Frame Off Restored Chevelle SS LS5 454 Convertible w/AC

When you spend $125,000 on a restoration, you know the results are going to be spectacular. This 1970 Chevelle SS 454 packs a date-code correct LS5 big block, and has a restoration that is less than 1000 miles old. With highly desirable options like factory air, power windows, and a console, this is a fabulous summertime cruiser that will blow people away when they see it at shows. Take advantage of the old adage that it's always cheaper to buy someone else's completed project than to try to do it yourself—this is a perfect example.

Finished in lovely Fathom Blue with white SS stripes, this car certainly looks like an eighth-of-a-million dollars was spent on it. This one was originally Champagne Gold, but it won't be missed after you see how amazing it looks in person. You can see the amount of work that went into this one just by looking down the quarter panels and seeing how straight they are. Then you look a little closer and see the attention to detail, with great gaps even up front where the hood meets the grille, a notoriously tough spot to get right on these cars. The stripes were painted on, and the entire car was laboriously color sanded and buffed until the finish was smooth and ripple-free. The entire car was fully disassembled and placed on a rotisserie for the work, so every single nook and crevice was faithfully prepped and finished to better-than-new standards. That means door jambs, the trunk, and even the floors all wear a coat of brilliant Fathom Blue paint with no traces of the color change.

It takes more than nice paint to make a car look this good, and the details are as well executed as the finish. Fresh chrome on the bumpers, new emblems throughout, and polished stainless steel wheel well moldings and windshield surround make it glitter in the sunlight. Hood pins give it an aggressive, race-ready appearance, and the dual chrome side mirrors are something you don't think about until you drive a car from this era without a passenger-side mirror. Up front there's a correct blacked-out SS grille, as well as a black SS insert in the rear bumper, framed by a pair of new tail light lenses. Nobody cut any corners on this car.

Power comes from a date-code correct LS5 big block topped by a correct Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor. In fact, almost every component on the car was exhaustively researched and tracked-down to ensure that it is as correct as possible. Cheverolet actually produced fewer LS5 engines than LS6s, making this SS454 convertible one of the more rare cars built in 1970. But the nice thing about the LS5 is that it idled smoothly, and the hydraulic lifter camshaft allowed the use of such niceties as power steering and air conditioning, both of which are found on this car. The block is bathed in brilliant Chevy Orange that really stands out, even in the tightly packed engine bay. A correct cowl induction air cleaner feeds the beast, while original style cast iron exhaust manifolds dump into a dual exhaust system. All big block SS Chevelles received chrome-plated valve covers, and the details on this one are correct: reproduction GM stamped hoses, correct plating on things like the alternator and brake master cylinder, as well as a reproduction wiring harness. Correct decals have been used throughout, from the '454 Turbo-Jet 360 HP' decal on the air cleaner, to the Frigidaire sticker on the A/C compressor, the engine bay looks like it would have just off the showroom floor in 1970. Better, in fact.

Better than new also extends to the chassis, with its body-colored floors and highly detailed componentry. The TH400 3-speed automatic sports a deeper-than-stock finned aluminum pan to help keep it cool, and out back there's a 12-bolt with easy driving 3.31 gears on a Posi limited slip. The dual exhaust system I mentioned earlier uses Flowmaster mufflers, but terminates in correct polished tips under the rear bumper, so nobody can tell except by sound that this one is hotter than stock. The power disc brake system has been fully rebuilt, there's a new gas tank out back, and all the suspension bushings and shock absorbers are new. Correct SS wheels wear F70-14 Firestone Wide Oval bias plys that look exactly right in the Chevelle's big wheel wells.

The original code 770 saddle buckets probably would have looked OK with the Fathom Blue, but nothing beats the classic combination of Fathom Blue with a white interior. So brilliant you'll need sunglasses just to ride in it, every square inch of the interior is brand new. The seats were rebuilt with fresh foam, then the new seat covers were installed, and only the driver's seat shows any signs of use. Black carpets and a black dashboard seem to anchor the interior and give it the correct look, although you should use care to avoid scuffing the new white door panels. And speaking of door panels, note that this car carries factory power windows, a very helpful option for a convertible, and makes going from fully open to fully closed an operation that takes only seconds. The gauges, including a correct 7000 RPM tachometer, have been fully rebuilt, and the odometer shows 996 miles since the car was completed. The dash carries an original AM radio, and the center console houses GM's famous horseshoe shifter that looks as good today as it did 41 years ago. A new white vinyl convertible top with correct glass rear window rounds out the list of new components, and it fits and folds as it should.

The money has already been spent, and the car really does look like a million bucks sitting there, glittering in the showroom. It's not unusual for guys to go all-out on a restoration project like this and find themselves upside-down when it's finished, but what that really means is that you, the buyer, get to enjoy the fruits of his labor without writing the big check and without the two-year wait and sleepless nights. And while the LS6 gets all the glory, if you actually want to drive and enjoy your Chevelle, the LS5 is the one to get. It has plenty of power, a great sound, and those luxury options make a huge difference when you're doing anything but cruising the fairground to be seen. Handsome, fast, and nicely finished, this Chevelle is exactly the kind of car we all wish we could own, and here's your chance. Call today!