1970 Chevy Camaro

Introduced to market in February 1970, the second-generation Chevrolet Camaro would be in production 12 years. This generation's styling, inspired in part by Jaguar, Aston Martin, and Ferrari, was longer, lower, and wider than the first generation Camaro. A convertible body-type was no longer available.[1] Although it was an all-new car, the basic mechanical layout of the new Camaro was familiar, engineered much like its predecessor with a unibody structure utilizing a front subframe, A-arm and coil spring front suspension, and rear leaf springs. Without the rushed development program of the first generation, however, and benefiting from a greater budget in light of the first-generation's clear market success, the chassis and suspension of the second generation was greatly refined in both performance and comfort, and even the base models offered significant advances in sound-proofing, ride isolation, and road-holding. Extensive experience Chevrolet engineers had gained racing the first-generation lead directly to advances in second-geeration Camaro steering, braking, and balance. General Motors engineers have said that these efforts made the second generation much more of "A Driver's Car" than its predecessor. Although it began its run with a number of exciting high performance configurations, including big block engines, as the 1970s progressed the Camaro would grow less powerful, succumbing like virtually all production cars of the era to the pressures of tightening emissions regulations and a fuel crisis. Major styling changes were made in 1975 and 1978. 1981 was the final model year for the second generation.

Most of the engine and drivetrain components were carried over from 1969 with the exception of the 230 cid (3.8 L) six cylinder - the base engine was now the 250 cid (4.1 L) six-cylinder rated at 155 hp (116 kW). The top performing motor was a L-78 396 cid (6.5 L) V8 rated at 375 hp (280 kW). Starting in 1970, the 396 cid (6.5 L) nominal big block V8's actually displaced 402 cid (6.6 L), yet Chevrolet chose to retain the 396 badging. Two 454 cid (7.4 L) engines (the LS6 and LS7) were listed on early specification sheets and in some sales brochures but never made it into production. Besides the base model, buyers could select the "Rally Sport" option with a distinctive front nose and bumper, a "Super Sport" package, and the "Z-28 Special Performance Package" featuring a new high-performance LT-1 360 hp (268 kW) 380ft.lbs of torque 350 cid (5.7 L) V8. The LT-1 350, an engine built from the ground up using premium parts and components, was a much better performer overall than the previous 302 cubic-inch V8s used in 1967-69 Z-28s and greater torque characteristics and less-radical cam permitted the Z-28 to be available with the Turbo 400 automatic transmission as an option to the four-speed manual for the first time.

The new body style featured a fastback roofline and ventless full door glass with no rear side quarter windows. Doors were wider to permit easier access to the rear seat and new pull-up handles replaced the old handles for which the lower button had to be pushed in to lock the door. The roof was a new double-shell unit for improved rollover protection and noise reduction. The base model featured a separate bumper/grille design with parking lights under the bumper while the Rally Sport option included a distinctive grille surrounded by a flexible Endura material along with round parking lights beside the headlights and bumperettes surrounding on both sides of the grille. The rear was highlighted by four round taillights similar to the Corvette.

Inside, a new curved instrument panel featured several round dials for gauges and other switches directly in front of the driver while the lower section included the heating/air conditioning controls to the driver's left and radio, cigar lighter and ashtray in the center and glovebox door on the right. New Strato bucket seats, unique to 1970 models, featured squared off seatbacks and adjustable headrests and the rear seating consisted of two bucket cushions and a bench seat back due to the higher transmission tunnel. The optional center console was now integrated into the lower dashboard with small storage area or optional stereo tape player. The standard interior featured all-vinyl upholstery and a flat black dashboard finish while an optional custom interior came with upgraded cloth or vinyl upholstery and woodgrain trim on dash and console.

The 1970 model was introduced in February 1970, halfway through the model year. This caused some people to incorrectly refer to it as a "1970 1/2" model; all were 1970 models. The 1970 model year vehicles are generally regarded as the most desirable of the early 2nd generation Camaros, since the performance of following years was reduced by the automobile emissions control systems of the period and later the addition of heavy federally mandated bumpers.

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