Perfectly fitting SS wheels wrapped in fat Firestone Wide Oval tires, a shiny Forest Green paint on the body, offset by wide racing stripes on the hood, and the magical SS letters on the front grille – do you need more than that to be convinced this Chevy Chevelle from 1970 is a gem as rare as they come?
Well, one guy (or gal) certainly didn’t need more than that as they agreed to pay no less than $203,500 for this fine example of American motoring during last week’s Barrett-Jackson auction in Houston, Texas.
This particular car was born back in 1970 as one of about 4,475 Chevelles equipped with the LS6 engine to be made that year. It got into a shop in 2015 and emerged some time later as a “professional, comprehensive frame-off restoration.”
A restoration that tried to keep as much of the original parts as possible in use. The most important bit, the matching-numbers 454ci (7.4-liter) LS6 V8, was saved, and it is presently fitted under the white stripe hood of the monster, working through a 3-speed automatic transmission and rated at 450 hp and 500 ft/lbs of torque.
But not only the engine itself is original – so are things like the smog system, original intake manifold, distributor, heads and Holley carburetor
The body panels are the ones the car rolled off assembly lines with decades ago, restored and hidden under a 3-stage base and clear coat in the native Forest Green color. Offsetting that is an Ivory interior (also the original interior color) with a split-bench front seat.
Being so old meant of course that some things on the Chevelle had to be replaced, and for that new old stock bits were used, including the brake and fuel lines, cowl-induction hood, bumpers, date-coded glass, and windshield.
Showing just 69,905 miles on the odometer (112,501 km), the car is thus fresh under new ownership. We don’t know who bought it, so we can’t speculate if the new masters will add more miles to it, or will choose to hold on to it until its value goes up a bit more, and re-sell it.