1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

[D S.]

After reading Bill Braga's post and other members replies to it on the 1970 Corvette Bronze quantities I decided to contact the owner, Barry Lash, regarding his 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange 991. Here is his side of the story:

Hello Scott

The car I have is the 1st LT1 built. It is the LT1 pilot car. The car was used for media photos, manufacturer new car shows, etc... Also, my paint code is 991 which was Ontario Orange. Even though the color option was listed in the dealer brochures, this color was not available for 1970 because the manufacturer of the paint could not get the metallic orange paint to flow. Therefore the 991 was canceled. If a customer wanted the 991 color for their new 1970 Corvette the dealer would advise the individual that Ontario Orange was not available, but another color was available called 993 Corvette Bronze. Actually the bronze color was first offered in 1968 and the paint code then was 992. I have seen a 1968 427 convertible in this color at an NCRS show. Is my car equipped with factory power steering? Absolutely. It is believed to be the ONLY 1970 LT1 equipped with the power steering option. Find an old issue of CORVETTE NEWS Feb/Mar 1970 issue and read the article. That issue is dedicated to introducing the new option for Corvette, the LT1 engine. The car on the cover sitting in the snow, is my car. The car on the back cover parked in front of the ski lodge is my car. The article was written by Karl Ludvigsen. Google his name and you will see that Mr. Ludvigsen is a well known author in the auto industry. I have talked to Karl regarding my car and have confirmed that the pilot LT1 he tested in January of 1970 is my car. Not only is the car equipped with N40-power steering it also has the following options; J50-power brakes, A31-power windows, 403-deluxe leather interior, N37-tilt telescopic steering column, UA6-factory alarm system, U79-AM/FM Stereo. Don't forget, this is a pilot car used for display and Chevrolet wanted to show the car with options at the Detroit New Car Show, New York Auto Show, New Car show in LA, and all the others. Go to vettefinders.com, scroll down to the bottom to Site Resources find Corvette 101, go to model year specs and click on that. then the model years will pop up and click on 1970. The car in the photo representing the 1970 model is a 1970 Ontario Orange LT1, my car. Another interesting fact about my car is that I just received information from the GM Archive Center in Milford, MI clarifying the shipping data of my car. It was never shipped to a dealer. Dealer Zone: 0, shipping address: Chevrolet Division Vehicle, Detroit, MI. The archive center was also kind enough to send me 20+ photos of the car they had in their files. Some of the photos are of the car being road tested, some are of the car on display, etc... This is a COPO car. Did a little history research. The 1970 model did not start production until January of 1970. The reason, GM went on strike for almost 60 days starting at the beginning of June of 1969. The President of Chevrolet Motor Division advised that the 1969 production to continue to the end of the year, December 1969 and after the Holidays the factory would retool for the new body style. The dealers did not receive the cars until February of 1970. My car's build date is October 23, 1969. Some of my body panels are dated July 1969. There were NO 1970 Corvettes regular production cars built prior to December 31, 1969.

Barry
NCRS member #30076

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

Thanks for sharing that info. The article dose state that PS was not offerd on early LT-1'S & is why I wandered if it was 006.
KEN

[Paul O.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

And now for your viewing pleasure a Paint Standard code 991 WA-4028 Orange Metallic. Went through the WA cross reference charts and this code was not used in 1969 1970 1971 in all GM lines so it looks like you have a one of a kind. I knew there was a reason I kept this paint standard even if it was never listed as a used color for GM.

I now have added the paint standard for 1971 Ontario Orange.

Paul 18046

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

And I take it that is your stocking toe in the first picture? Can we get all of Paul if we put all of the photos together?

I am pretty sure that is not the only 1970 Ontario Orange Corvette I have seen, but exterior colors are not my main interest, so I don't record that data very much.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

And now for your viewing pleasure a Paint Standard code 991 WA-4028 Orange Metallic. Went through the WA cross reference charts and this code was not used in 1969 1970 1971 in all GM lines so it looks like you have a one of a kind. I knew there was a reason I kept this paint standard even if it was never listed as a used color for GM.

Paul 18046

THANKS for sharing. Now that there is orange & not the70 bronze that was on the proudction 70 Corvettes & theone in the dealer Chevy big option book.
KEN

[Dave S.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

THANKS for sharing. Now that there is orange & not the70 bronze that was on the proudction 70 Corvettes & theone in the dealer Chevy big option book.
KEN

That is a very interesting story. Well written. One thing that should be corrected is the statement that his car is the only 1970 LT-1 with power steering. To my knowledge it was offered as an option on LT-1 cars (as well as all other engines) sometime in mid production after the oil pan on LT-1's was changed to a 5 Qt. style.

[Paul O.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

Terry

No just my shirt tail in the way. Here are some judges can you guess which one is me.


Paul 18046

And I take it that is your stocking toe in the first picture? Can we get all of Paul if we put all of the photos together?

I am pretty sure that is not the only 1970 Ontario Orange Corvette I have seen, but exterior colors are not my main interest, so I don't record that data very much.

[Mike G.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

That is a very interesting story. Well written. One thing that should be corrected is the statement that his car is the only 1970 LT-1 with power steering. To my knowledge it was offered as an option on LT-1 cars (as well as all other engines) sometime in mid production after the oil pan on LT-1's was changed to a 5 Qt. style.

this is true. the letters changed on the stamp pad from CTU to CTK when they went to the 5gt pan. this was late production 70. i have one of these ctk cars and it does have power steering. my car is a late june car. that is an interesting story about the early ctu car with power steering. did they modify the pan to make it fit? i thought the reason the early lt1 cars did not have ps is because the ram would not fit because of the big pan.

[Ronald L.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

That bronze would pass for the 73-75 Ford saddle bronze

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

this is true. the letters changed on the stamp pad from CTU to CTK when they went to the 5gt pan. this was late production 70. i have one of these ctk cars and it does have power steering. my car is a late june car. that is an interesting story about the early ctu car with power steering. did they modify the pan to make it fit? i thought the reason the early lt1 cars did not have ps is because the ram would not fit because of the big pan.

When Flint began to put 5-quart pans on the 1970 LT1 they changed the code just as you stated. No mystery -- once we figured it out. The change happened about April or so working from memory. You are right there are lots of 1970 LT1s with power steering. For Barry to say his is the only one is far from the facts. I suspect Barry has not kept pace with current 1970 Corvette knowledge.

[Mike F.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

Were the oil pans the same on LT-1's & L-46's?

Could you get power steering on an early production L46?

TIA,
Mike

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

Were the oil pans the same on LT-1's & L-46's?

Could you get power steering on an early production L46?

TIA,
Mike

Mike,

So far as I know all 1970 L46 all came with a 5-quart oil pan and thus could have had power steering, but (and here it all comes) there was a whole series of "early" 1970 engine codes that we know little or nothing about. The folks at Flint Engine told me they didn't produce any of those early codes, so we don't know what made them different than the later coded engines. Could it have been the larger oil pan? We just don't know, and until some of those show up -- if they ever do -- we won't know.

Back when I was NTL and Flint was still in operation all the Flint engine build sheets were stored there in the QC department and I had access to them. No copies were to be made, however, but I was welcome to visit. Now my contacts have retired, that building has been razed, and I have not heard what happened to those loose leaf binders. They might have contained the answer to your question, but what are the odds that they survived?

The early 1970 dealer ordering documents specifically excluded LT1 and power Steering, but there was no such restriction for L46 or other Corvette engines -- but then those same documents show you could order an LS7. See what a can of worms you open with a simple question?

[Paul O.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

I am adding 2 photos of the with the 2 Ontario Orange plates next to each other. The shade of orange are totally different the 71 plate is more orange then the 70 plate which looks to be more toward the gold side.


Paul 18046

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

I am adding 2 photos of the with the 2 Ontario Orange plates next to each other. The shade of orange are totally different the 71 plate is more orange then the 70 plate which looks to be more toward the gold side.


Paul 18046

It might be interesting to lay those against Barry's car.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1970 LT-1 Ontario Orange: Owner's comments

That is a very interesting story. Well written. One thing that should be corrected is the statement that his car is the only 1970 LT-1 with power steering. To my knowledge it was offered as an option on LT-1 cars (as well as all other engines) sometime in mid production after the oil pan on LT-1's was changed to a 5 Qt. style.

I think he might have ment the only early 70 LT-1 because the article in CN states that later 70 LT-1'S could be ordered with PS.
KEN