Facts/Trivia - 1970
»» All 1970 body styles have vented gas caps.
»» Consensus for SS wheel colors are:
Dove Gray (Valspar #165816)
Dove Gray (Krylon #1605) The name has changed to Stone Gray I
believe
Dove Gray (Plastic Kote 364)
Argent silver for the front side, Dove gray for the back of the
wheel, and Dark metallic charcoal gray for the lug nut area.
»» SV coded hose vs. KY coded hose. The SS 396 and SS 454 came with one of two upper radiator hoses coded "SV" or "KY." The SV hose is typically found on Chevelles with H.D. cooling (those equipped with C60 air conditioning) and the LS6 with a 4.10:1 rear end gear ratio. The KY hose is typically found on all other SS 396 and SS 454 engines. The SV coded hose has a pronounced curve or "S" shape to it while the KY hose is much straighter in design.
Oddly enough assembly plants didn't always adhere to the typical. The SV curved hose has been documented on quite a number of SS 396 Chevelles without air conditioning and the KY straighter hose has been documented on quite a number of LS6/4.10:1 Chevelles as well.
SV hose on SS 396 with air conditioning.
Documented SV hose on SS 396 without air conditioning.
Documented KY hose on SS 396 without air conditioning.
 |
 |
| Note both of these Chevelles are coded for SV upper radiator hose. The one on the left has A/C, the one on the right does not. Even though the one on the right is an LS5 note the LS5 in the right image below, it is coded KY. | |
 |
 |
»» Even though the 396 cid engine now displaced 402 cubic inches and with the Z25 SS Equipment option it was still marketed as a 396 engine. The base 396 engine now was the L34 350hp version as the 325hp version was discontinued. A second 402 cid engine under RPO LS3 was available in any non-SS optioned Chevelle and was dubbed a 400-4 Turbo Jet, not to be confused with a special 2-barrel version of the small block engine dubbed the 400-2 Turbo Fire that was only available in the Monte Carlo and full size Chevrolets under RPO LF6.
»» The L78 396/375hp engine was discontinued by early December with the release of the LS6 454/450hp engine although orders for L78 Chevelles already in the pipeline were allowed to be built so there are a few L78 engines sold later than LS6 engines.
»» A front bench seat and H.D. floor-shifted 3-speed transmission was standard on SS 396-optioned Chevelles but the SS 454 optioned Chevelles were limited to either the H.D. Muncie M22 4-speed or the H.D. TH400 automatic transmission. Bucket seats were optional on the Malibu sport coupe, Malibu convertible, and the Malibu series sedan pickup (13680) whether SS optioned or not. The standard bench seat was cloth and coated fabric with an all vinyl bench seat being a $12.65 option. Since the optional buckets seats were always coated fabric the cost of the bucket seats was for the pair of seats themselves and no addition cost beyond the $121.15/$123.35 was added.
»» Gauges (RPO U14) were optional in 1970 and could be ordered on any Malibu V8 series sport coupe, convertible, or sedan pickup as well as the Monte Carlo and included water temperature, ammeter, and tachometer. While the SS-optioned Chevelles and the Monte Carlo automatically got a round pod dash without gauges, when RPO U14 was ordered a non-SS optioned Malibu also got the round pod dash with appropriate gauges. The oil pressure gauge was dropped with the U14 gauge option and reverted back to a warning lamp. See the page 1970 Chevelle SS 396 & SS 454 for more details.
»» A second 402 cid engine was available in all non SS-optioned Chevelles under RPO LS3 and was rated at 330hp. Many of those with this engine in a Malibu have dubbed them a Malibu 400.
»» A new 400 cid small-block engine was introduced as the Turbo-Fire 400 (the 402 cid big-block was called the Turbo-Jet 400 in non-SS optioned Chevelles). This engine came with a 2-barrel carburetor and was only available in the Monte Carlo and full size Chevrolet models.
»» All 1970 Monte Carlos with a manual 3-speed transmission (545) were column shifted; a console was not an option with the manual 3-speed transmission.
»» With the introduction of the 454 option, RPO Z15, the Chevelle now had two distinct performance options; the Z25 with the Turbo-Jet 396 and Z15 with the Turbo-Jet 454.
»» While the Z25 (SS 396) option could be ordered with an M20 or M21 Muncie 4-speed or TH400 automatic, the Z15 option (SS 454) mandated either the M22 or heavy duty TH400. It is uncertain if the M22 was available with the Z25 option or not but to date no build sheet I have shows one being ordered.
»» The LS6 engine option proved to be more popular than the base LS5 (454/360hp) in the Z15 option. Of the 8,773 Z15 options sold, buyers opted for the LS6 4,475 times while 4,298 Z15 buyers were happy with the LS5 engine.
»» The new Monte Carlo had its own SS 454 option under RPO Z20. The LS5 was the only engine available in the Monte Carlo SS. See The First Generation Monte Carlo website for more details on the 1970 Monte Carlo.
»» The Chevelle 300 Deluxe series name was dropped in favor of the Chevelle Standard name. Also gone was the 2-door pillar coupe "27" model designation and all 2-door Chevelles, except convertibles and pickups, were now sport coupes. In 1970 the 300 Deluxe series name did live on but only on Canadian-built 1970 Chevelles.
»» It is suspected that Arlington, Atlanta, and Flint did not build convertibles and possibly neither Atlanta nor Flint built any station wagons in 1970; it is known that Arlington did build station wagons.
Propeller Shaft
»» Many restorers of Chevelles like to paint nice, clean markings on the driveshaft. The photos below show a 1970 Baltimore LS6 driveshaft and its original markings showing not all were neat, close together, and just behind the front yoke as you'll see on many restorations. Not to say what's correct and what's not, just saying not all are equal and, apparently, there's no 'wrong' way to do it. Photos courtesy of Rick Nelson of Musclecar Restoration & Design, Inc.
As pulled from the car.
After restoration.
Bucket Seat Piping
Bright trim on the lower portion of the (red) bucket seat are not correct
(bottom photo).
Bright trim was only used around the backs of bucket seats as shown
in the top photo.
Door Panel Emblems
All Malibu sport coupes and convertibles have a "MALIBU" emblem on the door panel. When the SS 396 (RPO Z25) option was ordered the build sheet called for "B22 DR EMBLEMS SS" which replaced the "MALIBU" emblem with an "SS" emblem. When the SS 454 (RPO Z15) option became available, for some reason the computers that generated the various broadcast codes had the "B22 DR EMBLEMS SS" removed. Since the standard Malibu and SS-optioned Malibu door panels are identical the trim shop had no way of knowing the car was now an SS 454 optioned Malibu and supplied the door panels with the "MALIBU" emblem attached.
Sample Kansas City Z25 build sheet - note the *B22 DR EMBLEM SS
callout.
Sample Kansas City Z15 build sheet - note the LACK of any *B22 DR
EMBLEM SS callout.
To date there have been NO SS 454 build sheets found with a "B22 DR EMBLEM SS" called out. Meaning SS 454-optioned Malibus would come with a "MALIBU" door emblem and not the "SS" door emblem.
Here is where a great controversy has arisen with SS 454 Malibu
owners.
(1) Do owners of LS5/LS6-optioned Malibus simply use the "SS" emblem
when restoring their interiors?
(2) Did original buyers complain to their dealers about the lack of
the "SS" emblem and the dealers made the change?
(3) Did some plants issue an internal memorandum to their trim shops
to look for the Z25 option and supply the "SS" emblem on the door
panel and not update their computer programs to show the item on the
build sheet?
I would say option #1 is the most likely in today's market, followed by #2 and #3. A purist LS5/LS6 restorer with original door panels with "MALIBU" emblems would replace them with "MALIBU" emblems.
On a side note, El Caminos did not have "MALIBU" or "SS" emblems, ever, due to the placement of the vent window regulator handle.
Early vs. Late Hood
All hoods were redesigned sometime in late April/early May to include horizontal creases on the underside bracing to create a "crush zone" to allow the hood to absorb energy in the event of a head-on collision. Also note the cutouts and insulation was redesigned as well.
Early (top) vs. late (bottom) hood redesign.
Racing
Hood & Deck Stripes
The RPO D88 Hood & Deck Stripes were NOT part of either SS option. However, they were part of the RPO ZL2 Special Induction Hood System option (aka cowl induction or "flapper" hood) along with hood pins. The hood & deck strips were a $68.50 option ($43.05 on El Camino since there is no 'desk' lid) and were available on any Malibu series sport coupe, convertible, or El Camino whether SS-optioned or not.
When the ZL2 option was ordered, RPO D88 Hood & Deck Stripes along with hood pins were part of that option. Stripes were either black or white depending on the lower body color and, if equipped, the vinyl or convertible top color. With the ZL2 option a buyer did have a choice to "delete" the stripes and this request required approval from the Chevrolet Fleet & Special Order (F&SO) department and was probably never denied. Hood pins were NEVER an option and could not be deleted from the ZL2 option as those hoods already had the holes punched for the pins.
See the SS Equipment page under "ZL2 Cowl Induction Hood" and "More on Stripes" for more information.
Non-SS optioned Malibu sport coupes, convertibles, and El Caminos were
candidates for D88 stripes. Note the stripes were applied right up to
the rear window molding even when a vinyl top was called for. Also interesting
is the white rectangular area at the top of the center red painted area;
why would that area be painted white? This car also has the
stripe corners squared off instead
of rounded.
Photo Courtesy Duane Walker
07/25/2017: Learned something interesting today. Chevelles built
(or assembled) at the Caracas, Venezuela plant assigned VINs a bit different.
The basic "13637" for a Malibu sport coupe still applies but
a letter is used instead of a number for the model year (K=1970, A=1972
and B=1972) followed by the letter "C" then the sequence number.
A typical VIN for a 1970 Malibu sport coupe would read 13637KC123456.
The "KC" does not mean Kansas City but rather K is 1970 and
C is Caracas. The Fisher Body Number plate will have the same sequence
number as the VIN stamped on it.
CHEVELLE emblem placement and vertical center bar
Hard to imagine how anyone could get this wrong.
Correct
Incorrect
Another area many amateur restorer's get wrong is the bright vertical grille bar. The bright vertical bar is part of the Malibu series grille. Both SS options eliminated the bright vertical bar.
Most, if not all, aftermarket grille kits include the bright
vertical bar. Since many people do not know it doesn't belong on an
SS 396/SS 454, they install it. Just because you see a six-figure,
high-dollar restoration at auction with the bright vertical bar,
just remember it is still wrong.
Then, there are those that just are not sure.
Check out my CDs and Chevelle books.
1970 Chevelle Links
- Only items in ALL CAPS and with an asterisk ( * ) are active
- PRODUCTION NUMBERS *
- Vehicle Identification Number
- ENGINES *
- Transmissions
- Rear Axle
- Interior Trim
- Exterior Paint
- Interior/Exterior Combinations
- Regular Production Options
- Dealer Installed Accessories
- SS EQUIPMENT *
- Facts/Trivia
- Trim Tag Data
- PLANT PRODUCTION NUMBERS *
- Tires & Wheels
