Not that we need any more proof the world's gone crazy in these Covid times, but this 1970 Chevelle SS convertible with no engine, transmission, an '80's repaint, period incorrect rims and tires and needing perhaps a full interior restoration is for sale on Facebook Marketplace out of bucolic New Egypt, New Jersey with a firm price of $55,000. I love how the poster of the ad says at the end of it says, "keep your comments to yourself".
Oh, let me find my checkbook and reserve a trailer from U-Haul.
Quick scan of nadaguides.com finds the "low retail" ask on these to be $53,000. That quote says nothing about whether or not the price should include the engine and or not. High retail is $125,000.
So, I can understand where the poster of the ad is coming from - no doubt he or she knows they're going to get flamed by those who don't know better since the reality is that's what these valued at. And Chevelle's of this vintage are considered by many to be the holiest of holy grails when it comes to muscle cars. Whether or not you choose to spend that much money on one of these is your choice. Mileage may vary. See dealer for details.
I have to say I'm right there with them. 1970-1972 Chevelle's are amongst my favorite cars of all time even if that might seem a bit cliched. Hey, sometimes if the cliche fits, you gotta wear it. I'm not, so you know, someone who goes along with fads just to go with the flow, my younger son does that a lot and it drives his mother and I crazy, but sometimes what's popular is actually quite good. If not the GOAT.
General Motors hit a gold mine when they introduced their intermediate line for model year 1964. Models that included the Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85, Buick Skylark, and the Chevrolet Chevelle.
Sized just right and styled beautifully, they clobbered Ford's Fairlane and Mercury Comet; Chrysler back then technically didn't have a mid-sized car but if we count their abortive "B-bodies" as such, they were no match up against GM's "A-body" quadrumvirate.
As they did back then, GM sliced and diced them each subsequent model year to such an extent a '67, Chevelle, for instance, looked little like a '64.
Chevelle along with all GM intermediates were all-new for '68. The Chevelle somewhat resembling our '70 here if a little clumsy looking in a not quite sorted out kind of way. That all changed for 1970. There ain't a bad line on these cars in coupe or convertible form. Which is rare; many times something gets lost in translation from coupe to drop-top conversion. Forget the four-door models although I wouldn't kick a station wagon out of my garage.
On this thing, the engine and transmission were pulled to make way for an "LS swap" which also means the fuel tank may or not be part of the deal either. That's a shame.
I love LS V-8's but I'm not sure they're necessary in classics like this. Seems like overkill. How much power do you need? And in a fifty-two year old convertible I'd be worried about all the stress put on the frame. And the frame-buttressing needed pushes this all the more into the "resto-mod" universe.
And if I'd drop that kind of money on something like this I'd want it to be numbers-matching. Meaning it comes with the powertrain it came from factory with.
But as they said, "keep your comments to yourself".
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