Posts Tagged chevy super sport

1970 Chevelle SS

How to spot a genuine SS Chevelle / El Camino
by: Daniel Carr (Part 3)

In 1970, there were two different SS packages available. One was the “Z25″ SS-396 and the other was the “Z15″ SS-454. There were only two engine choices for the SS-396: the 350 and 375 horsepower versions. It was a confusing year for 396 buyers. The 396 engines now actually displaced 402 cubic inches, but were still called a “396″ when installed in an SS. There was also a new 330 horsepower “LS3″ big-block “400″ engine option available for the non-SS Malibu and El Camino Custom. To confuse things even further, there was a 400 cubic inch 2-bbl small-block available (only in the ‘70 Monte Carlo).

The Malibu “400″ big-block was also actually a 402, and was basically an overbored version of the 325 horsepower 396 motor that had been available on the ‘68 and ‘69 SSs. The “Malibu 400″ package, produced from ‘70-’72 on the Chevelle and El Camino is fairly scarce today. The reason is that many of these big-block vehicles have been converted to SS clones. In stock form, the Malibu 400 and El Camino 400 carried “400″ emblems on the fenders.

A very limited number of SS Chevelles with the 375 HP 396 and the “L89″ aluminum heads were produced in ‘70.

There were two engines available for the ‘70 SS-454 : the 360 horsepower “LS5″ and the 450 horsepower “LS6″. The ‘70 LS5 Chevelle is actually rarer than the ‘70 LS6 Chevelle. The LS6 was only available in the ‘70 Chevelle, the ‘70 El Camino, and the ‘71 Corvette. It was never available to the public in *any* other cars. The ‘70 LS5 motor used in the Corvette was identical to the Chevelle LS5, but for marketing reasons the Corvette rating was 390 horsepower. There was purported to be one known LS6 Chevelle with the L89 aluminum head option, but it is now generally believed that this car (and its documentation) is fake. Chevrolet also had an experimental LS7 engine that was supposed to be available in the ‘70 Corvette, but never materialized. However, the LS7 heads were available over the counter at GM dealers in ‘71 and ‘72. No factory built LS7 cars were ever sold to the public. Read the rest of this entry »