zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
At $29,988, Could You Face Owning This Custom 2005 Chevy SSR?
At $29,988, Could You Face Owning This Custom 2005 Chevy SSR?-August 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:49

Today’s Chevy has been dubbed the DinoSSauR for reasons that are pretty obvious. Let’s see if the price on this custom restomod proves to be a deal, or an extinction level event.

Do you think that future generations will show the same level of fondness for crossovers as many right-thinking folks do today for traditional station wagons, estates, Avants, and quirky Combis?

I guess that will depend on what other options the future has in store. If futurity holds nothing more than Bird scooters, shared bicycles, and not-so rapid transit buses, then yeah, I think a few folks would feel wistful every time a Chevy Traverse or Kia Sorento shambles by.

That of course, is for future generations to sort out, among a slew of other problems they will be saddled with. Ha, sucks to be you, future unborn!

We on the other hand, like us some wagons. Not only did we like yesterday’s , but we also liked its seemingly decent presentation and modest $2,750 price. It’s present owner may have been looking to trade it for a truck, but fully 78-percent of you felt it a fair deal to trade those dollars for it, givingthe Saab a respectable Nice Price win.

That Saab’s seller’s lament that what he really needed was a pickup makes one wonder—does he need one for utility, or as an accoutrement to his own personal style and expression, a la Urban Cowboy?

If it’s the latter then maybe he should take a look at this . Equally intriguing and nightmare inducing, this truck takes automotive anthropomorphism to new and, perhaps unwarranted levels. Sure it’s crazy, but who wouldn’t want to drive a dinosaur, a la Fred Flintstone?

When introduced, the SSR was already an outlier in Chevy’s lineup. Built on a frame derived from the Chevy Trailblazer, the SSR featured a retractible hardtop cab and a hard tonneau over a less than utilitarian bed. The nose is what really made the SSR however. It was a modern riff on Chevy’s Advanced Design style from the late 1940s and early ‘50s, and still looks pretty cool today.

The bodywork was made from steel, requiring the re-adoption of some older production techniques in the creation of the sensuously curved hood and front fenders. Unlike other restomods from the era, the SSR talked the talk too, with initially a 5.3, and finally a 6-litre V8 engine and available Tremec T-56 6-speed transmission for its motivational speaking.

Visually, this one throws out a lot of what made the SSR cool, and keeps the somewhat awkward bits in the middle. The nose is designed to look like some sort of angry alien, while out back there’s a serrated spoiler with a tail. Don’t follow too closely, Saturday bicycle trains!

The tail lamps have been frenched in, and the whole thing has been painted fly yellow. Sure, the style’s an acquired taste, but for what it is, it looks to have achieved the originator’s vision in a well crafted manner.

Amazingly, it’s also even less functional than a standard SSR. The bed is almost completely filled with CO2 tanks, mounted in a carpeted box. Lines from those are apparently routed to the nostrils in the hood, and that allows for billows of white smoke to pour forth on an as-needed basis. The body mods are all fiberglass, so perhaps the truck’s not tipping the scales (see what I did there?) any more than the factory 4,750 pounds despite all the lizard baloney.

The seller notes that the truck was built as a parade car, but that it would make a great movie prop too, serving as either the ride of some reptile-based super hero, or the villain in a B-grade horror movie. Everything on the truck is said to work without issue, from the retractible top to the 395 horsepower LS2 V8 and 6-speed stick.

Unlike the exterior, the interior lacks any additional mods outside of Chevy’s original old school theme. All surfaces seem intact, and with the exception of a red button atop the shifter (likely to spew the aforementioned nostril gas), it seems unmolested. The truck comes with the factory ‘Preferred Equipment Group’ which includes convenience and appearance features like a self-dipping mirror, Bose sound system, and, perhaps most importantly, a satin chrome engine cover insert.

It comes with a 3-owner history, a clear title, and just 7,400 miles on the clock. Geez, with so few miles, it’s almost as though people haven’t been exactly clamoring to get behind this custom’s four-spokesteering wheel.

Would you drive the DinoSSauR? Of course you would, I mean it’s cool, right? The more important question however, is whether or not you would pay $29,988 to do so.

What do you think, is this reptilian SSR worth that kind of cash? Or, for that much does this re-wrestled restomod need to crawl back under a rock?

You decide!

out of Spring, TX, or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to itsalwayssteve for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Hit me up at and send a me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
The 2017 Subaru Outback 3.6R is Our Weapon Against Crossover Domination
The 2017 Subaru Outback 3.6R is Our Weapon Against Crossover Domination
The 2017 Subaru Outback 3.6R you see here was shot in early December in Montreal. Notice anything wrong with that picture? Yellow hay. What the hell, right? To put things into perspective for my southern friends, when I was growing up here in Québec 20 years ago, at this time...
Aug 27, 2026
The Ford Focus RS Is The Cheapest M Car You Can Buy New
The Ford Focus RS Is The Cheapest M Car You Can Buy New
I don’t think any car in 2016—as in, a car that you can actually buy, unlike certain others —debuted with as much hype as the new . It’s not every day America gets the kind of forbidden turbocharged Euro-hatch hotness that would have been unthinkable just a couple years ago....
Aug 27, 2026
For $7,500, Is This
For $7,500, Is This "1963" Citroën 2CV Worth A Deux-Over?
In contrast to some actresses who strive to pass as younger, today’s 2CV is a more recent model trying to pass as older to get by certain regulations. Let’s see if its price tag gets a pass too. By the narrowest of margins yesterday’s warmed our hearts but hummed its...
Aug 27, 2026
For $14,000, Is This 1992 VW Jetta TDI A Great Car And Not Just A Great Cause?
For $14,000, Is This 1992 VW Jetta TDI A Great Car And Not Just A Great Cause?
Today’s Jetta is offered reluctantly by its present owner in support of his wife who has some health issues. It looks to be a great car and an even greater cause, but let’s see if its price is cause for alarm. A great debate was had yesterday over the value...
Aug 27, 2026
I Need A Bigger Car To Carry My Kids But I Don't Want To Give Up On Fun! What Should I Buy?
I Need A Bigger Car To Carry My Kids But I Don't Want To Give Up On Fun! What Should I Buy?
Allie is a single mom who understands that you don’t need a big SUV to haul around two kids. However, her Volkswagen Beetle is getting a bit tight for kid duty, so she wants something a bit more practical—but she refuses to give up having fun. What car should she...
Aug 27, 2026
For $6,000, Could This 1974 Porsche 914 Have You Going Hmmmmmm?
For $6,000, Could This 1974 Porsche 914 Have You Going Hmmmmmm?
The seller of today’s 914 says it was his first Porsche, and that it could be yours too. Let’s see if its Wankel engine and overall condition will make its price the first order of business. What do you think is a more powerful emotion, love or hate? The seller...
Aug 27, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved