1970 Chevrolet Chevelle - Keep Your Comments to Yourself

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". 

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu - Old Gold Chevy

If this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle is going for $30,000, I wince at what that '72 Chevelle would go for today if I had been able to buy it. And it was in anywhere near the condition this one is. Thanks, again, mom. 

I kid of course since this '70 is worth, at best, perhaps between $13,000 and $16,000 (not chump-change for sure) according to Haggerty. Most likely closer to ten-grand if you really look closely at it but it is nice to see a mostly unmolested, original and un-restored (non-SS) Chevelle that isn't a rust bucket. Most of these, again, have been over-restored or worse cloned into being something they weren't when they left the factory. 

I found this Old Gold Chevy in a Facebook group for classic GM cars and many of my compatriots over there are up in arms over the asking price. They call people who overprice their cars "Dreamers" who could actually harm the classic car market if they got anywhere near their asking price. Relax, guys. Something's only worth what somebody's will to pay for it. 

If you're of a certain vintage and you have an appreciation for old cars, chances are you lose your cookies over Chevelle's. My wife loves these as well although we both chafe at the idea of putting down what it would cost to own one. In decent shape. The cost of restoring one of these just isn't worth it to me. 

I also question just how much these will eventually appreciate for. Kids today don't care about cars in general and the ones that do, for example my soon to be twenty-five year old older son, love the look of old cars but bristle at the way the ride and handle. Who's going to take care of these cars when we're too old to? 

General Motor's intermediate "A-bodies" were all-new for 1968 and the prettiest of them were, sorry, my blog, my rules, the Pontiac's; GTO, Tempest, Lemans. The Chevelle's my second (and distant) favroite meanwhile the Oldsmobile's and Buick's were off into the weeds with their excessive, won-ton styling. Especially the Buick's. 

I can't tell a '68 from a '69 Chevelle but for 1970, Bill Mitchell sprinkled buckets of his pixie dust on the design; all of the A's as well. What had been a fussy, cluttered design was now streamlined, clean. Dare I say sensuous. Throw in some crazy arse, over-powered engines into the lineup and you have a legend. A 1970 Chevelle like this in SS guise with the 454 cubic-inch, LS6 engine more like an automotive god. And then, poof. Like that. They were gone. For the record, I'm referring exclusively to the coupes. I could care less about the four-door sedans, I'm less ambivalent towards the wagons. 

Truth is even back then they knew those tire melting hot-rods were history. And sooner than later. Increasingly restrictive emissions and safety standards were already on the horizon; both would throttle the fun and not in a "good way". Insurance premiums in certain parts of the country could add up to roughly a third the sticker price of the cars too. That's what makes an all-original and not cloned 1970 SS so hard to find these days. And if you do, well. If you think this car is over-priced even at half the asking price, don't even think about an SS. And like I said, who knows what the future holds for these things value wise. 

That's what makes "original and un-restored" coupes like this "little" 307 cubic-inch (literal) golden oldie so special. And unique. $30,000 special and unique? No. Of course not. But special all the same.