I received an inquiry about an SS core support I have on the for sale page. I was asked if the support has a small spot welded-on tab on the lower driver side corner. It does, and is apparent by comparing the SS support to the powdercoated one (Small block)I am going to use on my SS that this should be another clue in checking originality on a '70(only) SS when buying. Or use the info at a show and give someone a hard time for having the wrong support...

Okay, I wonder what gives here. My 1970 SS is all original, low miles, was sitting for years and years in the Mojave desert. It's an original L34 (duh) SS car, and the core support doesn't have that tab on it. Therefore, I don't think this is a surefire way to ID an SS car. People have called me on this detail before, but what can I say? The car was unrestored and untouched when I got it, and there's no evidence of this tab. What does it look like, and what was it for? I'm stumped.

The SS core support I have has the bottom corner trimmed off to allow the radiator cushion room to fit flat instead of riding on top of the lip. The tab is about 2 inches x 3 inches length and is spotwelded from underneath to extend the support area. The upper radiator panel also has the same modification. The '71 SS upper panel does not have this mod, the problem must have been cured in the tooling. Maybe you have/had a 3 row radiator that didn't require the extra room.

I'm sure my car came with a 4 core radiator (big block with AC). It's a May 1970 build car, so I'm wondering if GM fixed the tooling by then...?