Although it can sometimes be challenging to determine the desirability of a classic, the twenty-one bids submitted on this 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 leaves little doubt. Its presentation is difficult to fault, and it offers the performance you can only get from a genuine muscle car. The seller listed it for sale here on eBay in Valley Head, Alabama. The bidding has raced to $40,100, and if this car’s condition and specifications don’t tempt you, the owner’s decision to offer it with No Reserve might tip the balance.
It is hard to criticize the exterior presentation of this Chevelle, and the spotless Forest Green paint suggests the car received a recent cosmetic refresh. If that’s the case, someone removed the Black vinyl top the car wore when new and haven’t replaced it. Purists may disagree with the change, but it does help achieve a crisp and clean appearance. The panels are as straight as an arrow, and the supplied photos suggest this is a rust-free classic. The exterior shows no evidence of problems, while the floors and frame feature a consistent coat of Black undercoat. The sparkling trim provides a welcome contrast to the dark paint, and the tinted glass is flawless. The Rally wheels, with their SS caps and trim rings, are wrapped in Firehawk tires that add the perfect finishing touch.
The Chevelle’s interior received a retrim as part of the refurbishment, but the seller elected to follow the authentic path with Black vinyl upholstery and trim. There is no evidence of wear or physical damage to those surfaces or the carpet. The dash is immaculate, retaining its factory AM radio. If I were to mark this interior harshly, the cloudy gauge lenses would be my one criticism. However, with reproduction kits retailing for under $100, addressing this shortcoming won’t break the bank.
Although Chevrolet continued referring to the big-block under the hood of this SS as a “396” for marketing purposes, a slight increase in bore size from 1970 pushed the capacity to 402ci. That’s the engine we find under the hood of this SS, which is the L34 version producing 350hp. The original Build Sheet included with this car confirms the close-ratio M21 four-speed backs the V8, sending the power to a 12-bolt Posi rear end. The original owner added power assistance to the steering and front disc brakes for easy operation. This Chevelle cements its muscle car credentials when its owner points it at a ¼-mile. The journey takes 14.6 seconds before the car runs out of breath at 132mph. The engine bay shows evidence of a repaint and signs of overspray from the exterior. That means the presentation doesn’t meet the same standard as the rest of the car, and the accumulated grease and grime on the valve covers is disconcerting. The seller says it runs and drives but provides no information on how well it completes either task. They say it has 38,000 miles on its odometer but don’t mention evidence verifying the reading is genuine.
Although it isn’t 100% original, this 1970 Chevelle SS 396 appears to be a tidy driver that would hold pride of place in its new owner’s garage. It seems to need very little and would attract attention for all the right reasons wherever it goes. Considering the desirability of these cars, I won’t be surprised if the bidding hits $50,000 before the hammer falls. We have many readers searching for a genuine muscle car, and it will be fascinating to know if any join the bidding war. If you do, we’d love to know the result.
You talk about one extreme to the other, a freakin’ golf cart, to the most sought after car made, even to this day. I still say, while it’s highly desirable today, “back then”, this was just a cheap mid-size car with a big motor made to do one thing, burn rubber and go fast in a straight line. It didn’t take , let’s see, what’s $50grand today, a new kidney? To have one. It was a phase we all went through, and didn’t last. The cars themselves were unsafe in novice hands, and being affordable, it didn’t attract millionaires that happened to be born too late like today. Every pump jockey, paperboy, or auto parts driver,,could have one. They were fun cars, with a shred of GM comfort, say a 383 Dart, or 390 Mustang didn’t have.
I happen to notice who is spending $50grand on these on TV. It’s not so much old gray( or no) haired old men so much, it’s more like their kids, early middle aged, like late30s, who for whatever reason, have a pocket full of money, and want to enjoy a 70s musclecar first hand. They are all there, trying to relive mom and dads era, and why not? Says something about today.Thing is, every single car that comes down the runway, is a musclecar, like this. Not one 4 door Valiant, stock pickup, or full classic, which tells me, interest is fading fast on those, and these types of cars will bring big bucks for a long time.
Huh? I’m 66 and have owned over 20 Chevelles since 1973. Owned a 70 LS5 from 1975 till last year when I put it in my sons name. I still have a few. When does my ”phase” end? I see more old guys like me buying these cars than the 30 year olds you mention. Very few can afford a 50 or 60 thousand dollar Chevelle. Real gear heads will die of old age in their old classic cars. I’m the norm, not the rarity.
I’ll take my 09 Viper over this all day.
Would you take that 09 viper over that 200+ MPH Caddy? The question is will that viper hold the value that Chevelle will?
Id take these all day long . I’m 57 these are my type of rides….
This car is likely to be stolen if ever left outside in any big city. If you buy this car you’ll want to tuck it in every night before you go to bed.
I would never own a car like this for fear that it would be stolen at the first opportunity.
Bob
I’m guessin’ whoever did some re-furbishing on it replaced the front fenders…….guessin’ that is why they say no rust issues…fenders always rusted in most of them. Those fender emblems are too high from where the factory placed them is why I stated this. People always leaves out the fine details while trying to sell something. I’ve owned many of these back thru the years and always notice the small stuff lol…….it’s a beautiful Chevelle regardless.
Had exactly the same car except gold with gold interior and gold vinyl top. Never should have sold it for $600.00…..should have dropped out of grad school instead.
I know I’m probably in the minority, but given the choice of engine, tranny and color combo, I’d opt for this over an auto LS6 in another color.
The perfect 70 Chevelle. GLWTS.
Many of these passed through the wrecking yard I worked in out of high school. They as were most of the muscle things were all popular with the gearhead crowd. I had the Buick GS of this year, which of all things my mother wrecked. Unlike today where nothing is really affordable, cars of this Era and earlier could be bought for what amounts to pennies and they were everywhere. My preference was the larger Impalas. I had a buddy with a blue convertible powered exactly like the one here he paid 800.00 bucks for it. I have watched cars go into the ionosphere. I think we see more of these because they made more, a lot more and unlike the 59 Impala convertible I bought back then these were not outdated and many stayed maintained and weren’t out of place. I switched from 59 to a 72 in the late 80s. Convertibles were cheap. The other driving factor is TV and movies have glorified these and others of this Era, just as Elvis was to Cadillacs, tough cool guys rock these muscle cars which I feel drives the younger today crowd to them.
Adam, the valve covers appear to be the black crinkle finish that was popular back in the day.
Nic clean car in a great color, I almost traded my 66 Chevelle SS straight across for a silver 70 like this in 1976.
Have one, 396 gone, now has a fresh 350.
All good for cruising :-)
HAPPY
Nice looking Chevelle with nice Fathom Green paint, but a disappointing spray bomb job under the hood and chassis. Too bad the non-original cowl induction hood set up didn’t have the correct parts to go with it.
This car is Forest Green not Fathom green. It seems that this car might be slightly high in the rear which could be from different springs,etc. Power disc brakes was standard as part of the SS package and power steering was a $80 plus option. Some of us did not think these cars were that cheap in 1970.
The green interior of the bench seats has a different pattern than the original Chevelle I owed.
A much better performance buy in those days was the Heavy Chevy with a 350 4sp. Much cheaper to own and insure, better handling, plus reliable. Why people bought these escapes me.
Maybe they were psychic and knew these would be worth a fortune someday (likely not except in a very few cases). Maybe it’s because big blocks were always badass and special (it was obvious to me by the time I was 5).
Or maybe it’s because the Heavy Chevy didn’t hit showrooms until mid ’71? And everyone knows, it too was better with a Turbo-Jet 400🤣
A 245 or 270 horse 350 a better performance buy than a 396/350 horse big block? It’s obvious you have never ridden in either.
Take it from someone who’s built and destroyed many small blocks, they just don’t hold together – finally moved to building big blocks and never looked back.
402 big blocks rule, and I never did destroy one.
Heavy Chevy with manual brakes and steering, no thanks,. ,. Although I recently got a 65 c2 with same.
A pristine factory survivor engine bay would show signs of overspray from the exterior but not in the places this one does. This is an average car. They’re almost all restored and inaccurate because most of them are cash cows not labors of love. It comes down to how much you know, what color you like and whether or not you have an aversion to bench seats which were indeed the norm back when these were just hot family cars or something an 18-year old with a decent job could afford to buy new. Better when the restorers at least sweat the details like not forgetting the Chevelle logo on the lower passenger side deck lid and so forth. Cars like this with flat as Kansas Chinese seat covers in inaccurate shades and rubber armrests sell for ridiculous money all day long, esp at venues like Mecum where the rich boys go to compare measurements. But the smart, knowledgeable buyer who truly knows and appreciates these cars isn’t paying top dollar for this one nor most of the show ponies crossing the trendy auction blocks. But that certainly doesn’t mean this car isn’t worth over $50K in the current marketplace.
You didn’t mention that the right rear quarter had been replaced.
Anyone else remember when Chevelles and other muscle cars littered the classified section of the newspaper for just $2000-$3000? Prices didn’t start to creep up until around the mid ’90s. Anyone else wish they could go back in time and buy all those $3000 cars and bring them to 2021?
And while you are back there in time, bring back Tina Louise. For Howard.
He will thank you.
You should have been around in the mid 70’s when 69 and 70 Chevelles and Camaros sold for $700.00 to $900.00. I bought many original, unrestored SS’s in that range. In 1975, I bought my 12,000 mile LS5 for $2,200.00 while my buddy bought his LS6 for $1,500.00. I paid more for mine because I had known the car since it was new. Value at the time was probably around $1,200.00. My son now has the title and the keys, no charge, LOL. My buddy bought his LS6 off the local Chevy dealers lot. I bought my 70 L34 Chevelle convertible in 1985 for $3,000.00. My buying days are over. LOL
Anyone else remember when_________ (Insert any car name here) and other muscle cars littered the classified section of the newspaper for just $2000-$3000?
454rat, I looked at a bunch of big block Chevelles about 1974-1975 that were selling between $1700-2200 as I wanted to buy a second one. I was interested in a 70 that had the L6 which had an automatic and he wanted $2200 in 1974. The owner told me it would get sideways when it shifted, and I didn’t buy it. I ended up keeping my L5 with the sweet-sounding Rock-Crusher. It was the best car I owned or ever wanted and very special. I ordered this car new and eventually made a big mistake selling it for $5,500 with 18,000 miles as the prices for 1970s began to rise. Someone is enjoying this car now as it didn’t get destroyed like many others It is a genuine survivor and was featured on Barn finds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsdZagxPQso
Mine is black, white stripes, auto. My buddies was identical until you opened the hood. If I had only known then what I know now, I could have probably bought his also. I was 19 and in the Army, so not a real high cash flow at the time. LOL I watched the video. Nice.