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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Primo ’70s Muscle At B-J
Examples of 1970 performance icons Chevelle LS6, Oldsmobile 442 and Mustang Boss 302 highlight the offerings at the Barrett-Jackson Orange County auction.
A rare 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W25 Ram Air convertible at Orange County has been restored to perfection. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
The decade of the 1970s started off with a bang, with some of Detroit’s greatest performance car triumphs coming to full bloom in 1970 and 1971.
During this brief time — before the advent of the fuel crisis, smog controls and punitive insurance rates that effectively ended the muscle-car era — high-performance American cars still glowed brightly, and they remain top-drawer collector cars today.
At the Barrett-Jackson Orange County Auction, there are some terrific examples of this two-year high-water mark when muscle-car style and technology came together for a final fling. One of these is a legendary Detroit product that benefitted most from this brief convergence, the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6, a model so significant that it commands startling values today for its combination of tire-shredding performance and masterful styling.
And it all came together for just one year, making the 1970 LS6 all the more desirable; there’s even a national registry dedicated to this specific model year.
The Orange County auction has not one but two of these rare machines (Lots #364 and 369.1), both of them fully restored and guaranteed to be the centers of attention.
What’s so special? This was the year that General Motors relaxed its rules about putting its biggest big-block engines into intermediate-size cars such as the Chevelle. So for 1970, the $1,000 LS6 option equipped the Chevelle hardtop and convertible with the mighty 454cid V8. But not just any 454. The LS6 engine boasted a cross-drilled steel-alloy crank, forged aluminum pistons and modified cylinder heads with huge intake and exhaust valves.
Most significantly, the compression ratio was boosted to 11.25:1, creating a 454 that generated 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, according to conservative GM estimates; contemporary testers put the horsepower closer to 500. Zero to 60 sprints came in under six seconds, and the quarter-mile time was in the low 13s, crossing the line at around 114 miles per hour.
But it was over all too quickly. Federal regulations mandated a cleaner engine for 1971, requiring a compression drop to 9:1 and the loss of about 100 horsepower.
Lot #369.1 is something of a holy grail for GM muscle-car collectors, a 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible that was the first one built at the Van Nuys assembly plant and possibly the first produced for public sale. The car also has an interesting back story surrounding a wager between the owner of a Chevy dealership and the manager of the factory (the plant manager won when he made delivery of the car under deadline).
The Chevelle was rediscovered in 1999 in Oklahoma and subjected to a three-year nut-and-bolt restoration. In classic blue and white, it is properly equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. The car remains in superb condition, the seller says, and “is a pleasure to drive.”
A similar 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible reigned as the top-selling car of Barrett-Jackson’s inaugural Orange County auction in 2010, reaching $253,000, including buyer premium.
The other 1970 Chevelle LS6 (Lot #364) is a hardtop that has had a meticulous restoration that turned the car into as-new condition. Every part was reconditioned or replaced with an OEM-type part, the seller says, maintaining the car’s original appearance and performance. The Chevelle is equipped with its original four-speed stick shift.
Barrett-Jackson will have one of Chevelle LS6’s performance successors at Orange County on the docket as well, a 1971 Chevelle SS LS5 convertible (Lot #370.1), perhaps not as extreme as the LS6 but highly desirable nonetheless. It’s powered by a 365-horsepower 454 engine with an M22 Rock Crusher four-speed manual transmission. It was professionally restored by Myers Classics of Rockford, Ill., which the seller says was a three-year frame-off project on the fully documented car.
Painted factory blue with black deck and hood stripes, the LS5 has a black convertible power top and black bucket seats with floor console. Factory performance options include a 3.31 posi-traction rear, Cowl Induction hood, power steering and disc brakes, and the SS package with F41 sport suspension.
During this brief time — before the advent of the fuel crisis, smog controls and punitive insurance rates that effectively ended the muscle-car era — high-performance American cars still glowed brightly, and they remain top-drawer collector cars today.
At the Barrett-Jackson Orange County Auction, there are some terrific examples of this two-year high-water mark when muscle-car style and technology came together for a final fling. One of these is a legendary Detroit product that benefitted most from this brief convergence, the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS LS6, a model so significant that it commands startling values today for its combination of tire-shredding performance and masterful styling.
And it all came together for just one year, making the 1970 LS6 all the more desirable; there’s even a national registry dedicated to this specific model year.
The Orange County auction has not one but two of these rare machines (Lots #364 and 369.1), both of them fully restored and guaranteed to be the centers of attention.
What’s so special? This was the year that General Motors relaxed its rules about putting its biggest big-block engines into intermediate-size cars such as the Chevelle. So for 1970, the $1,000 LS6 option equipped the Chevelle hardtop and convertible with the mighty 454cid V8. But not just any 454. The LS6 engine boasted a cross-drilled steel-alloy crank, forged aluminum pistons and modified cylinder heads with huge intake and exhaust valves.
Most significantly, the compression ratio was boosted to 11.25:1, creating a 454 that generated 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, according to conservative GM estimates; contemporary testers put the horsepower closer to 500. Zero to 60 sprints came in under six seconds, and the quarter-mile time was in the low 13s, crossing the line at around 114 miles per hour.
But it was over all too quickly. Federal regulations mandated a cleaner engine for 1971, requiring a compression drop to 9:1 and the loss of about 100 horsepower.
Lot #369.1 is something of a holy grail for GM muscle-car collectors, a 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible that was the first one built at the Van Nuys assembly plant and possibly the first produced for public sale. The car also has an interesting back story surrounding a wager between the owner of a Chevy dealership and the manager of the factory (the plant manager won when he made delivery of the car under deadline).
The Chevelle was rediscovered in 1999 in Oklahoma and subjected to a three-year nut-and-bolt restoration. In classic blue and white, it is properly equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. The car remains in superb condition, the seller says, and “is a pleasure to drive.”
A similar 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible reigned as the top-selling car of Barrett-Jackson’s inaugural Orange County auction in 2010, reaching $253,000, including buyer premium.
The other 1970 Chevelle LS6 (Lot #364) is a hardtop that has had a meticulous restoration that turned the car into as-new condition. Every part was reconditioned or replaced with an OEM-type part, the seller says, maintaining the car’s original appearance and performance. The Chevelle is equipped with its original four-speed stick shift.
Barrett-Jackson will have one of Chevelle LS6’s performance successors at Orange County on the docket as well, a 1971 Chevelle SS LS5 convertible (Lot #370.1), perhaps not as extreme as the LS6 but highly desirable nonetheless. It’s powered by a 365-horsepower 454 engine with an M22 Rock Crusher four-speed manual transmission. It was professionally restored by Myers Classics of Rockford, Ill., which the seller says was a three-year frame-off project on the fully documented car.
Painted factory blue with black deck and hood stripes, the LS5 has a black convertible power top and black bucket seats with floor console. Factory performance options include a 3.31 posi-traction rear, Cowl Induction hood, power steering and disc brakes, and the SS package with F41 sport suspension.
Goodwood Festival Of Speed
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