Yard find 70 LT1
 

Hi guys, recently got a lead on a 70 LT1 Corvette t top. Car has been sitting for about 25 years in Northern California back yard under a tarp. Appears the block is wrong. Not sure if the tank sheet is there yet. Going to look at the car tomorrow. Carb and intake are present. I know it’s a bit of a shot in the dark but any clue on what the value of it would be given the wrong motor and needing a restoration....

Thanks in advance.
Mark

10k ?

I agree with Charley. The only saving grace would be a tank sticker.

Have you looked over the body vary carefully? Check for delamination. I think Charlie and are about 3000 TO HIGH. Sorry and that's IF there is no delamination.

Check for rust on frame in front of back wheels and bird cage ...

Seems to me that without the original engine, it's more or less relegated to the level of a regular '70 Corvette. That said, without that motor, and essentially needing a complete resto where you'd probably way over the value, I would say around $8K if it's not too bad. I'm a big C3 fan and have been watching the values for a while. Slowly creeping up.

If it still has all the transistor ignition parts that would be a huge plus. That stuff might be worth $2K alone. I had a 70 LT1 roadster. Love these cars. The NCRS National event this July is featuring the 70 model years. Would be neat to have a new yard find on display.


Keep us updated after your visit.

----Along with other stuff to check, look right behind the headlights at the band in front of the hood. If you see any round lumps the whole header that the headlights attach to has to be removed, cleaned and replaced. Not an easy job. The reason is the aluminum rivets that keep two pieces together. They corrode and swell and they will keep doing it after block sanding and a new paint job!......Bill S

I know this is a 1971, but it may help gauge price:

https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=158761

Jason

Dave and I sold our former '72 LT1 NOM but a beautiful tank sheet for about $9k a handful for years ago. It was a white/saddle no option coupe with 1/2 stripped paint needing restoration. Unrestored but not a survivor. We watch these cars carefully... $10k seems about all the $.

Dan

Thanks guys for the input. I’ve known about the car for a little bit and the owner is finally ready to let it go. Unfortunate about the motor. It was a big let down for me. But given a 70 I figured it’s still worth checking out if it could be had for the right price. I was figuring on a sub 10k depending on what parts are still present and what options. As well as documents. If no tank sheet, I feel it’s probably just a parts car at that point.

Thanks again SYC

Mark

SMOG system, carb, intake, alternator, and even the starter are fairly expensive items... the more it has, the more you can feel comfortable.

Dan

a 70 LT-1 is a lot different than a detuned 71 lt-1

This past summer I looked at a 70 Lt-1 Coupe Matching numbers right in my home town. Donnybrook green saddle leather . Long term owner 30 plus years. No smog, alternator was wrong and the carburetor wasn’t correct. TI harness was still there but the wrong distributor. Lacquer repaint back in the 80’s. Driver quality. He was asking around 30K. I passed on it because I’ve restored one before and I now how rare and costly these parts are.

My 70 was a monster. On BFG radials with 4.11 gears and headers thru the mufflers it ran 12.30s.


Here is my old car in an ad I found online being sold again.


http://davidsclassiccars.com/chevrol...ocumented.html

Update- car was definitely an LT1. Silver t top with black dlx leather interior, tilt, windows, Pwr brakes, and alarm. Unhit body for the most part, small repair to the hood surround and the exhaust panel was molded in and repainted. As far as original parts, intake and dated correct heads present, valve covers, pulleys, TI module, 3/5 wheels, M21, HD rear end, air cleaner and fan. Looked for a tank sheet but no dice. Inspection camera was broken when I got there. Made him what I thought was a fair offer. So we will see... need it like a hole in the head but it’s about 3 miles from my house.

Thanks again for the help!

"intake and dated correct heads present, valve covers, pulleys, TI module"

If it's dry it sounds like a great car. Not that difficult to find a 3970010 4 bolt block, although the casting date can be a challenge. Tank probably swapped in the past due to to rust.

So, let me get this right?

1970 Corvette LT1 350/370Hp car. STOCK but for headers, with 4 gear and 4.10's on a BFG Radial TA, you were going 12.30's? That to me is pretty impressive to me.

Often wondered about doing a mild stoked to 383 LT1 with some head work, intake and cam. Put it in a '66 Nova L79 clone. thing would be a fun little car for sure.

BUT not a SB guy, BUT emm?????

Stock heads were worked and milled (a lot) and it was .030 over but otherwise pretty much as factory. Block was from 1974.

Good luck! We all swear off projects..... Until one comes along. :)

----My 70 LT-1 roadster delivered new with 4:10's went 12.90 with fairly minimal mods. Only headers and a borrowed set of slicks, and smog removed, but absolutely no other mods of any kind. The car was 3 weeks old and I never even adjusted the idle. I thought that was pretty stout as did everybody there that day at Palm Beach Dragway, but you have me beat by a ton. Goes to show you what a bit of twisting can do, I guess......Bill S

I don't know how relevant this is but a 71 LS5 Vette with 28K miles sold for $27K US. I don't remember all the details but I do remember the car was white and was almost all original. It was up for over a month and the owner dropped the price a number of times. I posted the add here back when it was up. A local dealer mechanic had a 70 LT1 that ran 12.4s. It was well tuned but still mostly stock.

I think these cars are a hell of a good deal for the money today. A buddy of mine had a 70 LT1 4 Spd with a built motor that ran high 11s. The car was ridiculously fast for a street car and would hook on spit with a sticky STREET tire. I remember when he would let it go you could hardly see the road ahead when it was under power. All you could see was that long front end.That car also stopped and handled very well considering it was almost stock as far as suspension goes.

Not to get off topic, but how does the 70 LT1's compare to the '68 L79 Vette's? I myself have never been much of a Vette guy, and since I'm 54 next month, I'm sorta looking at some. The LT1's seem to be a nice packaged all around car. The little 350 seems like a nice motor.

Hydraulic lifters versus solid. Q-Jet versus Holley. Cast iron intake versus aluminum. It adds up. I've driven both and it's not even close. The '70 LT1 in good tune can cut a swath through many a big-block musclecar field. It ain't no "little 350" :)

I think a better comparison would be the LT1 compared to the 1969 L46. I recently sold my 1969 Corvette that had all of the makings of an LT1 minus the solid lifter cam, holley carb and aluminum intake. It did have the TI ignition and 3.70:1 rear.

I think the L46 is an under appreciated motor.

Sorry guys BRAIN FART. Ment the solid lifter L79 from '66? Had L79 on the brain and recalled a friend yrs ago had one in a '68 that ran very well. Headers, 4.10's, comp cam, forget the intake but Holley 650 DP, Car ran high 12's on Radial T/As.

Yes, I agree . My 70 LT-1 roadster M21 3.70 would lift the front end up that all you saw was that long nose. What a fun car. I’ve had several solid lifter big blocks and the 70 LT-1 is a small block that thinks it’s a big block. I’d red line that motor through every gear time and time again and it never skipped a beat. I owned that car for 22 years and sold it to a guy in Switzerland to buy a 66 L72 coupe. I wish I kept it.

All these stories should get Motorhead848 AKA Mark all fired up to get this car. ;)

Ha....I’m in the middle of finishing up a drivetrain rebuild on a 70z for my dad so if the deal doesn’t happen I’ll get a pretty good taste of the 70 LT1. The car is part of a two car deal that I’m trying to put together. Since the corvette is missing the original block, I mostly just want to get the other car. So we will see.....

So what would be the difference between a 1969 350/350Hp motor in a vette compared to the 1970 LT1 in a vette??

Solid Cam ?

solid cam. hypo internals, bigger carb

Solid cam, aluminum intake, Holley carb. The 350/350 L46 had the same compression, same heads, same forged internals and some cars even had the same transistorized ignition as an option.

Thanks Dave. Just what I needed to know.