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Registered the unrestored BLACK 1971 LT1 for MCACN earlier today, won't be in the barn finds section, may either be in the Ballroom or the Military Appreciation section (car was ordered by Navy enlisted from the USS Saratoga / Italy in 1971)
Tons of docs for the car - 20 letters back and forth regarding the special paint ordering, the required deposit ($1000 non refundable), cost of Special paint ($83), and the strike in the fall of 1970 affecting production dates etc.
Car is factory optioned as follows -
Power Steering
Power Brakes
Rear Defog
Deluxe Black Leather
Tilt -tele
Close Ratio trans
3.70 rear end
White letter tires
Special Paint
Radio delete
Last edited by firstgenaddict; Sep 11, 2025 at 09:42 PM.
Here are a few more... the car has been in storage up at my brother's house since we bought it 5 years ago.
It's sitting next to his original paint 33k mile survivor BLACK 1973 L82.
Below is the 1973 HORY Chevrolet original Black L82.
Glad to see that you are going to show the car BEFORE you restore it. I know that the documentation you have is substantial, but it’s very tough to argue with a car still wearing its original paint. You’re going to get a lot of interest at MCACN!
I imagine so Thanks Stan,
Also a big THANKS to Jonathan H. aka DKM106, the show was pretty much filled however he knows Bob Ashton pretty well and pulled a few strings for me.
I did show the paperwork to the previous early C3 team leader when my Brandshatch Green 1971 LT1 was going through Bowtie judging at the 2022 national show and he said no problems with showing the car in Black paint without deductions given all of the paper, Tim Gilmore stated the paperwork was incredible and practically bulletproof.
FWIW there is a 71 LS5 roadster which is black and on the order sheet it also has an alternate color...
The LT1 states Silver if Black is not available, the LS5 states Brandshatch Green if black is not available.
However some people always question it... which is why the original paint is still on it.
Stan when I flew up to inspect the car... I walk up on the tail and see no antenna... I thought omg is it a ZR1?
Nope, but it is a real original factory black LT1!
Last edited by firstgenaddict; Sep 12, 2025 at 08:31 PM.
Stan when I flew up to inspect the car... I walk up on the tail and see no antenna... I thought omg is it a ZR1?
Nope, but it is a real original factory black LT1!
Yeah, imagine that! A real black 1971 ZR-1! Still a very cool car in any case.
I had the pleasure of signing off on Guy Larson’s 1972 black convertible when I was 1970 - 1972 NCRS Team Leader… Also a very cool car with bulletproof paperwork.
The term radio delete is a much miss use statement. As the radio at this point of time was an option if the RPO box was not marked no radio was added.
You are correct in that there is no ordering RPO for no radio, however Gary Bosselman told me that the tank sheet would in all likelihood have a line item code on it for no radio, whether that was just for internal processing or ensuring the "boxes were checked" I do not know. I may pull the tank prior to MCACN and I will post photos of what I find.
I have a friend (not a member here but I am trying) looking for an LT1. He is stuck on it being a convertible. Can’t seem to get him off that. He wants a 70 but will go 71.
Must be original drivetrain however the car does not to be a trailer queen. I think he is trying to stay away from red.
I will say he is ready to pull the trigger. He keeps looking on BAT.
An original drivetrain Roadster which has a good frame and good birdcage which is a nice driver is probably going to be a tough one to find for 50k. Especially if 50k is the complete budget - which should include flights for inspection plus any minor refurbishment to sort the car out to driver status.
There were probably only 400 or so 70 LT1 roadsters ever built and perhaps 600 or so 71's.
Maybe an older wrong color repaint missing the original carb, radiator, smog system, with a black interior? The problem is most wrong color repaints are RED.
When I was looking 8 years ago I ran across a couple 70 Roadsters which were 40-50k when I flew out and looked at them the frames or birdcages had issues.
FWIW The last few really nice high end 70-71 roadsters I know of trading have been north of 90k. AND it usually won't take 40k to make a nice correct color matching number car into a 90k car.
Last edited by avalonjohn; Sep 16, 2025 at 10:43 AM.
An original drivetrain Roadster which has a good frame and good birdcage which is a nice driver is probably going to be a tough one to find for 50k. Especially if 50k is the complete budget - which should include flights for inspection plus any minor refurbishment to sort the car out to driver status.
There were probably only 400 or so 70 LT1 roadsters ever built and perhaps 600 or so 71's.
Maybe an older wrong color repaint missing the original carb, radiator, smog system, with a black interior? The problem is most wrong color repaints are RED.
When I was looking 8 years ago I ran across a couple 70 Roadsters which were 40-50k when I flew out and looked at them the frames or birdcages had issues.
FWIW The last few really nice high end 70-71 roadsters I know of trading have been north of 90k. AND it usually won't take 40k to make a nice correct color matching number car into a 90k car.
Thank you. He just won’t budge on the convertible part. I was like that as well but after 40 years of 68 ownership (convertible) my taste buds expanded. I love a coupe.
I’ll check on the 50k budget but I know 90k is outta where he can be. Thanks again!
I chose buying my 71 LT-1 Convertible over the 70 due the difficulty and crazy cost of buying high octane fuel in NJ. The 71 IMHO is way better to own (in NJ) where fuel is an issue for a 70. In fact a really nice 70 I looked at was detuned for this reason. The other factor is I wanted the 71 due to being a bit more tame, less fickle, on my monthly car drives than the 70 LT-1. The 71 will also be more affordable. Under 50K for a good 70 convertible matching numbers car might be a reach. A 71 more likely, a 72 would be easier yet. Good luck on your search. The LT-1's are very rare cars. I have not seen one yet in 4 years of 10+ car shows.
