a car most people wrote off as strictly grocery-getter transportation, and 25,083 buyers proved plenty of people wanted exactly that combination. Chevrolet backed it up with a genuinely useful three or four-speed manual, or the two-speed Powerglide automatic for buyers who just wanted to drive.
Overshadowed by Its Own Family
The timing could have been better — 1964 was also the year the all-new Chevelle arrived in Chevrolet showrooms, and it pulled sales attention away from the Chevy II almost overnight. The Super Sport package, a fixture of the Chevy IIs early years, was actually absent when the model year opened, only returning later as Chevrolet figured out where it fit against the new mid-size competition from within its own lineup.
A Six That Deserved Some Credit Too
The V8 gets all the attention, but 1964 also introduced a new 230 cubic inch inline six rated at 155 horsepower, giving budget buyers stepping up from the base six a genuinely modern option to pair with the brand-new V8 news. Between the new six and the brand-new 283 small-block, Chevrolet actually gave the humble Chevy II one of its most complete and capable engine lineups of the entire models run — right as the Chevelle was arriving to steal the spotlight.
A Burgundy Two-Door in Base Trim
The example photographed for this gallery wears a deep burgundy or maroon paint finish over a black interior, dressed in the minimal chrome trim typical of the entry-level Chevy II — no bright rocker moldings or upgraded wheel covers, just the honest, unadorned two-door sedan shape Chevrolet built by the hundreds of thousands to compete with the Falcon and Valiant. That restraint was the whole sales pitch: a practical compact that didn’t ask buyers to pay for styling they didn’t need.
An Orange Small-Block Under the Hood
Pop the hood on a 283-powered example like this one and the small-block wears Chevrolet’s factory orange engine paint, a color code enthusiasts still use today to spot a numbers-matching engine at a glance. The compact 283 fits the Chevy II’s engine bay with noticeable room to spare compared to how tightly later big-block-swapped Chevelles and Novas would eventually be packaged — a reminder that this chassis was originally engineered around six-cylinder simplicity, with the V8 option arriving almost as an afterthought for 1964.
A Compact That Quietly Built Its Own Following
Despite losing sales attention to the flashier new Chevelle in 1964, the Chevy II carried on for three more full generations before Chevrolet finally retired the nameplate in favor of the Nova name it had used as a trim level. That longevity, combined with the compact, lightweight unibody chassis underneath, is exactly why later Chevy IIs and Novas became such popular platforms for budget-minded V8 builders throughout the 1970s and beyond — a legacy that traces directly back to modest, honest cars like this 1964 300 series two-door.
The 300 Series Was the Starting Point, Not the Ceiling
It’s worth remembering that the 300 badge on this car marked the entry rung of Chevrolet’s Chevy II ladder, sitting below the better-trimmed Nova 400 and, from 1966 on, the genuinely quick Nova SS. A base 300 like this one skipped the brightwork, upgraded upholstery, and performance branding those higher trims carried, which is exactly why a clean, honest example in original condition has become harder to find than the flashier cars people were more inclined to preserve. Plenty of base Chevy IIs were driven hard, used up, and scrapped precisely because nobody thought a stripped-down compact was worth saving — making survivors like this one a quieter kind of rare.
A Photo Credit From a Familiar Source
Like several other galleries in this series, these images come courtesy of Gateway Classic Cars, a dealership whose inventory photography has become a widely used reference source for muscle car and classic car enthusiasts researching a given model online. It’s a small detail, but one worth crediting every time a gallery like this one draws on that archive.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related posts:
Chevrolet Chevy II Origins to 1965 – the First Generation
Camaro RS-SS-Z28 options 1967 to 1969 cont…
Alf’s 1965 Chevy II Nova SS—A Member’s Muscle Car
Chevrolet Nova SS Convertible 1963 images
Chevy II to Chevrolet Nova—The Third Generation 1968-1970
Ford Falcon 2014 GT
Chevy Big Blocks W series – 1st Gen-2nd Gen-the “mystery motor”
Chevy Small-block—1962 to 1998 Number 7
Chevy Small Blocks –Number-9
Ford Mustang Boss 302 1969-70
