1970 Corvette LT-1 Survivor Has No Skeletons in the Closet and Will Get a New Owner Soon

1970 is a year that could fuel a campfire story-telling marathon for just under half an eternity, provided that it’s a piston-head-only gathering. The Superbird, the Challenger, the hemicuda, the Chevelle SS 454 LS6, the Buick GS 455, the AAR ‘Cuda, the Challenger T/A, and the Corvette ZR1 (the original one)—what a select club of heavy-hitter muscle cars. It would be easy to overlook another iconic powerhouse from Detroit’s finest – the LT-1 Chevy small-block.

Several reasons concur to cast an undeserved shadow over the special 350-cubic-inch V8 that gave big-blocks a good run for their money (pun intended) and then some. First, the 1969 GM strike, the walkout that messed up with production plans and nearly killed the Camaro. The 1970 model year cars reached showrooms as late as February instead of the usual September-October period.

Secondly, the avalanche of performance monsters that emerged that year would have easily hijacked buyers’ attention away from the fairly anonymous LT-1 option on the RPO codes in Chevrolet order forms. However, the engine’s specs were more than convincing for 10,072 prospects – most of them Camaro Z/28 buyers (8,733 units). At the low end of the spectrum, 52 Chevrolet Nova COPOs were fitted with the new-for-the-year eight-cylinder motor.

The 1,287 difference falls on the shoulders of the Corvette—the sportscar rightfully received the 370-hp anger management treatment. Well, ‘anger management’ implies that it made a lot of people very angry, especially those who relied on big-inch displacement and high-horse figures to persuade wallets to open wide.

The 350-cubic-inch V8 was the same small-block released in 1967 on the first-gen Camaro (with the SS option), but in 1970 it got a few tweaks and twists. Solid lifters, forged aluminum pistons, 11.0:1 compression, a four-bolt main forged steel crank, a special high-lift camshaft, and a high-rise aluminum intake under the wide-gaping 780 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetor.

Add the baffled oil pan, the ram horn exhaust manifolds, high-volume pumps for oil and fuel (with no return line on the latter), a larger radiator and fan shroud, 2.5-inch (64-mm) exhaust, and transistor ignition. Once the dealer drew the line, the price for all of the above rose to $447.60.

It made little sense at the time, considering that a 350-cube L48 motor delivered 350 ponies and cost $158, and it made absolutely no sense when the big-block LS5 was put side by side with the LT-1. The also fresh for the year big-inch cataclysm produced 390 hp in exchange for 289 bucks. So, why should someone pay almost three times as much as the 350/350 V8 for just 20 extra horses?

For quarter-mile purposes, that’s why. The lightweight engine was also easy on the wallet, with insurance costs being considerably more user-friendly than for a 440-4V from Mother Mopar. The comparison is not without method, for the big Chrysler engine was only five hp above the featherweight LT-1. Even so, only 1,287 Corvettes were ordered with that Regular Production Option out of the total production of 17,316 – the lowest number since 1962.

The high-bang-for-the-buck motor was only available with a four-speed manual transmission, and it took away the power-robbing air conditioning. Coincidence or not, the climate-taming system cost $447.65, exactly a nickel more than the 370-hp, 380-lb-ft (375 PS, 515 Nm). Most were ordered without power steering, brakes, or other creature comfort options so that weight and costs would stay within range.

As a side note, there was a 1970 big-block derivative of the LT-1, the unicorn LS7, the 460-hp, 454-cube behemoth. The powerhouse was advertised in early literature in 1970 but never saw active duty in a Chevrolet product. The LT-1 variant of the 1970 ‘Vette was available with four rear-end gearing ratios from a gas-saving 3.36 to the 4.11 tire smoker (with 3.55 and 3.70 as middle-of-the-road options).

Out of that small batch of rampaging small-block Corvettes assembled in the short model year production run of 1970, one has survived to 2024 with 40,000 original miles (some 65,000 km). The numbers on the engine, carb, transmission, and other parts are consistent and match one another. The paint is the factory-applied Daytona Yellow shade.

Found by Dennis Collins in Temple, Texas, the car has had the bucking 370-stud V8 rebuilt recently, and the 3.70 Positive Traction differential is still in place. Whoever had this car took great care of it because it’s probably one of the cleanest survivors LT-1s we’ve seen. Sure, after over half a century, the paint has faded a little – don’t we all, after a few years? – but it still has the potential to start a conversation with someone who has taken a vow of silence.

The car is a driver – or rather was when Dennis Collins bought it – but it never hurts to look through the details and make a few adjustments for the better. Consequently, this rare first-year LT-1 Corvette coupe runs and drives like a never-ending dream, looking for a new owner.