Ive been documenting the history of my recently acquired 1970 454 SS. I think its kind of cool what Ive learned. I keep calling Wesley and interviewing him but the dude is 93 and I dont want to take anything for granted. Give it a read. I dont have any paperwork on the car. Does this add any authenticity to its pedigree? I purchased the car from 93 year old Wesley B September 30, 2014. Wesley purchased the car from his nephew (Walter S of Lynnwood, CA) approximately 25 years prior (1989). Wesley advised me that Walter S. purchased the car from his half-brother (Nephew A) who was the original owner and who owned it for approximately 3 years. The car was taken good care of by nephew A but Smith drove it hard ended up sitting with a blown engine, abandoned in Smith’s driveway. It took some convincing by Wesley for Smith to sell it to him. After Wesley purchased the car he did a minor restoration: Paint, Engine, some trim, upholstery, etc. Wesley advised that all the metal on the car is original, including the original cowl hood. Originally the car did not have stripes, he added those when he had the car painted. The wheels on the car are the original SS wheels. The original interior was all green. Wesley converted it to white during the restoration. The door panels and the entire dash and gauges are all original. Wesley told me that Nephew A purchased the car new from the legendary Felix Chevrolet in downtown Los Angeles and that the engine had been replaced at the dealership while still under the original warranty. The Cowl Tag indicates that this car was manufactured in Van Nuys, CA. This car has never lived outside Southern CA and it’s possible that it has never been out of the state. The car has never been in an accident. There was damage to the left rear quarter panel that occurred when he had a tread come off a tire while driving on the freeway; the tread beat the quarter panel so bad it actually required a small patch piece. In 1989 he had an engine failure and took the car to American Auto in Murrieta, CA and had them put a crate engine in the car with a performance cam and lifters (see receipt). The casting number on the current engine indicates that it is a Generation V, 454, 4 bolt main (single piece rear main seal) that was manufactured between 1991 and 1995. Wesley said that sometime in the past someone working on the car had stolen the original Muncie M-21 Transmission and replaced it with another transmission without his knowledge. Wesley ultimately replaced that transmission and put in a Richmond 6 speed but had a hard time shifting it and replaced it with a Richmond Super T-10 transmission (existing). When that transmission was installed the front portion of the center console was removed to allow for the Hurst Shifter. The rear “glove box” portion was modified so it could remain (see photos). On December 16, 2014, I contacted a manager at Felix Chevrolet in an attempt to locate any possible records that may exist. The manager is checking to see what if any records may exist.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:48:33 +0000
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