Just curious to know if there are any '70 Malibu 400 owners on here. I have yet to see another '70 LS3 Chevelle on any of the sites that I have been to. I have seen '71 and '72 models, but no '70.

It has appeared that a great deal of these cars have been cloned as SS's over the years, and I would be interested to know if any still exist, and how many might have been produced by Chevrolet in '70.

Any info on the '70 LS3 that anyone might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

LS3 in 1970..330 HP/402,correct? Over the years I've come across 2 1970 SS396's for sale that where advertised as "matching #,original Super Sport" and the engine suffix code was for the LS3
Even the U14 gauges are optional on a non SS car too.

I looked at an original '70 Malibu LS-3 last spring while on my quest for a Chevelle.
Light green exterior w/dark green vinyl top and interior. Looked like it had sat under pine trees for the past 20 years.
Kind of rough...roof, floors, trunk & quarters were shot graemlins/sad.gif Motor was stock.
May still be there...

There is a guy by the name of Rainer who has a silver LS3 on this web site.He knows a lot about them as well.I believe he has a web page about the Malibu 400s.Maybe he will chime in.

That's right. I'm curious because I'm actually trying to clone my Malibu after one of these cars. I have an L35(from a '67 SS) punched +.030" to make a 402 which is actually what GM did to get the LS3. The tranny I have is the original matching serial# M20 that was mated to the L35. I welded in a shift hump for a non-console car and left mine console-less with the original bench. I have also changed my fender emblems from "350" to "400". I have changed the rear to a correct GM 12 bolt POSI which would also have been correct for a big block car from the original 10-bolt open rear. According to my research, the only finishing touches would be a Turbo-Jet 330HP decal for the air cleaner, although I am pumping out well over 400 currently.

My car still has the original non SS dash, and I am thinking if the SS cluster was still an option for the LS3 cars, some must have been produced with the standard sweep needle dash.

I have never nor will I ever portray my car as a real Malibu 400, but it would be nice to see a real one to get an idea of what it looks like. I still have all the original Malibu trim on the car, so the only way to really tell is by looking at the casting numbers on the block.

Actually, there are some pics of the car on:
http://www.musclecarcalendar.com/toppage1.htm

Look in the "My Garage" section.

Originally posted by LS6-M22:
There is a guy by the name of Rainer who has a silver LS3 on this web site.He knows a lot about them as well.I believe he has a web page about the Malibu 400s.Maybe he will chime in. I think I can help........
http://rseitz.homestead.com/main.html

Rainer has not been around here for a while, but he is not forgotten smile.gif

Dang it. :( All of Rainer's secondary page links are gone on his webpage. Too bad.

Ranier (Dave Seitz?) had posted some pictures of a derelict '70 LS3 base Chevelle (not even a Malibu). The car was a real oddball, supposedly ordered in Monaco Orange with black D88 stripes (that would make 2 non-SS '70 Chevelles that came with D88 stripes that I've heard of). It had the LS-3, M20, 3.31: posi, p/s & p/b (disks) and 14x6 Ralley Wheels with F70-14 tires. I can't remember if it had gauges or the sweep-style dash.
Without getting into too many specifics, there were 9464 LS-3s installed into various Chevrolet A-bodies (Chevelles, El Caminos, Monte Carlos). Dan Carr has done a great job of extropolating figures from that on his excellent '68 - '72 Chevelles & Monte Carlo poster. He estimates only 16 of the base Chevelle coupes with LS3 / M20 combos, and that doesn't sound far fetched.

Originally posted by Nvr2Fast:


Actually, there are some pics of the car on:
www.musclecarcalender.com (http://www.musclecarcalender.com)

Look in the "My Garage" section. There is no "My Garage" section on their home page. Be on the lookout for numerous pop-ups as well.

I apologize. Try this link instead.
http://www.musclecarcalendar.com/toppage1.htm

Do you think Dan Carr might know how many Malibus were LS3 cars, for 1970 only? Also, from the research I have done, all of the LS3 cars were dubbed "Malibu 400", so that would mean that Non-Malibu LS3 Chevelles would either be a fake, or EXTREMELY rare and nobody knows about them.
:confused:

If 16 is accurate, then they are rare indeed, plus I'm wondering if they just may have had 400 emblems on the fenders with no Malibu trim.

I've never seen a '70-'72 big-block base-model Chevelle (except for a few Heavy Chevys). But Chevrolet records indicate that some were built.

I do not know what emblem confguration these cars would have, but I would guess that they came without the "400" emblems.

Originally posted by Nvr2Fast:
Do you think Dan Carr might know how many Malibus were LS3 cars, for 1970 only? Also, from the research I have done, all of the LS3 cars were dubbed "Malibu 400", so that would mean that Non-Malibu LS3 Chevelles would either be a fake, or EXTREMELY rare and nobody knows about them.
:confused: '70 LS3 Malibu coupe: 1237 cars (443 M20, 841 TH-400)

'70 LS3 base-model coupe: 47 cars (16 M20, 31 TH-400)

PS: It was also possible to get a '70 LS3 convertible, 4-door sedan, wagon, and El Camino.

Dan, thanks a bunch, that was the breakdown I was looking for.
graemlins/thumbsup.gif

my camino was an LS3 when built. 402, TH400 with 12 bolt rear end. gobi beige. owner before me turned into a medium blue SS.

Rainer@chevelles.com or 360-608-0093

Weren't the 400 emblems used for the 400 Small block motor?

Originally posted by GRN69CHV:
Weren't the 400 emblems used for the 400 Small block motor? They were used for both. My dad bought a new 71 Impala with LS3 300hp 402 and TH400 when I was 9 years old. I learned to drive in that car when I turned 16. It had "400" fender emblems.

I think a nice finishing touch would be to use the big block steering shaft. The BB/SS boys would notice it. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Apparently from what I have read, Malibu 400s (although really a 402 obviously) received the 400 emblems on the front of the fenders. If I am not mistaken, and correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe Malibus were offered with a small block 400 in '70.

I was lucky enough to find N.O.S. emblems on EBay and installed them in lieu of the "350" emblems. The size and font of the numbers is identical.

Here's a 72 400 Malibu that was owned by Zora Duntov:

http://members.shaw.ca/malibu400/duntov_malibu_400.htm

If 16 is accurate, then they are rare indeed, plus I'm wondering if they just may have had 400 emblems on the fenders with no Malibu trim. Regarding the badges I can add the following. Last year near my house there was a rusty original 1972 base Chevelle coupe with a 350. The only badge on the side was the 350 badge. I have pictures somewhere. It had p/s & front disk brakes, an AM radio, wheel covers, whitewalls. If the L65 350 used the badges, then of course the LS3 used 400 badges.
Usually you don't see any badges because those stripped Chevelles were usually 307 (badged in '70, unbadged in 71/72) or 250s (unbadged). The Heavy Chevy was based on this bottom Chevelle, yet in that case they were specifically unbadged no matter what.
El Caminos 70-72 used a rectangular 350 or 400 badge below the El Camino nameplate to cover the L65, L48 & LS3 engines. They are shown in the brochures and on this website .

Does anyone know how many 1970 LS3 Custom El Caminos were built???

I have a 70' Malibu with an original 402 big block/ 400 turbo in it. It was originaly misty turquoise metallic with ivory interior. It has a "Malibu" emblem and a "400" emblem still on the car originally. It came with a factory air conditioning, bench seat, auto on column, and 12 bolt(one wheel wonder)3:31 gear ratio. It also came with the F41 suspension support brackets, but not any boxed lower control arms(might of been pillaged for an SS before I purchased it). Hope that helps you.

Got any pics of your car that you can post?

Also, if by "F41 suspension support brackets" you mean the braces that connect the upper and lower control arm mounting points, they also came on cars without F41 suspension. According to parts manuals, they were installed on all cars with 350 or larger engines. So, your car probably did not have boxed lower control arms.

Hey Rainer, I emailed you a couple pics of my car.