Learn something every day. 1970 Chevelle SS stripes were not standard equipment

This 1970 Chevelle SS396 was just on eBay. Apparently, the dealer that is selling it added stripes and RWL tires. Maybe I knew this at one time, but the stripes were optional and this car didn't have them.

I've added an opening post and a reply off a Chevelle website. How would you answer the original owner of the silver cars question? His comment about seeing them around without stipes back in the day is very interesting.

 

I've seen alot of them with no stripes.

 

Pretty sure you had to order "stripe delete " like on the z28s

 

I dunno - I think the stripe delete with pin whites looks awesome. The car on the bottom I've seen a million times, the car on the top would draw me for a closer look....

 

1970 order form. Sure enough, like the reply on the Chevelle site says, it's not part of SS396, Z25

 

For 1970 the stripes were not just for the SS. They could be ordered on any ‘70 Chevelle or Malibu, even a flat hood car with a 6-cyl. It’s rare, but it happened. So we have to be careful and not assume that a guy added SS stripes to his base model Malibu. When I was writing articles for Chevelle World magazine (publication of the ACES (American Chevelle Enthusiasts Society)) I wrote a feature on a documented ‘70 Malibu convertible, non-SS with a flat hood that was ordered with the RPO D88 stripes.

The D88 strips were standard (no extra cost) if a buyer ordered a SS Chevelle with the RPO ZL2 Special Ducted Hood (Cowl Induction hood with the functional exterior flapper door and hood pins). If the buyer wanted the ZL2 hood but did not want the dual stripes he had to order it as “stripe delete.”

If a buyer ordered a SS but didn’t get the extra cost ZL2 “Cowl Induction” hood then they just got the domed SS hood with no hood pins and no stripes (like the solid red car pictured in Brian’s first post in this thread). If they wanted stripes they paid $68.50 extra to add option RPO D88 stripes to the basic domed hood (the second car in Brian’s first post of this thread is this configuration- basic domed hood (no flapper door, no hood pins, but with the D88 extra cost optional stripes)). So a SS with the standard hood had no stripes and therefore was not “Stripe Delete” it just wasn’t ordered with the stripes. You had to opt in, not opt out.

Something else most people don’t realize is that there were two styles of these stripes in 1970. The most common is the stripes with the rounded outer corners. But there were some cars with the pointed corners on both the inside and outside corners. Some original square stripes are shown in this thread:
http://chevellestuff.net/1970/misc/d88_stripes.htm

 

Two more interesting facts! Cool

 

The two stripes on the 70 were also different widths weren't they Gary? ...I painted a one owner 70 cranberry red black stripe car few years ago and remember researching the stripe details

 

My dad bought a ‘71 SS454 El Camino when I was a little kid (I own it now) and it had the Cowl Induction hood and a pair of black stripes. I always assumed these stripes were only for the SS and that every ‘70-‘72 Chevelle SS and El Camino SS got them automatically. Then when I started working with Chuck Hanson and his Chevelle club around 2006(?) he educated me about the stripes and showed me the rules. I was shocked that I had never read about this in a magazine before that point.

 

Correct. Rounded stripes and squared stripes are different. I didn’t know about this until Chuck Hanson educated me.
http://chevellestuff.net/1970/misc/d88_stripes.htm

 

Gary you're a wealth of information! We're very fortunate to have you around here, thanks! I knew about stripe delete but never heard of the squared off stripes. Very interesting...

 

Do you know how much the ZL2 option cost?

 

Here’s an interesting ‘70 Chevelle that was at MCACN. Original owner wanted an SS396 with chrome valve covers and accidentally ordered aluminum heads to get them…

Patrick

 

That must have pissed him off...lol

 

According to the showboard, it did! He and the dealer argued over the $200 cost (!) and agreed to split it.
Patrick

 

I love a red '70 Chevelle! In my eyes that is a peak muscle car regardless of being a 396 or 454. Having the build sheet for that '70 is fantastic since the SS was just an option package and this sheet proves without a doubt that it's the real deal.

Since this car does not have RPO ZL2 hood and does not have RPO code D88-"Hood & Deck Stripe" in the second column of the build sheet, it confirms what you already knew, which is that it didn't have stripes originally. If it had the stripes, then Box #44 of the build sheet should have B-for black stripes or W-for white stripes under "ST" in that box.

If it was a car with the ZL2 Spec Ducted Hood (Cowl Induction) the stripes would have been on the car unless someone asked to delete them and that build sheet would most likely have "Stripe Delete" or something similar noted in the box #107 where all the other options are shown.

Without looking at the build sheet, another giveaway that the stripes were likely added to this red '70 Chevelle is that the black top appears to be original (based on the correct seam location below the back window) but the stripes are white. The stripes would have been black on a Cranberry Red '70 Chevelle with a black vinyl top.




If it's a car built at the Kansas City plant the stripe color is represented on the bottom row of the trim tag on the firewall.


Here is my old, worn-out '71 El Camino. My dad bought it in 1984 and used it as his daily driver / truck for many years. I traded him a clapped-out, rusty '70 GS Stage 1 for it around 2008. He hauled my go-kart in this vehicle in the mid-80s. I used it for the same purpose a few years ago to haul my little boys go-cart too as seen in this photo. It's an original SS454, M22 4-speed.

 

That was a neat story and is exactly why I read all the signboards at the show.

 

This chart is really cool. Is it a factory document?