AFAIK, it started at the beginning of 69 model year production. May have had something to do with switching the alternator location from drivers side in 68 to passenger side in 69. Why all 69 Chevelle assembly plants did not do this, I don't know.

I've saw this car in person last year. I can't speak to any authenticity on whether it's a true SS but I can tell you that the pictures do no do it justice. It is fantastic and I know it would take a small fortune to recreate.

Bat
 

You are absolutely correct . They sell so many undocumented L79 Chevy II clones that I have lost count. They accepted my car, a documented L79 that does not have its original driveline , for auction. But they refused to put L79 in the title, or market it as such. I pushed back so hard that a manager ( whatever that means) sent me an e mail to tell me that a real Fuelie Corvette was no longer a Fuelie Corvette if it was missing its original FI system , or original engine. I told him that he was completely wrong, and that there were a lot of COPO and Yenko owners that would not agree. Diminished value, maybe, but it does not change how they left the factory. They refused to budge, so I ate the $99 and walked away. They sold $850 Million worth of cars last year, double what the next biggest auction house sold, so they must think they can make up the rules now.

20 yrs ago, it seemed BJ was the "go to" place to get huge money for a cloned, fake, lipstick on a pig bondo bucket. They had to become more diligent in what they allowed. Now it seems BaT has, and wants, the title. We've watched them evolve from a, seemingly, backyard buddy system to this status in a VERY short time. I guess allowing and now attracting this kind of clientele is becoming their MO.
I know a number of people on here have had good experiences with BaT and that's great, but with the insane level of collector vehicle prices, the fakers are going to go where they can sell their crap.

Barrett-Jackson is the only auction house with staff that vets classic muscle cars consigned as "original drive train."

Lately, the more serious issue is cars with swapped VIN tags and/or altered 'con VIN' stampings on the body structure. There were issues with a COPO at B-J Scottsdale that resulted in the hard card being changed. The car had been re-bodied and has a reproduction body tag. Still listed that way on the B-J site.

You can refuse to change the hard card and take the car home.

There were two COPOs initially consigned to B-J Palm Beach. Shortly prior to the start of the auction, they were removed from the premises.

Be careful where you shop.

Bidding seems to have slowed down.$55K with 2 days to go.

Sold for $72K.