New member, need advice!
 

Hey everyone,
I am a new member from the great white north. I love the chevelle and have been looking into a restoration project or buying a completed car. Recently I found a completed 1970 chevelle. This car is in California and I would probably be buying it sight unseen, so I am wondering what sort of questions I should ask the seller and other information I should be looking for. I appreciate all the help. Here is a copy and paste of the info on the car from the sellers site.

1970 Chevelle SS 454/468
You are looking at one of the cleanest SS hardtops and best running super muscle cars that is available. Cars this nice do not come up very often. This car has all the right stuff. Big block raw power (455 bored out to 468ci). This engine really rocks. It has the sound that you can only imagine. You will never be able to sneak up on anyone in this tamed beast. All that power is put to the ground through a M-22 Muncie Rock Crusher 4-speed and a 3:55 Posi 12 bolt rear-end.
With the phantom blue paint with white stripes this car will stand out at any car show or cruise in. This is what a 70 Chevelle is all about.
Car Features
• 454 Block bored out to 468ci - NOM 1974 Block
• Aluminum Radiator (Temp has never gone over 180 even on our hot California days)
• High lift cam (nice lope)
• Holly 750 Carb
• M-22 Muncie 4-speed transmission
• 12 bolt Posi 3:55 gears
• Hurst Linkage and shifter
• Headman Headers
• 2.5” exhaust with Flo-Masters ( loud and forceful without being obnoxious)
• MSD Ignition, Distributor and Coil
• Taylor 8mm Wires
• Working Cowl Induction
• Correct Rally Wheels
• Like New 225r-70r-14 BF Goodrich Radial T/A’s
• A/C Blows Cold
• Full Complement Of After Market Gauges
This is the ultimate muscle cruiser. Take a good look at the underside pictures to see how the car is in beautiful shape with no signs of rust anywhere. “Gotta love these California Cars.” Notice the heavy duty suspension parts including sway bars that keep the car on the straight and narrow. All the chrom and stainless is in excellent condition with just a couple small dings.
This is a car that will always be in demand and what a joy to drive. Now is the time to take advantage of these markets aggressive pricing. Just look at some of the high priced Chevelles and you will see what a bargain this is.
Call us now and put his beauty in your driveway. Ask about trade in possibilities and aggressive financing. This is a buyer’s market so take the leap now!!

The car looks clean but I don't know about those Bright Blue Taylor 8mm wires.
The dash is from a 72 Monte Carlo I believe (the seat belt light was no included in the 70 or 71)

What is your ultimate goal for the car? Are you wanting more of a pro-touring car that has some modern parts with the classic muscle car look (because that is how this car seems to be built) or something original? Do you plan on leaving the car as is, and do you care anything about originality? You are going to possibly buy from a dealer, sight-unseen. That creates 2 huge red flags automatically. 1, post on here and other sites to try and get someone to go and take a look at the car for you. Find someone who knows Chevelles well because there can be some nasty surprises hiding under that shiny blue paint. 2. Dealers will almost always be over-priced and this car is no exception. It looks very nice but at $35k you are in documented SS territory.

Just my $.02

http://www.trivalleyclassics.com/inv...rolet-chevelle

Photos like this make me think they just rattle canned the bottom of the car. Maybe not, and maybe it does not matter if the car is solid. Just something to consider as most of these dealers try to make the car "appear" as clean as possible so they can charge more.

http://assets.motorlot.com/system/in...JPG?1336156639

All that said, it is a very good looking car! One I would proudly drive! Just want to make sure you know what you are getting into.

I have never planned for anything original. My goal is to just have a comfortable nice weather cruiser with some high performance numbers. What makes you think they rattle canned it? Just curious. Anyone in the area want to go have a peek at this car?

In the photo I posted you can see where the paint was applied on the lower a-arm mount and where it stopped, likely because of getting over-spray on the motor. Then on the frame rail it appears have paint and then stop. It is a common thing to see quick flips but not necessarily indicative of the rest of the car. Just something to keep in mind. It may not even be the case but just another reason to carefully inspect the car in-person.

Another photo.

Look at the rear coil spring and brake drum (plus all the hardware is painted black) Again, this doesn't mean the car is not worth it, just that it could have other short cuts.
http://assets.motorlot.com/system/in...JPG?1336156780

I am no pro and am not trying to persuade you for or against this particular car.

What do you think would be a fair price for the car asked on pictures and info available? What would be good things to ask them? What would be good things to look at and inspect in person?

Price is always really tricky as what is worth $X to one person is worth $1/2X to someone else. I would say mid 20s maybe for this car but that is just a ball-park. If I am paying anywhere over $30k I want to car to either be a frame-off or have lots of documentation authenticating it as a true Super Sport with matching number equipment (ignoring the ridiculous $ amounts the LS-6 cars try to bring.)

I just think you can find a car that meets the requirements you listed here for well under $30k and have it be just as nice.

This car is not a matching # car but it at least comes with build sheets proving its heritage.

http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds...t=46927&cat=22

A few others that might be worth looking into
http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds...t=52169&cat=22
http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds...t=48503&cat=22
http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds...t=51776&cat=22

Good luck on your hunt. I really didn't mean to make it seem like the car you are interested in was not a good deal or is hiding anything. But you really need to investigate extensively before purchasing. There was a guy on the forum I linked to that purchased a 70 or 71 that looked just as good, if not better than the one you originally asked about. I think 6 or so months went by before he realized the car had all sorts of issues and ended up stripping the car to the frame and starting over. He got about 1/4 of the way into his build and was so over his budget that his wife was trying to make him sell the project. It was just a complete waste of money.

I greatly appreciate all the help. I know very little about chevelles but have always loved the looks of them. When you say investigate extensively, what are you referring too?

I never saw a build sheet? I have a tendency to stay away from dealers. I agree with the statement above you need to go or have someone go look at it for you. Never spend the kind of money you are talking about with out taking a few hundred dollar trip out ot see the car. Also welcome to the site.

This is a friends car here and It is a very nice car. It would go for about the same price.
http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds...t=49394&cat=22

I've been in contact with the dealer, asked for the vin. They claim it's a true ss but no build sheet. Price would be significantly higher if they had build sheet....anyone on the forum in this area?

You state that you are from the great white north. Where abouts ? Are you willing to drive to look at some cars ? If so how far ? Just curious because with Chevellabration coming up in a couple weeks you could really look at some nice Chevelles. See some that are for sale, talk to the owners and see what to look for. Look into contacting Chuck Hanson from ACES, he always has a lead on nice cars for sale, and I would trust his opinion.

By the way...welcome.

You've got to be one I te craziest people in the world to buy a car unseen for $35,000! Especially from a stealer, I mean dealer. Just because you are buying from a dealer you are adding a 15% premimum to the sale.

Read this thread and then you will never think of buying from a CC dealer again http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383193

Do you know how many chevelles he has? I saw he had 3 for sale in the ACES classifieds magazine.

Even if this car had a build sheet it would add no value for me. Wrong motor, wrong rearend, may be the wrong transmission, wrong almost everything, etc. Not much about this car is original. Build sheet only adds value if the car is kept in it's original state. You do need to make sure the Vin at least starts with a 136 number.

I live in a small town named Pennant in southwest Saskatchewan. I would be willing to travel to look at some cars. I am also on the lookout for a 1970 project chevelle. I wouldn't be willing to pay what they are asking for the car in the original post. I am still waiting for them to get back to me with more details.

What is ACES by the way.

American
Chevelle
Enthusiasts
Society

Here is a link to their page:
http://www.chevelles.com/aces/

American Chevelle Enthuisasts Society ,with membership you get a Bi Monthly magazine called Chevelle World about Chevelles and El Caminos written by Chuck Hanson. It costs $45 a year for U.S. residents and $60 for Canadian residents.

I have decided to go the project route. I found a pretty good deal. I have a vin# for this project car but Im having a little trouble decoding it. I have seen the thread by ms grumpy with all the information on that subject but am still having troubles. Here is a picture http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/a...ton32/vin2.jpg

SS
 

I shopped for a year to find my Chevelle. One of the cars that I found was a avocado green ragtop SS that had been rebuilt and was very, very, nice. It was an original SS with the build sheet and vin number to prove it was an SS and he was willing to sell it for $25,000 in Austin Texas. I also looked at a 1970 Chevelle at a dealer north of Dallas Texas that looked fantastic in the pictures but was a dog, even at the $12,500 asking price. I put down $500 as a deposit but walked away and am glad I did. I checked them out online for feedback and saw one negative and a few positive. They were good at "touching up" classic cars and making them look good in pictures. Only one of their cars was in really good shape, but most were not worth what they were asking. Hopefully someone in the forum can check it out. If you find something in San Antonio or Houston, I would be glad to look it over for you, take close-up pictures for you, and check out the build sheet.
Best of luck!
- Craig [email protected]