Even though it can’t move on its own power and it is covered in primer, this split bumper 1970 Chevrolet Camaro still looks great. The car is located in Rosanky, Texas and is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $7,000. The seller says he needs it gone but you are going to need a trailer to take it home! It has been listed for a week.
This Camaro appears to have had a vinyl top at one time. The car looks pretty solid but there are no pictures of the undercarriage or the engine compartment. The wheels are mismatched but the tires are holding air. In high school, my first car was a 1973 Camaro with a full steel bumper across the front. I sure wanted a split bumper Camaro but just couldn’t find one. I should have just pulled the front bumper off to make it look like this one. I paid $700 for my 1973 Camaro in 1980 and it was already worn out by the time I got my hands on it. Of course, that didn’t matter because it was my first performance car!
This Camaro is a roller which means that it does not have an engine. The seller states that it does have a built Turbo 350 automatic transmission, 12 bolt posi rear end, and coil-over set up. The base engine in the Camaro was a 250 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder engine rated at 155 horsepower. There were several small block V8 options including a 307 cubic inch V8 and three 350 cubic inch V8s (L-65, L-48, and LT-1). A buyer could also opt for several big block options including a 350 or 375 horsepower 396 cubic inch V8 or a 454 cubic inch V8s (LS6). I think I would have opted for the LS6 454 or the all-new LT-1 350 cubic inch V8 engine rated at 360 horsepower.
As most enthusiasts know, 1970 was the first year for the 2nd generation Camaro and Firebird. The 1970 Camaro was the first Camaro to be offered with a rear sway bar but you could no longer get the 4-wheel disc option that was offered in 1969. The 1970 Camaro actually did not start production until February 1970 which was halfway through the model year.
Sorry Bruce, but this IS NOT a “split bumper” Camaro. As the picture shows, this was a Rally Sport option, w/ the round turn signal lights beside the grille, and not below the regular bumper. GLWTS!! :-)
This car is what you get when you put Rally Sport bumpers on a non- rally sport Camaro.
He only called it a split bumper to rile everyone up.
Thanks to Moparman, so I didn’t have to say it .And let’s stop calling these Camaros “split bumper”. Its either a Rally Sport option or it’s not.
Thanks Moparman. I am not a Camaro expert by any means. I should have looked closer.
If anyone wanted a 454 in a Camaro it wasn’t coming from the factory. The L78 was highest horsepower BB from Gm….Yenko an such was your only option…..
The other 454 Camaro, Baldwin-Motion,
https://silodrome.com/baldwin-motion-phase-iii-camaro/
@Tony Primo
Amen to that! I absolutely LOVE all of the Motion Performance cars. They were much more popular in the Southeastern United States as compared to the Yenkos. Motion cars really seemed to fit the street scene around here at that time.
That is not a split bumper car… it is a *no* bumper car.
Did any real split bumper camaro RS’s ’70-73 get parking lites BELOW the bumperettes – perhaps by mistake?
Nope and the Rally Sports all came with rubber bumper noses not the steel one on this car.
@joenywf64
In a word, no! I never say never but unless someone can prove otherwise, I will continue to say no.
I,m glad so many realize-thats not a true split bumper camaro,I had a real one years ago that was a real split bumper 1973.miss that car.
I miss the 73 RS/LT/Z28 I ordered new back then and wish I still had it.
Like Erik, I had a beautiful ’73 RS with the big rear spoiler and all the goodies.
I really miss her…
I don’t believe the rear spoiler is correct and that it should be a one piece. Not positive but that’s what my 1970 had (one piece).
@DH
They offered the one piece and the 3-piece both in 1970. The one piece was the earlier version.
My sister and brother in law ordered a new Camaro in 1970. It took a little longer to get because practically every Camaro came with a vinyl top. It was a delete item which for some reason made the building process take longer. Go figure.
Hers had the split bumper, which I think looks better than the full bumper. The parking lights were round, in-between the grill and headlight. The grill had an extra extension of rubber around the grill making it look recessed. Hers did not have the rear spoiler. Was that aftermarket or option from the factory?
I find that hard to believe about the vinyl roof & ’70 camaros – maybe just in your area to increase local dealer profits?
The only car i know of that came with a STANDARD(& only a) vinyl roof was the ’70 plymouth superbird – to cover the crude body work of the plug for the non recessed rear window.
Perhaps some big luxury cars from the ’70s came only with a vinyl roof – not sure.
IMO, cars that don’t look good at all with a vinyl roof are 2nd gen trans ams (available i think from ’73-76!), 2nd gen z28s, station wagons, & el camino type car-trucks.
@joenywf64
You are exactly right. Any dealer who may have said that was only trying to pad his pockets. The real reason for delays in getting the ’70 1/2 Camaros (that is what they really are called) was probably due to the UAW strike against GM at the time.
Due to that, they made 1969 Camaros and Corvettes until February of 1970, which meant the 1970 versions of both of those cars were hard to find and hence, the total production of both was very low compared to the 1969s.
This is the 1970 Camaro Z28 Rally Sport that I owned a few years ago. It was Cranberry Red with black and white houndstooth cloth interior. It had its original 360 HP 350 LT-1 engine with a 4-speed close ratio Muncie M21 transmission with a 3.73:1 Positraction rear.
I restored that car and sold it when it had 300 post-restoration miles on it.
The buyer drove it from where I live in western NC to Nebraska.
He said the car did great and he and his buddy who was with him had a blast doing that. He said he especially loved hearing the sound of that solid-lifter LT-1 screaming as they drove thru the mountains of NC and they heard that sound bouncing off the rocks!
https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-rk8XqqlWPXFLxi7Xd-YQB3ifZlht9rYrFtcbbZmEcQJFoiQLKbzFnWZ-YCn5dukd9gV7iJSFnePUxHwzXe1Zbg/messages/@.id==ABAC9e4S1iGMYsmt2wP7iCEv00s/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appid=YMailNorrinLaunch
Larry D: Darn! I got an error message when I clicked on the link to see that LT-1.
Try this.
https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-rk8XqqlWPXFLxi7Xd-YQB3ifZlht9rYrFtcbbZmEcQJFoiQLKbzFnWZ-YCn5dukd9gV7iJSFnePUxHwzXe1Zbg/messages/@.id==ADOTYnZf3wTZYs49xwnu-InhNAY/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appid=YMailNorrin&downloadWhenThumbnailFails=true&pid=2
I get an error code when using my phone but it shows just fine on my PC.
Larry D: Still a no go for me on my laptop. If you want, you can email me the pic and I will post it. pra4snw@comcast.net
Here is Larry D’s LT-1.
They just don’t make them like this anymore.
@PRA4SNW
Thank you SO much for posting that pic of my car. I’ll tell you that the man who bought it sold it after one year. He told me he did that because he worried himself so much about something happening to that car. If it was in a parking lot, he worried about it. Anytime it was out of his sight, he worried about it.
So, he sold it and bought one like it but not as nice. He said if he parked it outside somewhere, he didn’t worry much at all about that one.
My pleasure. I always enjoy seeing older pictures of cars back in their primetime.
I know the feeling you talk about. I had a ’70 Corvette that I bought in ’85. Then, it was just a fun car to drive around in – even used to take it camping. Over the years they started to get more valuable and I had sunk some $$ in it, so I sold it off in 2014 because I hardly drove it anymore. Just got too worried about parking it anywhere.
Still want another fun car.
Hi Larry,
If you mind me asking, what was the VIN? My 70 1/2 Camaro Z/28 RS 4 speed was stolen many years ago prior to the internet’s existence and I’m still searching for it, thanks. Joe 478-442-3143 It was also Cranberry Red Black Stripes and Black Interior.
For all those saying this is not a true RS Camaro,if you are relying on the 2 parking lights and the steel nose to prove your point , you do realize those are just bolt ons . It could be a true RS with a bolted on standard front nose like the one I own .