[TroyTrojan]

Hey Guys. A couple of questions about the 1970 Nova SS.

Were ALL 1970 Nova SS's equipped with only console shifters, be they automatic or manual? Or did Chevrolet put some shifters on the column of a true 1970 Nova SS?

Did ALL 1970 Nova SS's have only posi-traction rear ends?

Thanks,

Dennis

 

[CdnL79 Registry]

The 1970 Nova SS did not come with bucket seats as standard equipment. As a result, bench seat SS cars came with column mounted standard or automatic transmission shifters. If you ordered an optional 4 speed for your bench seat SS, it was floor mounted, but not in a console.

Bucket seats were an extra cost option. To get a console (also extra cost), you had to have the bucket seats. If you wanted gauges in your console, they were extra, too. Chevrolet woke up to the fact they could make a lot more money making bare bones super sports and charging for things that were SS standard items in earlier years. Positraction was also an additional cost option.

Bob

 

[TroyTrojan]

Hey Bob,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate the information regarding the 1970 Nova SS. Like I usually do, I incorrectly assumed what kind of shifter, seats, and rear end traction a 1970 Nova SS was equipped with from the factory.

Thanks for the information.

Dennis

 

[Dave B.]

1970 ss

Here's a shot of my 1970 SS just after my dad bought it in late '69. It had the standard bench seat (plain upholstery and thus no console), no extra gauges, a rubber floor mat instead of carpet and, as I remember, no rear arm rests. It was a 350 c.i. car with a 4-speed, so the shifter was on the floor - but no fancy trim - just a rubber boot with a chrome metal ring holding it in place. Sorry that I don't have an interior shot... And yes, we had the dealership flip the white-stripe tires so that they looked like blackwalls. I really wish I'd kept that one!!

 

[TroyTrojan]

Hey Dave,

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. The picture of your 1970 Nova SS looks awesome. I'm working on making my 1970 Nova an accurate SS tribute car. And that's reason for the questions about what exactly a true 1970 Nova SS had on it from the factory. But the deeper I dig, the more I'm finding out that not all 1970 Nova SS's were born the same.

If we only knew back in the day what we know now, none of us would have sold our muscle cars. But lower compression ratios in the early seventies, unleaded fuel, and the first fuel embargo @ 1973 which drove the price of gas sky high contributed to the end of the muscle car.

Thanks for the picture of you 1970 Nova SS

Dennis

 

[taz3]

The only option that was SS only for 1970 was the BB, the same for 68 & 69. I have a 69 bare bones SS, no radio, rubber matt, bench seat, the only options it has, is BB, 4spd, 12bolt posi.

Keep us posted on your progress of your build, sounds like a cool ride in the making.

 

[CdnL79 Registry]

The only option that was SS only for 1970 was the BB, the same for 68 & 69.

Paul, we can add the L48 350CID engine to that list. Only available in the SS and up to 300 HP in 1970.

Bob

 

[Dave B.]

But lower compression ratios in the early seventies, unleaded fuel, and the first fuel embargo @ 1973 which drove the price of gas sky high contributed to the end of the muscle car.

The 350/300 HP engines used in the '70 SS models were interesting animals... they had fairly high compression (10.25:1) and required premium fuel. They did NOT have smog pumps, but they did have an electronic/vacuum device that varied the ignition timing. A Rochester QuadraJet 4-barrel was used along with a cast-iron intake manifold. I've never checked on the cam specs, but the stock engines did run pretty well for what they were. I swapped in an Isky "550" cam early on along with headers, an Edelbrock intake manifold and a 780 cfm Holley. The Isky was too lumpy for the street, so I moved to a "30-30" solid-lifter Chevy cam, which I liked much better.

Before the '70, we had a '66 Nova SS with a 327 that I dearly loved. A local guy made me a really good offer on the '70, so I sold it and started looking for another '66. Six weeks later, I saw a '66 L79 SS advertised in the newspaper and jumped on it! That was in 1972 - and I still own it!!

 

[dokks6t9]

I had that exact same car, color, vinyl top, etc.

 

[Steve56]

Loving those old pics when the cars were close to being new.

 

[YENKO DEUCE REG]

I love these old pics as well! Interesting that the interior was bare bones, but the exterior is nicely optioned with vinyl roof cover and triple body moldings along with the optional wheels!!

 

[Dave B.]

I love these old pics as well! Interesting that the interior was bare bones, but the exterior is nicely optioned with vinyl roof cover and triple body moldings along with the optional wheels!!

A comment on the odd combination of options: When I was selling Chevrolets in the early '70s, one of the order parameters we had to meet was a dealer-imposed 'sticker-price-ceiling'. It was really common for a general manager or sales manager to tell the person in charge of ordering something like: "Get us a couple of SS Novas, but don't let the sticker go above $3,500.00". Not saying that that's what happened with my old car, but it wouldn't surprise me!

Just as an FYI, I posted a scan of the window sticker recently in another thread. Since it's already out there and convenient, I just linked it to this thread:

 

[YENKO DEUCE REG]

Interesting!! As I was reading it, I thought it was going to end with a requirement that the final stick be above some number - thinking that most of the profit is in the trinket options!! So, you had to stay below a number, but add some exterior bling to catch a buyer's eye.....I guess Don Yenko got with the program as well with the '70 Deuce, he was just too cheap to pay GM for the bling!