One-piece fender lamps
Single-unit parking and side-marker lamps on the front fenders, outside a new twin-bar grille.1one source
Class of '72 · Chevrolet Chevelle · 1970–1972 body · second generation
1972Chevrolet Chevelle
The last of the second generation: net horsepower only, no LS6, and a VIN that names the engine.
The year in brief
The 1972 had a new twin-bar grille with single-unit parking and side-marker lamps on the front fenders, and every Malibu had concealed wipers.1one source
Wikipedia calls the 1972 Chevelle America's second-best-selling car. The Malibu sport coupe led with 212,388 built, Canadian-built cars for U.S. dealers included.13
Chevrolet rated its engines only in net horsepower now: 270 for the LS5 454, the top engine with the LS6 gone. In California the 307, 402 and 454 were not offered, by Over-Drive's account.124
The SS package (Z15) cost $365.50 delivered ($347 list) for a V8 Malibu sport coupe or convertible with an optional engine. Over-Drive counts 24,946 SS Chevelles and El Caminos, 5,333 with the 454, and 9,508 Heavy Chevys.23
The story of the year
A VIN that names the engine
For 1972 Chevrolet changed the serial number. The series became a letter, B for Nomad, C for Chevelle, D for Malibu and H for Concours Estate, and the fifth character now gives the engine, from D for the 250 six to W for the 454.2one source
GM's example is 1B36D2B500025: a six-cylinder Nomad wagon, the 25th Chevelle built at Baltimore.2one source
How to spot a 1972
What tells it apart from a 1971.
An engine letter in the VIN
The fifth character of the VIN is the engine code, D to W.2one source
Production13
393,695 cars, by body.
Every trim line
| Body | Trim | Built |
|---|---|---|
| Station wagon | Nomad | 10,724 |
| Greenbrier | 9,345 | |
| Concours | 24,528 | |
| Concours Estate | 9,738 | |
| All station wagons | 54,335 | |
| 2-door sport coupe | Chevelle | 29,707 |
| Malibu | 212,388 | |
| All 2-door sport coupes | 242,095 | |
| 4-door sedan | Chevelle | 19,645 |
| Malibu | 48,575 | |
| All 4-door sedans | 68,220 | |
| 4-door sport sedan | Malibu | 24,192 |
| All 4-door sport sedans | 24,192 | |
| Convertible | Malibu | 4,853 |
| All convertibles | 4,853 | |
| Total | 393,695 | |
Over-Drive's table, with the Oshawa-built cars for U.S. dealers counted in. Without the El Camino (57,147, our sum) and the Monte Carlo the rows add to 393,695 (our sum): 49,352 Chevelles, 290,008 Malibus and 54,335 wagons, the same three figures Wikipedia gives (Over-Drive's text repeats Wikipedia's, so we count them as one source). By the last serial numbers the plants built 649,269 Chevelles and Monte Carlos. The Greenbrier, Concours and Concours Estate rows add the two- and three-seat wagons together (our sums).
Engines124
6 engines. The code is Chevrolet's regular production option (RPO) code from GM's own lists; standard engines have none. Until 1971 the VIN tells only six from V8.
Net ratings, the only ones Chevrolet gave for 1972; the letter is the engine code in the 1972 VIN. GM's page pairs the RPO codes with carburetors, not horsepower; Over-Drive pairs the 2-barrel L65 with 165 hp and the 4-barrel L48 with 175. The LS6 was gone, and in California only the 350 was sold.
Price when new12
Base retail prices in 1972 dollars, before options.
Suggested retail prices from Chevrolet's price schedule of 1 December 1971. The SS package (Z15) cost $365.50 delivered and the Heavy Chevy $145.35. Wikipedia puts the V8 Malibu sport coupe at $2,923; see the ruling.
Colors24
15 factory colors. The color names are confirmed by two sources24; the swatches are approximate screen colors, not paint matches.
Antique White11
Pewter Silver14
Ascot Blue24
Mulsanne Blue26
Spring Green36
Gulf Green43
Sequoia Green48
Covert Tan50
Placer Gold53
Cream Yellow56
Golden Brown57
Mohave Gold63
Orange Flame65
Midnight Bronze68
Cranberry Red75
GM's sheet revised December 1971: fifteen colors and five two-tones with white, not on convertibles. Over-Drive lists the same fifteen. No source we have counts cars per color.
Reading the VIN23
A 1972 VIN has 13 characters. Type one in, and the decoder reads it against the code tables on this page.
1B36D2B5000252one source · GM's own example from its 1972 serial-number page, an illustration rather than a known car: The 25th Chevelle built at Baltimore, if it were a six-cylinder Nomad wagon (13136).
The code table
| Position | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Chevrolet |
| B · C · D · H | Series: Nomad · Chevelle, Greenbrier or El Camino · Malibu, Concours or El Camino Custom · Concours Estate (and Monte Carlo) |
| 36 · 37 · 39 · 46 · 57 · 67 · 69 · 80 | Body: 4-door wagon, two seats · 2-door sport coupe (hardtop) · 4-door sport sedan (hardtop) · 4-door wagon, three seats · Monte Carlo coupe · Convertible · 4-door sedan · El Camino pickup |
| D · F · H · J · U · W | Engine: 250 six (110 hp) · 307 V8 (130 hp) · 350 V8, 2-barrel (165 hp) · 350 V8, 4-barrel (175 hp) · 402 V8 (240 hp) · 454 V8 (270 hp) |
| 2 | Model year (1972) |
| B · K · L · R · 1 | Plant: Baltimore · Leeds (Kansas City) · Van Nuys · Arlington · Oshawa |
| 500001 → | Sequential number (GM's examples start at 500001) |
Where to find it: Stamped on a plate on the top left of the instrument panel.2one source
Questions about the 1972
How many 1972 Chevrolet Chevelles were made?
Chevrolet built 393,695 for the 1972 model year: 54,335 station wagons, 242,095 2-door sport coupes, 68,220 4-door sedans, 24,192 4-door sport sedans, 4,853 convertibles.13
How can you tell a 1972 Chevelle from a 1971?
Two signs, each explained under «How to spot» on this page: one-piece fender lamps; an engine letter in the VIN.12
What engines did the 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle have?
Six engines, from the 250 cu in inline-six to the 454 cu in V8. The engine table on this page gives every code and rating, and the rulings cover the disputed ones.124
How much did a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle cost new?
Base retail prices, before options: Chevelle 4-door sedan, six $2,747; Chevelle sport coupe, six $2,782; Chevelle 4-door sedan, V8 $2,842; Chevelle sport coupe, V8 $2,877; Malibu 4-door sedan, six $2,921; Malibu sport coupe, six $2,955; Malibu 4-door sedan, V8 $3,016; Malibu sport coupe, V8 $3,050; Malibu sport sedan, V8 $3,122; Malibu convertible, V8 $3,329.12
What colors did the 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle come in?
General Motors (GM Heritage Archive) lists 15 factory colors.24
Where is the VIN on a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle?
Stamped on a plate on the top left of the instrument panel.2one source
Where the sources disagree
Every conflict we found for 1972, and how we settled it. All rulings.
Open
1972 Malibu sport coupe price
Our ruling: Unresolved. We show Chevrolet's price schedule of 1 December 1971. Wikipedia's $2,923 carries no citation and is on no GM page we have; it may be the price at the start of the model year, before a rise, but we have no schedule from that time to check.
What each source says (2)
- $3,050 with the V8, $2,955 with the six2one source
- $2,923 with the V8, the six $90 less1one source
Sources
- Chevrolet Chevelle Wikipedia · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle – Vehicle Information Kit General Motors (GM Heritage Archive) · read 2026-10-11
- Chevelle production, 1968–1972 (five tables) Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
- 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Fact Sheet Over-Drive Magazine · read 2026-10-11
Keep going
Three more years.
1969Chevrolet ChevelleA facelift with a chrome bar across the grille, the SS 396 turned into an option package, and 323 Chevelles with a 427 by special order.454,100 built
1970Chevrolet ChevelleNew sheet metal and the 454: the SS 454 with the 450-hp LS6, the 402 still badged SS 396, and almost 302,000 Malibu sport coupes, Canadian-built cars for U.S. dealers included.440,262 built1971Chevrolet ChevelleSingle headlamps, round tail lamps in the bumper and lower compression for low-lead fuel: the SS became one package for any optional V8, and no source shows an LS6 Chevelle sold.345,449 builtSee the whole second generation.
Dimensions, production year by year and every ruling, 1968–1972.