Anyone know of a way to find the history of a 70?
 

Hi, I am trying to identify my 70 Chevelle. I am 99% positive its a SS car, but I do not have the build sheet. I do know that it was Green Metalic with White strips, and dark green interior. It had the factory back seat, and door pannels with the SS emblems. It was mostly stripped down. It does have the switch on the gas pedal for a cowl hood. The front clip was also missing. I know it was a factory 4 speed car and did not have A/C. Also, the title reads "CPE" and "SUPSPT". I was told that GM no longer carries copies of the build sheets after '69. I really do not plan to resore this car, but it would be nice to know exactly what I have. Is ther any way??? Thanks

Shawn

Also, when I get home from work today, I will take a picture of my VIN plate and post it. Maybe someone can tell me something from there. Thanks again

Unfortunately, there's not any way to get documentation from GM, but there's a lot of clues you can look for...

70 SS would have:

Round gauges
12-bolt rear axle
Boxed rear lower control arms
Rear sway bar (7/8")
Larger front sway bar (1-1/8")
Power disc brakes
3/8" fuel line (single line for L78 and LS6, 2 lines for L34 and LS5)
Bolt on flange where the ragjoint bolts to the steering shaft

Things that would indicate it's NOT an SS:
sweep speedometer
10-bolt rear
drum brakes in front
trim holes in the quarter panels just below the quarter windows (Malibu trim)
pressed on ragjoint flange

Also, the L34 (350hp 396) was available in the Malibu 400, so some of the bigblock stuff could be original, and still have been a Malibu.

Post up some pics of under the hood, body, interior, etc... :)

Derek pretty much covered it unless it's a Canadian built car. GM of Canada can provide documentation regarding the car and it's original options. Not a build sheet but good enough these days.

It should also have the frame supports, frame to rear upper control uppers as part of the F41 suspension. Since it has SS emblems on the doors it was most likely a 396, most 454's had Malibu emblems on the doors, don't ask me why. A 396 non-AC car would have a 3 core rad with the wider core support opening and 4 bolt top plate. That stuff may no longer be original. Also check the engine frame mounts, 307 had different frame/engine mounts.

Have the carpeting, door panels and gas tank been removed. These are typical places assembly line workers stuffed extra build sheets to get rid of them.

Hey thanks guys. This car was on it's way to a roundy round track right when I bought it for $700 back in 96. It is not on the orig. Chassis. Basically I just have the title, the cowl switch on the pedal, the door panel emblems "SS" and the white stripes. Oh well, I've got a 454 I can build, and a super good M21 close ratio. Fresh paint on a rust free car. But I'll always wonder????

Don't wonder, just enjoy it.

Was there a switch on the pedal??? I thought the CI hoods were completely operated by engine vacuum.

Yes, there was an electric solenoid that was operated by the throttle pedal switch which acutated the vacume solenoid on the cowl flapper. That is how the cowl flapper door knew when to open. At WOT.

Shawn, have you looked in all the normal places for the build sheet?

Yes. This car was completely stripped before paint. Hello from another Okie by the way!

There are 2 doors on the cowl, the one on top that you see open is vacuum operated. There is also an inner door that is controlled by an electric solenoid and the gas pedal switch.

They are basically independent of each other. The inner door stays closed when the engine is off. When engine is running the inner door opens when the gas pedal is pressed down.

The outer door stays open when engine is off since it's vacuum controlled. With engine running vacuum pulls it closed, mash the pedal, vacuum drops and door opens.

I forgot about the inner door. Somewhere I have a copy of a cowl build sheet. It is not anything I found in my car. But it does say something like "SS cowl hood". I don't remember exactly. The guy that sent it to me said a functional cowl hood was not offered on a non SS car. I would rather use the untouched throttle pedal switch that is still intact as an indicator instead of the title even. Titles can be changed at tag offices.

Shawn, unless you're wanting to do a high dollar restoration, I'm with Hank, just enjoy the car.

I have had luck in the past tracking cars back to the original owner in the hope that they might have an original invoice or other documentation to prove the cars provenance. A lot of my success (or lack of success!) is dependent on which state(s) the car has spent its life in. If the car spent all of it's life in Oklahoma, it's a slam-dunk, go to the Oklahoma Tax Commission website, download and fill out form 769, send in your check for $7.50 and you will get copies of all titles since the car was first titled in Oklahoma....then the work starts in tracking down the owners....it's not real likely that the original purchaser still lives at the same place he/she did over 40 years ago.

If you want to go that route and need any help, PM me. If I see a Forest Green SS with white stripes going down the highway I will flag you down!

Your right. I should drop it. It just kills me not knowing!!! Haha, I'm kind of crazy like that. The last place it was titled was Jennings, Ok. I had no luck there. In my mind I can see a rusty old LS6 and M22 sitting in Grandpa Joes barn that came out of the car and is about to be thrown out. And then here I come after all these years... Good point. I need to just enjoy the car! Told you I was crazy like that. Haha!

Man thats the same color combo of my car. Mine isn't a real SS though but I don't mind. It is actually OK with me because I know I can play around with it without being worried of killing an original matching #'s car. My car was red when I got it but originally code 45 green with code 48 dark green interior and a black vinyl top. I kept my bench seat and added a muncie 4 speed on the floor. I'm working on saving up for the SS dash swap.

Don't get me wrong, I love number matching cars, but most of us didn't purchase a car like that. We bought a car that we liked and had a vision in our mind about what we wanted to do to it.

I have talked to people who have turned their noses up at me because I don't have a numbers matching car. Does it really matter to me, no. I have what I want.
I love to go to a car show and see all the cars and what people have done to them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have seen many beautiful cars. Even cars that are works in progress can be beautiful, if you open your mind to it's potential.