I was under the impresion that LT-1's did not come with AC unitl later. Was there ever a 1970 LT-1 with AC???? This guy claims the books are wrong. Is it ultra rare or :bs

Thanks guys :cheers:

 

I think some did........but I am no expert on LT-1's

 

No 70 LT-1s with AC. That was a 72 only option.

 

I was under the impression that the only LT-1 with AC was the 72 model.

 

Well I was wrong.....And I am sure Robert knows :cheers:

 

72 was the only year for A/C LT-1's That's a fact.

 

It was a late 72 option to try and spur lagging LT1 sales. The reason was that at high rpms the AC belt kept coming off. They reduced the redline to 5600 for AC cars down from 6500 for non AC cars.

 

According to a a book by Mike Mueller, "The Corvette" (someone gave it to me a few years back) The first time A/C was offered with the LT-1 was 1972. The exact wording was as follows:"Air conditioning typically wasn't available along with RPO LT-1 when the option debuted in 1970. Nor in 1971. But per Zora Duntov's orders, one 1972 LT-1 was taken off the line and tested with air conditioning installation, resulting in the availability of air-conditioned LT-1 Corvettes by the end of the year."
This statement doesn't say that it was not available but typically wasn't available. My memories of dealing with Chevy dealers in the 60's was with the right paperwork and connections you could get just about option or combination of options if you persued it hard enough.
I went through Army basic and ATI back in 1970 with a Nat'l Guardsman from Ohio, who work at a Chevy plant. He told me that as soon as he got home from training he was going to order a new Corvette (I wonder if he ever did) and as an employee he could get a nearly custom car with any options he wanted. He also was going to go down to St. Louis and "walk it" through the line. Inspecting every facet of construction. I have no idea if he was on the up and up or just BS'ing.
Anyway the point I'm trying to make is that it might have been possible that this guys 1970 LT-1 did have A/C.

 

Boy is that ever the truth My cousin had a 67 or 68 El Camino with a 327/350 hp and A/C. The engine would pull strong past 6000+ but everytime it would throw the A/C belt .

 

My '70 is in the shop having the engine rebuilt, any way there is a '70 LT1 in there the same color as mine, Daytona Yellow, being worked on. I had to look at it and it had factory air. I know this car is a LT1, know the owner, or he got took and somebody did a very good job making a fake.


[Modified by Raydon 3000, 9:28 PM 7/29/2003]

 

Thanks for the info guys. Everything I read agrees with what you have said "Not an option" The LT-1 this guy has for sale in my area (also on Ebay) claims to be an original 1970 AC LT-1. I've had plenty of people claim things to me before but would tend to only believe this story if I could see the build sheet :D

I'll let you guys know what I find..
I have located a white 70 LT-1, same owner since 88. original but has been sitting for the last 5 yrs without being run. What are your thoughts on a fair price for an avg condition car?

 

70 :nono:
71 :nono:
72 :yesnod:

 

Here that one is ebay


I thought the compressors were black. Bet it is a retro install. They did not show the interior. Would be interesting to see the vents and console controls.

tom...

 

Lets see what is wrong with this. No AIR pump, wrong water pump. Breather not supposed to be in valve cover. That fuel line looks like it is going to a Qjet. Definitly not correct fuel line. wrong coolant nipple in intake manifold. There is probably more. I doubt this is a true LT1 car.

 

No 1970 factory equipped LT-1 vehicle (be it Corvette, Camaro, or Nova) was available with air conditioning. Corvette News certainly makes this clear and I've seen the dealer order books for 1970 which also note this. As mentioned by others, air conditioning became available in conjunction with the LT-1 engine later in the 1972 model year.

With regard to "special" consideration for walk through cars... I highly doubt that GM would allow something out the door like an LT-1/C-60 car without thoroughly testing the combination (which is eventually what they did in 1972). For what it's worth, there is a documented report where an employee tried to sneak a 1971 LT-1 through assembly with air conditioning... He was fired for his efforts.

Gordon's observation regarding the fuel line is accurate... Looks like the typical fuel inlet location for a quadrajet to me. The engine is probably an L-46 that has an aluminum intake added which is certainly more plausible than a factory air conditioning installation on an LT-1.

Regards,

 

:lurk:
This is kinda like watching the CSI guys on a detective show. Keep 'em coming!

 

Robert has it right. The Corvette Black Book, p. 48.

 

And to my knowledge those aren't the correct rims either. :seeya

 

:iagree:

 

Posted a reply earlier about seeing a '70 LT1 with factory air. Talked to the owner today, he admitted that he had had it put on, god it looks original. He said when he did the frame off he added the air. He also owns Wilcox Corvette in Jeffersonville, IN. He says they did not put air on '70 LT1's.