Rebuilding a 1970 Chevy Camaro RS/SS L78 396

Today on Muscle car, it's an F body extravaganza.

We're kicking off an all new project with a stocks style second Gen Camaro rebuild. The tribute trans Am shows off its old school looks and modern technology and take a ride in the Camaro that had it all from A

to Z.

Hey guys, welcome to Muscle Car. Our shops looking a little empty around here and that's because we've been pushing projects out the door left and right with all this empty space left, a little bit of a vacuum and look what it sucked in this 70

a half Rs Camaro is Iron X Project and no, we're not going overboard with it. We're getting back to the basics with a stock style build. No frills, just old school muscles. What we're after with this one,

it's been prowling the streets of California its entire life and it survived pretty much unmolested.

Yeah, it's had a bad repaint in a nonstop color and a re upholstering that smacks of the eighties. But otherwise it's all original.

The RS option gives us the highly sought after split bumper, front end.

But since the rally sport package was only about looks doesn't have much to brag about

under the hood. This stock 307 has given up the ghost. And since it wasn't really known for its performance, we're going a different direction,

we know we wanna stay stock because these cars look great straight out of the box. So we could do a numbers matching restoration, but a base 307 Rs. Well, they're just not all that desirable of a car.

When you ordered a brand new Camaro in 1970 you had a lot of options to

choose from. So we're gonna pretend like we have a factory order sheet and check off all of our favorite options. And when it's finished, it's gonna look and drive just like it rolled off the showroom floor. The biggest baddest engine that you could order was the optional L 78.

The 375 horse version of the 3 96 1 problem. They were only available in the Ss and only 600 of them rode off the assembly line.

Now, our Camaro is the basic Rs. So we're gonna be building a recreation of the Rare Rs SSL 78 3 96 add in the Z 28 wheels, G MS, lime colored citrus green paint and black Ss stripes and it's gonna steal the show. It's project limelight.

The biggest change we need to make to transform this car is the engine. We found this 396 in the local class.

The reason we liked it is because it's complete and we may be able to reuse some of the brackets and accessories. I'll tell you guys right up front. This isn't a 1970 motor. It's actually out of a 1972 GMC. That's all right. So we told you right up front, this is not gonna be a numbers matching restoration, but the block is identical to what would have come in our car from the factory. And that brings us to a little bit of interesting history on the 396

starting in 1970. All GM 396 big blocks were punched out to the 402.

They kept the 396 badging on the smaller cars like the Camaro

Chevelles and Novas because these engines had already earned a big reputation in the racing world.

Then the ad,

the confusion, they marketed the same engine and larger cars and trucks as a 400

nobody really knows for sure why GM did this, but rest assured regardless of what the badging or the brochure says if it's a 70 to 72 then it's actually a 402

with visions of big block power dancing in our heads. It's time to grab the tools and pull some parts.

There's the original color right there.

That means that these bolts probably haven't been out since the car left the factory. Put a wrench to a basically unrestored car has a way of bridging the years between you and Joe Lunch Box who is putting together Camaros for a living.

So,

most

things

I

said, most of this car still has the original hoses and clamps and everything on it.

And that is why you pay a little extra money for a California car.

No rust that comes right apart.

Not much in the drive train department is gonna be reused. Even the transmissions being swapped out for a manual, the wheels are good for rollers but they'll be replaced with factory Z 28 wheels. You can handle that wheel. Have you got it?

Bodies are Subra cars. So the front clips were pre assembled before being installed on the line.

This means it's just as easy to remove it the same way.

Now we've got easy access to pull the heavy chunks out.

I

think we had a broken motor mount

coming up, find out what project limelight has hidden under the carpet and later our 69 Trans Am is back for a test drive.

Hey guys, welcome back to muscle car. Now, this isn't gonna be the first face lift this Camaro here has ever seen. According to the trim tag, she rolled off the assembly line in Citrus green,

there's still quite a few places on the body where you can see the original paint has been hiding out for 40 plus years. We knew that that color was gonna perfect for project limelight.

The interior was originally dark green, but somebody's changed it to black. Neither one of those colors seemed exactly right. So we flipped through the option sheet and saw that the saddle color would look great with our green

and that means all this black stuff needs to go.

A lot of these interior parts are pretty easy to come by but others, not so much. So we're tagging and bagging all of it.

Now, many GM cars used a general assembly style but as the saying goes, the devil's in the details. So take pictures. If you don't have a photographic memory

with the doors gutted and pulled, we can make short work of the interior.

Bye.

The seats will be rebuilt with new padding and covers and most of the console will be refurbished too.

Pulling carpet can be a moment of truth. We don't know if we're going to uncover a pleasant surprise or a horrible nightmare.

Oh, yeah, I

can't ask for no better than that

shoot. Yeah,

it's pretty good feeling.

Usually when we pull this stuff up, we're pulling the floorboard up with it,

man. I wish I looked as good at 40

GM. Use non hardening sealant to install the glass, which is good because it makes it easy to remove but bad because it eventually leaks.

So,

yeah.

Yeah.

Well, the tear down is almost done and this right here is the worst spot that we found on the entire car we knew it was there before we started on this thing because we could see it through the windshield. Nice thing is they make replacement panels for him. So it's no big deal.

One more major area that's prone to rust is above the gas tank. There, it is a couple of bolts and we'll see if our luck holds out.

Well, the trunk floor looks every bit as solid as the floor pans, looks like buying a California car has seriously paid off. Now, we still have a few more parts to pull off, but that rear end is staying put for now to keep it easier to roll around. But later on in the bill, that is gonna get replaced with an SS, correct. 12 volt posse

up next. A Camaro with sophisticated looks, refined handling

and the power of a race car.

Hey, welcome back. We chose a 70 Camaro

for a lot of reasons. This marked the first year for a whole new generation of F bodies. The styling was fresh and 70 was a peak of the air for performance. Our SS is gonna be a big block beast but if you wanted a small block with real refinement and power to match the Z 28 was the car of choice.

Today's flashback. A 1970 Camaro RSZ 28

Chevy finally joined the pony car Stampede in 67 with the sexy new Camaro

when it came time for the second engine fans had to wait a little longer to get their hands on one.

Labor disputes pushed the release to February 1970 halfway through the model year, but it was well worth the wait

buyers

were in for a radical departure from the 69. It shared the same wheelbase, but that was about all longer, wider and lower than previous models. It took its styling cues from European sports cars like the Ferrari and Aston Martin,

the roof was moved back to exaggerate the long hood, short deck look and the rear got round taillight.

Most noticeable was the front end with the wide

grill and headlights molded into the vendor.

A lot of people refer to second GENS as split bumpers but only rally sports came this way.

The package included the bumper,

its turn signals mounted next to the headlights and an extended nose made of Endura rubber. The new body style also

fixed many flaws of the first

Gin which was rushed into production to compete against the Mustang.

The first Gins were

noisy and performance sounding was somewhat lacking.

So GM engineers added a new front sub frame to the unibody that provided greater rigidity.

All out big block power could be had with an S S3 96. But for more refined road handling, there was the race bred Z 28

nutrients and regulations allowed larger displacement engines. So Z's got a new motor to replace the 302

Chevy dropped in the LT 1350 straight out of the,

it made 11 to 1 compression. The highest of any second gen

using solid lifters, aluminum pistons, hot c and extra large valves for a small block. It makes big power officially rated at 360

Z 28 S came with the F 41 suspension package which got you higher rated shots in springs and front and rear sway bars. Plus you've got a posi

rear end with up to 4, 10 gears, power brakes, seven inch mag wheels, poly Glas F 60 by fifteens and a rear spoiler

racing stripes completed the look and were exclusive to the Z 28. This marked the first time the

bing had no slash between the Z and the 28

inside. There was a new wraparound dash with gauges moved from the console up to the instrument panel. Now, this one features the deluxe trim option.

Z 28 S now came with your choice of either a Turbo Hydrotic 400 or

A H

four beam.

There are several one year only features to help spot a 70 Camaro look for a chrome C on the nose badging on the trunk is unique too.

This was the only second gen with Camaro by Chevrolet

inside the bucket seats should be low back with adjustable headrest.

This was also the only year that Z 20 eights had a gas pedal hinged on the bottom

and the only

second gen Z's that came with the 12 volt rear end.

Frank Marullo has always loved the second gen, oh,

the car is great to drive. It doesn't really have a weakness. Um,

it's got a lot of power. It's got great brakes and it handles really well and his son loves them for another reason.

You don't see a lot and usually we're the only ones at a car show. Nobody really knows what it is.

That's because the second gen

victim of its own success. You see, it was such a hit that the new body style lasted 11 years. The longest of any Camaro.

So the 70 usually gets lumped in with those later models that had far less horsepower.

A lot of folks just don't realize how unique and powerful the 70 version is.

It's a car that almost guarantees you won't be catching any

Z

after the break. Find out why our tribute trans am isn't just another pretty face.

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Hey guys, welcome back. You know, I've worked on a lot of really cool cars since I started here in the power block. And the best day in the shop is the day that you can finally put the key in the ignition fire up that ride and take it out for a cruise. Well, for the year one trans AM

that day has finally come.

This Poncho came to the shop as a running driving 69 Firebird after he blew it apart. Patched up the rust, we installed a new rear end and suspension modern power plant. It's an LS seven

and four L 60 E

I fabricated a custom roll bar and we strapped on a massive set of honeycomb wheels to give it the classic T A look. It got a coat of Arctic white topped off with a set of blue stripes.

A new drop top went on and after some final assembly, we left it with year one to complete the interior and tie up the loose ends

and they did an incredible job. A year one. President Kevin King has put at least a couple 100 miles on this thing. But today it's our turn to take this beast out. See what we created.

Speaking of beasts,

what are you doing, man?

Just riding around in a quiet vehicle. What are you doing? I'm getting ready to take the year one Trans Am out. You wanna go

to quit doing hot laps in that thing for a minute.

Hold on. I'll park you.

All right. Come on. Let's go.

Sound good.

Yeah, that sounds pretty good.

Now, I've driven a lot of first gen F bodies and this thing is a whole another animal on the outside. It's got the classic styling that marks the first year of the Trans

Am.

But under that disguise of classic muscle, it's got the guts of a supercar

with all the modern technology packed into this ride. You could drive this thing every day in downtown traffic with no worries.

Yeah, look really good doing it.

But if the back road twist isn't more your style, the Detroit speed suspension will keep those BFGS stuck to the pavement.

Well, thanks to year one, this is one more project that we can finally put in the history books, but I'm not quite ready to hand the keys over yet. We still have a few test miles to put under these wheels, but for this week we're out of time. So until next time we're out of here, hey, Rick, this thing looks good and definitely rides good and I think I've got the traction control disabled. See if this thing can do a big smoky burnout.