Hi all! Let me start off by saying that I have always been a huge Chevelle fan and can just now afford to actually purchase a nice one. However, because I have somewhat limited knowledge of what to look for, etc., I fear getting "taken" on some deal. Any idea what the following car may be worth in this market?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___1970-Chevelle-LS5-with-build-Sheet_W0QQitemZ270253732784QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20Truc ksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item270253732784&_trksid=p3756.m14.l1318

Thanks!

Welcome to the site.
You came to the right place to get the car picked apart.
I would have someone look at the car before you spend any money on that car. If you want a correct car I see a whole lot of things wrong with it.
I will let some of the other TC members pick it apart.:yes:

Might browse here on TC. You can get some idea and there are some pretty nice ones for sale right here............
http://www.chevelles.com/classifieds/showcat.php?cat=22&page=1

Would you mind filling out your profile so we know a little more about you? Denton is right up I35 from you. Might take a drive up there and physically look at the car; it'll tell you a lot about it. If you're serious about the car the seller says they have the build sheet. You can quasi-verify what the car has by that. You can also quasi-verify the sheet is correct by checking some numbers on it against the trim tag - see http://www.chevellestuff.com/1970/tags.htm for an example.

Check the engine block to see if it's the original engine or a substitute from some low horsepower truck of a later year. It may have been born as an LS5 but any replacement engine will keep the 'value' down.

Bidding history hasn't shown much interest - that might be some indication of the car, or maybe not. Never know. Seller doesn't have much of a history either. Two purchases of movie theater posters?

Lot's of thing 'wrong' with the car but it looks nice as a driver. One of my favorite quotes, "There is no such thing as absolute value in this world. You can only estimate what a thing is worth to you."

As Dale said please give us a little more info about yourself. A lot of us have been duped by people hiding behind the fictitious or lack of info. There have been posts like this placed by the owner of the car for the purpose of working us for free exposure.

#1 this car is at a dealer and this dealer has had some posted cars come under some very hard scrutiny. I will leave it at that for now.

I just filled out some more of my profile. I do plan to go look at the car but am also hoping for some insight as to what to look for. It looks to me like the radio is missing and there are no undercarriage shots which makes me even more leary. I am looking for a driver but also want something that is worth what I pay for it. (i.e. if I want to sell the car in 5 years, I don't want to get $15K for it when I paid $30K or whatever because I didn't know what I was buying).

Not to hijiack Stephen's post here, but I am about to restore a '70 SS 454. My car is not a numbers matching. I want it to look original though. What mistakes did this car make so I can make sure I do not do the same things.

Thanks.

Stephen I cannot tell you some things about dealers and this one without crossing some established lines. They label theirselves the premier musclecar dealer but only show 2 transactions. Why......They sell under a multitude of names to keep feedback clean....

My advice......Give us a more detailed outline of what you are looking for and the price range you are operating in. Develop patience and let us help. Procede cautiously on the one you have posted.

Something I recommend is joining a chevelle club in your area. They have knowledgeable people that will help.

PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER!!

That is the name of the game when buying/looking for a Musclecar.... that and HOMEWORK!

Mike Crown

Thanks, guys! I'm looking for a very nice driver/local cruise car. Looking to spend between $25K and $30K. I really want a 70 SS 396/4-spd. I feel like I browse ads every one of my off-work hours and never see anything that's worth any money...or if I do, it is WAY out of my price range. Any advice? I've got other people looking for me as well....I just want to buy in the soft market, not when prices go back up.

Hey Stephen, I do not know near as much as most of the guys on here but I do know you can get an extremely nice driver for that price range. I am in your situation right now but decided to go with one that needed a little work. I am from the Arlington area btw.

That is a very reasonable budget and you should be able to find what you seek for that money... put together a list of your wants .. what you will live with and what you won't.... ie., a very well done CLONE? Numbers Matching vs. Non Numbers, Color preferences, drivetrain Prefs, Interior Prefs., You might know in your head, but putting in writing will Help you.

My Advice is always the same.... Focus on QUALITY above everything else... if you get Quality and the car Happens to have other qualties that help increase it's value.. that is a Bonus... a car does not have to be Numbers Matching or be Original Restored to Factory Standards or Have Build Sheets to be a GREAT BUY! QUALITY Built is what to look for ;)

Mike:

I've actually got a list in my head...just need to jot it down.

Real SS (no clones)
Does not have to be NOM
396 Necessary
4-spd necessary
Blue or green in color

I want a quality car....I don't care about NOM or other things. Just something to enjoy!

So a number of you said you saw incorrect/missing items. Is there any way you can tell me what some of them are? I understand if you can't. I'm just curious because things look "okay" to me. I just want to know what you see so that in the future I'll know what to look for. Thanks!

By 'wrong', I mean for a correct car, not something wrong with the car. First the seller mentions only that it has a 454 in it now. Could be a 454 from anything and ranging from a 230hp truck motor on up. Looks like an aftermarket intake with probably something like a 3310 Holley. No positive crankcase ventilation system (i.e. no PCV valve), just breathers on both valve covers. Looks like a 6500 rpm redline tach that would have only come with the L78 (car's too late for that) or the LS6; seller says it was an LS5 car. So, either the tach or entire dash has been swapped or the seller doesn't know the difference between an LS5 and LS6. Headers look old and rusty.

As noted before, the seller says they're the 'premiere' muscle car dealership of the southwest yet only have two feedbacks and both are for buying movie theater posters. Doesn't instill a lot of confidence. Photos are too small to see much detail. Car or visit them and ask for a photocopy of the buildsheet and see what it says.

It does have a new starter and has been tuned up to run smoothly. That's good news, I hate it when someone tunes up a car to run like crap. :clonk:

Without the correct driveline, and only gauging it by the photos, IMO it's probably close to top dollar for the car now at $20k.

LOL! Thanks, Dale. That was what I was meaning...what isn't "correct" about the car. I know on another site they are asking $34.9K and I felt that was waaayyyy too high.

Stephen You asked me now I will tell you........Let this one and the dealer go. Now....
Here is where I feel you are putting too many restictions on your search and setting yourself up for disappointment.

You have stated you would like a true 70 SS,4 Speed,396, NOM OK,good condition, for $25-30K. Well.......You and hundreds of others. What do they find.......Its in this post. You have narrowed your search to the most sought after car in the country and I promise you if you stumble across a car that is available it has probably been passed on by many before you. Your perameters are making your search difficult as you want a true SS but will accept a NOM. By doing this you are letting some well built cars that are undocumented and priced back of the money slip by. You have to understand that a well built clone will attract more money and less scrutiny than a car like is represented here.

I have a 69 SS that is frame off and new and ready for paint. I wish you would come look at what it takes to build a nice car and what it takes to get there. It is in the perfect stage to visualize all the things that can be hidden from this point on. Sitting down with someone like me in their shop will provide you some of the best education available. There is so much to learn. Most people take the simpliest learning experience for granted.

Thanks, John. I appreciate your candor. Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology....I just want a car that is built to SS specs. I think a huge part of my frustration is that one car that was a supposed SS didn't even have the correct grille. I want a car to drive and enjoy. Not one to sit in the garage and collect dust because it might get a ding or whatever. Like someone said in the post earlier, I would much rather prefer QUALITY over the build sheet correctness, etc. So, in a nutshell I am saying that I want a clone. I just don't want the fact that it's a clone to cost me $15K should I got to sell it 5 or 10 years from now. All in all, I want a nice-looking car to have fun in!

I just looked at the classified section on here and I see some SS chevelles in your budget. Have you checked on them?

Tim:

I have looked in the classifieds. I am seeing a lot of 350s, etc. and really want a big block car. I have no doubts that they are nice cars...just not exactly what I am looking for. Note I am only looking at the 70s in the ads.

Stephen