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
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
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