Pick of the Day: 1970 Chevrolet Camaro SS/RS

Remember the second-generation Chevrolet Camaro that was introduced at the end of February 1970? It was supposed to be an advancement on the Bow Tie pony car. The press certainly felt so, but the collector’s market disagrees, as 1967-69 Camaros are near the top in popularity. It’s not often one finds a nicely preserved non-Z/28 of this era like our Pick of the Day, a 1970 Camaro SS/RS listed on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Elyria, Ohio. (Click the link to view the listing)

Chevrolet shuffled the Camaro’s feature list a bit for the 1970 redesign. For one thing, the convertible was discontinued, which was a portent of things to come for other American ragtops in the market, if not the sporty car market. The model structure continued, with base Camaros being available with the Rally Sport (RS) trim package as well as the Super Sport (SS) and Z/28 performance packages. As before, the RS could be combined with the SS or Z/28, but the RS completely changed from 1967-69 — gone were the hidden headlamps, with the front end now featuring delicate bumpers, parking lights that looked like fog lights, and a huge grille surrounded by Endura plastic (the same material used on the 1968 GTO’s nose).

The SS’s engines were mainly carry-overs: the 350/300 was the same, but the 396/325 was discontinued, leaving only the 396 with 350 or 375 horsepower. The big news was the Z/28, which eschewed the little 302 for the LT1 350, a 360-horsepower powerhouse that was akin to the old 302 but with more cubes. Though it didn’t properly satisfy the Trans-Am fans who were only too happy to point out the LT1 did not measure to race specification, the LT1 had a much broader powerband for the street and was available with an automatic, yet it lost little in the form of rev-happy performance.

This 1970 Chevrolet Camaro has a ton going for it: it has the performance of the hi-po 350 from the SS package, the good looks from the RS package, and is painted in Daytona Yellow. Would the four-speed help pull you big-block folks into this? “The condition of this car speaks volumes to the love it received in its life. If you can’t handle the few paint flaws in the original paint that are well illustrated in the photos that’s ok, there are plenty of restored, shiny paint cars out there. If you truly understand what it means to find a car in this original condition you may have just found your next gem,” states the seller. That’s because this Camaro has only 13,000 miles on the odometer. He calls this Camaro a “survivor,” but that’s practically a political position in the hobby so let’s just say the Camaro is original and the due diligence is on you to determine whether it’s a survivor.

“Paperwork, you say? Yep, got that too . . . Protect-O-Plate, original owner’s manual, original purchase agreements. My, oh my!” adds the seller. Inside, the Camaro’s originality is less spoiled by the elements and can be more fully appreciated — a time warp, per the seller.  Other options include special instrumentation, Positraction, power steering, sport mirrors, spoiler, and undercoating, though the seller says, “We are sending the car for ice blasting to clean the underside and engine compartment up a bit.”

It will take $68,500 to bring this 1970 Camaro SS/RS to your home. Its originality, combined with a mix of options that would make many other Camaros jealous, make it a prime find for the Bow Tie guy or gal who’s a true believer in the superiority of the 1970 Camaro.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.