1970 Corvette Production

[Scott Sims]

Many of us know that the '70 was a short run production due to a strike that stretched the '69 production. Maybe someone can explain an apparent production slow down. I was browsing the 1970 Corvette Registry between April and May and I noticed a curious production slow down. Only 50 or so 1970 Corvettes were produced in one month between April 6 and May 6. I estimated that during the '70 production run the Corvette plant was producing something like 70 Corvettes per day. I just took the total produced and divided it by 234 working days days (9 months and subtracted 36 Sundays). So what happened that so few Corvettes were produced in that period? Reference serial number 08426, April 6 to serial number 08480, May 6.

Thanks,
Scott

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

Another strike Scott. If my addled brain can remember the story that was in The Restorer some years back (maybe 10 years ago) there was a Teamsters strike. No parts = no cars.

[Scott Sims]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

Thanks, Terry. Those must have been some turbulent times for GM/Corvette. So if the strike in April to May never happened then some 1800 more Corvettes might have been produced. Of course, if no strike ever happened in 1969 I wonder what the production would have been for both years. Certainly down for '69s and up for '70s. Sure glad I have a '70.

Scott

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

Scott,

If you or anyone else turns up any evidence that the extended 1969 production for Corvette and Camaro was due to any work stoppage, I would like to see it. I spent several days in different libraries checking automotive and business publications from 1969. None of them gave a reason for the model year extension.
Enough people have repeated the strike story that everyone believes it. Show me the beef.

[Scott Sims]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

Okay, Terry. Here's the real story. Everyone was so enamored with the '69 that the line workers and GM management all agreed to work an additional six months on the '69 model to increase the production numbers knowing that by doing so it would make the '70 production year short thereby making 1970 Corvettes more collectible than '69s. Which is hogwash. The '69s, despite their large production, remains more popular than the '70s.

Seriously, I have heard the strike story, too, and who's to dispute it? Who can prove or disprove the story? Strikes and labor disputes weren't uncommon in that era. It's like, what happened to #1 and #2 1953 Corvettes? They haven't been found and the story goes that they might have been destroyed in track tests. Or that was the last story I heard or read. And so who really knows what happened in '69? Certainly something happened to cause the '69 production to continue into what would have been the start of the 1970 production year.

Perhaps this might jog someone in the NCRS to provide documentation, put credence in the story.

Scott

[Stephen W.]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

Seems funny that the 69 vette had an extended run and 70 was short production when the Camaro had a similar situation with the 70 1/2 restyled Camaro showing up in late spring. I saw some ads for the 70 Chevrolets and they had a 1969 Camaro sitting in the middle of the 70 cars.

[Harold #43147]

Supply

I think they could not get there tooling ready in time they made changes in the body front grills side grills 454 Engine just a theory.

[Reba Whittington]

Re: 1970 Corvette Production

I think that the 1970 Camaro and Corvette were released at the same time. A family member was waiting on a 1970 Camaro, which came in early to mid-February.

[John H.]

Re: Supply

The extended production year for the '69 Camaro (and late start for the new '70 Camaro) was a result of die tryout failures for the new Camaro quarter panel dies. The die tryout panels exhibited numerous wrinkles and splits, and it required major changes in the first-stage draw dies and draw clamping rings to work out the forming issues before the quarters could be made reliably at production rates. There are lots of "conspiracy theories" that folks like to relate, but they're hogwash. Fisher Body had to do a lot of carving on draw dies and draw rings, and that delayed the program; first time Fisher Body Die Engineering was ever responsible for a delayed launch. Involved a lot of wild last-minute scrambling by both Chevrolet and Fisher Body Purchasing to get both inside and outside suppliers to keep making 1969 parts on lines that were supposed to be in the process of being changed over to the new 1970 parts.