Review & History: 1965 Chevorlet Impala SS 396 425

This 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport hides a secret under its hood that almost no one still has: the rare L78 396 rated at 425 horsepower, backed by a four-speed manual. V8TV counts the survivors and lands on a number frighteningly close to zero. From the Brothers Collection, it is a full-size Chevy with a big-block resume most muscle cars would envy.

Big-block Chevys from the sixties get thrown around casually, as if every one of them were the genuine article. This 1965 Impala Super Sport is the exception that makes you realize how rare the real thing has become. Under the hood sits the L78 396, an engine advertised at 425 horsepower and mated to a four-speed manual, in a full-size body that was never supposed to be a stoplight terror. V8TV asks how many four-speed L78 cars are even left, and the answer they arrive at is small enough to be unsettling. The number might be five.

What RPO L78 Actually Means

RPO L78 is one of the most desirable codes a 1965 Chevrolet can wear. It designated the top solid-lifter 396, a factory rating of 425 horsepower, and a temperament that had far more in common with a race engine than the family-hauler badge on the fenders. Dropping it into a full-size Impala instead of a lighter model made the car an oddity even when new, a heavyweight built to run hard. Cars optioned this way were rare when they left the line, and time has only thinned the ranks.

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A Survivor From the Brothers Collection

This particular Impala comes from the Brothers Collection, a group known for assembling genuine, correct muscle cars rather than tribute builds. That pedigree matters, because a real L78 car is worlds apart from a big-block dropped in later to chase the look. V8TV’s point about maybe five remaining is not showmanship; four-speed L78 cars were low-production to begin with and attrition did the rest. What is left is a documented, driveable piece of Chevrolet’s most aggressive full-size era.

Why the Ending Is Worth the Wait

The hosts tell you up front to watch to the end, and with a car like this that usually means the engine gets to speak for itself. A 425-horse solid-lifter 396 fired up and revved is a sound modern cars simply cannot replicate. For anyone who cares about how these machines actually behave rather than how they look parked, that payoff is the whole point of finding an unmolested example like this one.

Watch the full video and share your thoughts below.

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