1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

[Bruce N.]

Did the LS7 ever make it into any 1970 models via dealer installed or as an option sold over the counter? Possibly as a parts package?

Also, does anyone know the correct distance between the parking light-grille assemby and the front bumper brace? 1/4" I hope!

Thanks for any advice.
Bruce

[John H.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Did the LS7 ever make it into any 1970 models via dealer installed or as an option sold over the counter? Possibly as a parts package?

Bruce -

Lots of LS7's were sold over the parts counter as crate engines; many dealers would install anything you were willing to pay for.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Did the LS7 ever make it into any 1970 models via dealer installed or as an option sold over the counter? Possibly as a parts package?

Also, does anyone know the correct distance between the parking light-grille assemby and the front bumper brace? 1/4" I hope!

Thanks for any advice.
Bruce

I know some guys with LS7s in their early 1970s Corvettes. Lots of fun if you are not into road trips. I suspect most of them did the swap themselves and most are pretty good wrenches and are not likely to go to a dealer any more than they have to.

If you can get the grille to front bumper brace down to 1/4-inch and equal on both sides -- you are a magician. The factory gaps on the 1970 grille pieces were all over the place.

[Bruce N.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Thanks John and Terry,
Does a particular dealership come to mind when thinking about the LS7 installations? I would like to document that some dealerships installed the 454 motors for our racing organization. With the hopes that we could then get the LS7 approved by the organization.

[John H.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Thanks John and Terry,
Does a particular dealership come to mind when thinking about the LS7 installations? I would like to document that some dealerships installed the 454 motors for our racing organization. With the hopes that we could then get the LS7 approved by the organization.

Bruce -

There were 6,000+ Chevy dealers in those days; would be pretty tough to identify any of them as having installed LS7's for customers vs. customers who installed them at home.

What organization - F.A.S.T? Pure Stock?

[Bruce N.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

John,
I thought there may have been a dealership that became known for performance swaps. The organization is nhra - Stock is the class.

Do you know what the proper gap is for the grille to bumper support for a 72?

Thanks for responding,
Bruce

[John H.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

John,
I thought there may have been a dealership that became known for performance swaps. The organization is nhra - Stock is the class.

Bruce -

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for NHRA to accept an LS7 in a Corvette in Stock Eliminator; regardless of which dealers may have installed them, they were never released for production, and don't appear in the Corvette certification data supplied to NHRA by Chevrolet.

[Bruce N.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

John,
No one in their right mind would consider holding their breath when dealing with nhra; unless the person has a hand full of cash. But, with that said, nhra executives have recently approved old Ford Combinations, that were never built, based on a letter from an engineer. And of course they have a ton of new ringer cars running around in Stock right now. It's a mess.

[Alan S.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Hi Bruce,
I don't see any 'gap' information in the AIM.
As Terry said, a 1/4" gap is pretty good. He also mentions that being consistant on each side helps the appearance looking from head on. There seems to be a little wiggle room to get them level, too.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

Here are a couple of pictures from my 71. They show about the 1/4" gap and the grills are level with the bumper and each other.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Hi Bruce,
I don't see any 'gap' information in the AIM.
As Terry said, a 1/4" gap is pretty good. He also mentions that being consistant on each side helps the appearance looking from head on. There seems to be a little wiggle room to get them level, too.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

Here are a couple of pictures from my 71. They show about the 1/4" gap and the grills are level with the bumper and each other.

1970'S had studs so there is not much wiggle room like the later ones with screws.
KEN

[Pat M.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

The gaps on my 70's grilles are very similar to Alan's and I was told at the 08 National they we ideal.

[Bruce N.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Alan, thanks for the feedback and pictures. Your grille looks better than my setup. I have a solid 1/4" on the left side and a fat 1/4" on the right. Hard to tell the difference without a ruler. I have about 12 hours in trying to get these parts straight and that's enough

Terry, thanks for your response. I read through the posts too quickly and missed your response to my gap question.

Also, thank you to everyone who offered their thoughts.

Bruce

[Warren F.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Bruce,

One 1970 LS-7 was road tested by Chevrolet engineer Paul Van Valkenburg and reported in an automobile magazine test. This car came from Chevrolet to Riverside, Ca for the magazine test and Van Valkenburg drove it back to Detroit from Riverside and this trip was also written up in an automobile magazine. I have both articles.

A friend of mine purchased all the parts to make a complete engine in early 1972. He still has the complete engine and all the parts have the original stamped or cast numbers on the internal as well as external parts. This motor was pretty damn fast. He pulled his original '69 L-71 from his Corvette he ordered new and installed this engine using an original L-88 hood along with the L-88 diffuser air cleaner assembly. It was definitely the fastest car in our town back then. The L-71 engine ended up in a sanger hull boat, it wasn't too shabby either!

[Clem Z.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Bruce,

One 1970 LS-7 was road tested by Chevrolet engineer Paul Van Valkenburg and reported in an automobile magazine test. This car came from Chevrolet to Riverside, Ca for the magazine test and Van Valkenburg drove it back to Detroit from Riverside and this trip was also written up in an automobile magazine. I have both articles.

A friend of mine purchased all the parts to make a complete engine in early 1972. He still has the complete engine and all the parts have the original stamped or cast numbers on the internal as well as external parts. This motor was pretty damn fast. He pulled his original '69 L-71 from his Corvette he ordered new and installed this engine using an original L-88 hood along with the L-88 diffuser air cleaner assembly. It was definitely the fastest car in our town back then. The L-71 engine ended up in a sanger hull boat, it wasn't too shabby either!

you had to be careful using those 12.5/1 CR engines in boats. prop boats were not a problem but jet boats were a different story because they had a limited top speed and the owners could run them WFO all day long and they would tulip the valves into the heads from detonation and close up the valve lash. it took me a while to figure this one out.

[Bruce N.]

Re: 1970 LS7 - Was it ever dealer installed?

Warren,
Thank you for your response. I'll spend some time on google today to locate Van's road trip.