The 1970 Camaro SS Peaked The Big Block Mania

Chevy called it a “Super Hugger”…

The 1970 Camaro was introduced with plenty of sweet looking and slick aesthetics that helped it stand apart from its Ford rival. The Camaro, although intended for MY 1970 was launched later in the year due to issues with Fisher made bodies that kept splitting and bending on the production line. It is also known as 1970 1/2 Camaro.

The new Camaro SS had the same 108-inch wheelbase like the Gen 1 Camaro despite being 0.4 inch wider, 1.1 inch lower and 2.0 inch longer. Chevy also introduced a new suspension design and called it the “Super Hugger”.

Big Block Beneficiary

Standard 1970 Camaro SS came with a 300 hp 350 Cu V8 that made around 380 lb-ft, mated to either a 4-speed manual or a Turbo Hydramatic. The former had a 3.31 rear end and the latter came with a 3.07.

Options included a 396 Cu (which was actually a 4028 big block) in two variants, L34 and L78. L34 made 350 hp and 415 lb-ft with 3.31 rear end. The hotter L78 had a higher 11.0:1 CR and made 375 hp and ditto 415 lb-ft. It came with a drag friendly 3.55 or 4.10 rear end. All performance V8s came with 11 inch clutch and a 12 Bolt rear.

The BBC 396 Camaro can be easily identified by the black painted rear panel and came standard with upgraded suspension. Standard features with SS included-

• Hood insulation
• Black grille and panel
• power assisted front discs
• hide-a-way windshield wipers
• F70X14 white lettered wheels
• SS badges and emblems
• Positraction (standard with L78 V8)
• Upgraded suspension with sway bars

What about the 1970 Camaro RS/SS?

The RS/SS is a combination of two packages, RPO Z22 and RPO Z27. The RS was mainly an aesthetic package that came with exterior bright works on parking light frames, hood moldings and window sill.

RS equipped Camaros always came with a split bumper designed with twin chrome bumpers located left and right opposed to single piece setup on regular Camaros. The license plate bracket was mounted underneath RH side. When combined with SS package, the RS emblems were deleted. Other features were the same as SS package.

How Much is a 1970 Camaro SS?

Only 12,476 Camaros made during 1970 got the SS package out of which, 10,012 had L48/350, 1864 had L34/396 and the rarest was L78/396 with only 600 ever made. Those equipped with both SS/RS package were even rarer, but the exact count is unknown.

Today, Hagerty evaluates base 300 hp 1970 Camaro to be around $17,000. While the 1970 Camaro SS is around $50,000, but less than 10 were listed on various sites like Classic and eBay. The Camaro RS is worth around $35,000.

1970 Camaro Common Problems

As is the case with all the old cars forum patrons report rust and corrosion to be the biggest issue to look out for in the areas like cowl, rear frame rails, floor pan. Avoid the ones used around the rust belt.

1970 Camaro SS Performance and Specifications

Sadly, SS Camaros are pretty slept on as most folks are always drooling on the Z28. Genuine 0-60 for a stock 1970 Camaro SS is hard to get but all hail the YT as I stumbled upon a drag race featuring as stock 1970 Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Armed with a 375 hp 396 it ran a stunning 13-second pass at 106 mph, fastest among its class.