1970 LS-7 Chevelle ??

[Chevy454]

I'd have to check my stuff, and mr70 could answer this for sure, but...

...if I remember correctly, the LS-6 was originally gonna be 460hp and installed in the Chevelle, and the LS-7 was gonna be 465hp and in the Corvette. I think something similar was in the dealer literature...or something close to that anyway!

An LS-7 Corvette would have been 1 bad mofo...

[Rowdy Rat]

Jim,

To the best of my knowledge, the only car slated to get the LS-7 as an RPO during the 1970 model year was the Corvette although it ultimately failed to make production.

There were actually two engines tagged as "LS-7" which often leads to a little confusion...

The first was the production LS-7 intended for the 1970 Corvette. If the data that GM released to the AMA is to be believed, it would have been nothing more than the Chevelle LS-6 with the addition of closed chamber aluminum heads and a slightly different camshaft. Horsepower was stated as 460 in all the reliable GM sources that I have seen. The engineers worked through May 1970 to get the engine into production, but it was finally cancelled as the 1970 model year came to a close.

Apparently, Sports Car Graphic did a road test of a pre-production LS-7 Corvette... It would be neat to locate the issue it appeared in. I seem to recall a 13.8 e.t. with two people in the car.

The second LS-7 was the service engine that was available from the parts counter for many years. This engine was considerablly more radical and for the most part was a 454 cid version of the second design L-88 from 1969; the only exception being the cast iron open chamber heads on the LS-7 in place of the second design L-88's aluminum version.

Joe,

I remember the Car Craft article... I'm wondering if the production LS-7 started out as something more than what it eventually became or if Car Craft just "guesstimated" as to what the content would be. I can tell you that the GM specs show that the Corvette LS-7 would have had 11.25 compression, low rise aluminum intake (necessary to clear the standard big block hood), vacuum secondary Holley, and the previously mentioned oddball camshaft (.520/.550 lift, but had second design L-88/ZL-1 duration)... Quite a bit different than what Car Craft claimed.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

[Mr70]

[ QUOTE ]

Apparently, Sports Car Graphic did a road test of a pre-production LS-7 Corvette... It would be neat to locate the issue it appeared in. I seem to recall a 13.8 e.t. with two people in the car.

[/ QUOTE ]

Only one made from the factory & It's in the March 1970 Issue of Sports car Graphic.
13.8 108MPH..465HP [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[55chevy]

Any way to post the article? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[JTH74]

There was a article on a LS-6 Convertible in a magazine in the late 80's, the car was Black with red interior and the article said something about the car having the "Brute Force option", what was this, or was it just the writers lack of knowledge or misinformantion?

[SS427]

That would be Bill Clements car which was sold at BJ about 4 years ago for $45K! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] My restoration customer and I got cold feet at the last second. Stupid, as it is said to be a real LS6, just not a real L89.
Rcik

[Tenney]

I bought an LS-7 long block from Shepard Chevrolet (Lake Bluff, IL) in the early '80's. Was a 12.5 to 1 motor w/cast iron OC heads. ZL-1 cam was not a fan of mufflers, as I recall. Dropped the compression a couple of points, opened the exhaust a little and the motor proved strong (revved like a small block), reliable and a bit more streetable than I expected. Fun.

[olredalert]

-------I remember thinking that maybe the Chevelle was Bills when I saw it at Barrett-Jackson,if we are talking about the same car.It made quite a statement as the original engine was purported to be in the trunk.You would have been the right guy to take that project on,Rick,as it looked massive to me.Who ended up getting the car back then?..........Bill S

[ChrisS]

I seem to remember reading, possibly in the SCG article, that the LS-7 Corvette was to get the same 3X2 intake setup that was on the '69 435hp engine, or was that idea scrapped early on?

[Rowdy Rat]

[ QUOTE ]
I seem to remember reading, possibly in the SCG article, that the LS-7 Corvette was to get the same 3X2 intake setup that was on the '69 435hp engine, or was that idea scrapped early on?

[/ QUOTE ]

Chris,

There were two 3x2 454 cid engines planed for 1970, coded LJ-1 and LJ-2. They were basically 454 versions of the previous year's L-71 and L-68 engines and are documented in the 1970 Corvette Assembly Instruction Manual. If I recall the notes in the 1970 AIM correctly, these options were terminated late in the 1969 calendar year. The LS-7 was distinct from these two engines and would have used a single vacuum secondary four barrel Holley carburetor.

In addition to the LS-7/LJ-1/LJ-2 options, a fourth engine, LT-2, was also planned. This would have been a 454 cid version of the ZL-1... Aluminum block, Aluminum heads, etc. It must have been killed early on as there is no mention of it in the AIM.

Regards,

Stan Falenski