1970 · Chevrolet · United States

1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 454: A Big-Block Pickup Hidden in the Totals

The Malibu/Custom El Camino could carry either RPO Z25 SS 396 or RPO Z15 SS 454, including the 450 hp LS6; the El Camino share is not separately published.

United States · researched through 2026-09-22

1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 396 in orange with black stripes, museum display Photo: Hugh Llewelyn from Keynsham, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On October 15, 1969, Chevrolet issued a supplement to its Chevelle specifications that added an engine the division's intermediate had never carried: a 454 rated at 450 gross horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 500 lb-ft at 3,600, with 11.25:1 compression. That LS6 was an option within RPO Z15 SS 454, and ChevelleStuff's tabulation of the year's production notes counts Z15 on the Malibu sport coupe, the convertible and the Malibu/Custom El Camino. The pickup built on the Chevelle could now leave the factory with the most powerful engine in the Chevelle order book. How many did is the question the records will not answer.^1,2

The El Camino had been here before, in a different form. In 1968 it was a model of its own inside the SS 396 series, number 13880, and Chevrolet built 5,190. For 1969 Chevrolet turned the Super Sport into RPO Z25 option equipment, orderable on the V8 Malibu El Camino, and ChevelleStuff reports 86,307 Z25 installations across all eligible models without an El Camino split. The 1970 pickup inherited the 1969 arrangement: an option on a Malibu/Custom El Camino rather than a series, which gave buyers more choice and gave historians fewer numbers.^3,2,4

For 1970 there were two packages, and ChevelleStuff's account of them is specific. RPO Z25 SS 396 included the 350-horsepower Turbo-Jet 396, dual exhaust, a special domed hood, a black-accented grille, power disc brakes, sport wheels, wide-oval white-lettered tires, wheel-opening moldings and a black resilient rear bumper panel. RPO Z15 SS 454 carried the same basic equipment with the 360-horsepower LS5 454 in place of the 396. The 396 badge itself was a courtesy by then: the site notes the engine had gained a 0.030-inch larger bore late in 1969 and actually displaced 402 cubic inches, while every emblem still said 396.^1,2

The pickup was not simply an SS coupe with a bed. ChevelleStuff states that the SS 396 and SS 454 El Caminos did not come with RPO F41, the special performance front and rear suspension, and that F41 was not available on the El Camino at all. Its list of common 1970 SS myths adds that El Caminos ordered with stripes, SS or not, received only the hood stripes. So an SS El Camino differed from an SS coupe underneath as well as behind the doors, and a truck wearing coupe-style stripes or F41 hardware is carrying something the factory did not install.¹

The engine ratings explain why the Z15 pickup matters. Chevrolet's gross figures, as ChevelleStuff tabulates them, give the standard SS 396 engine, the L34, 350 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 415 lb-ft at 3,400, and the optional L78 375 horsepower at 5,600 and 415 lb-ft. The SS 454's standard LS5 made 360 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 500 lb-ft at 3,200; the LS6 matched that torque figure at 3,600 rpm and added 90 horsepower. Those are factory gross ratings for the engines, not measurements of any El Camino, and no period road test of an SS 454 pickup has been located to set beside them.¹

Here the counting problem arrives. Chevrolet's final reports, as tabulated by ChevelleStuff, count 53,599 Z25 and 8,773 Z15 installations across the Malibu sport coupe, convertible and Malibu/Custom El Camino, and they split the Z15 into 4,298 LS5s and 4,475 LS6s. They do not divide any of those figures by body. The number of SS 396 El Caminos, SS 454 El Caminos and LS6 El Caminos built in 1970 is therefore unknown. Any precise figure quoted for an LS6 pickup without a Chevrolet body-level report behind it is an estimate, however often it has been repeated.¹

The combined figures still say something about what Super Sport buyers wanted, as long as nobody pretends they describe pickups alone. The Z25 SS 396 outsold the Z15 SS 454 by about six to one, 53,599 to 8,773. Among SS 454 buyers, though, the more expensive engine won: 4,475 of the 8,773 Z15 cars, just over half, carried the LS6 rather than the standard LS5. Whoever paid the extra $503.45 for the SS 454 was, more often than not, willing to pay $263.30 more again. Whether El Camino buyers followed that pattern is exactly what the records cannot show.¹

The pool the Super Sport pickups came from can at least be measured. ChevelleStuff lists 40,728 V8 Malibu El Caminos (model 13680) and 539 six-cylinder Malibu El Caminos, with 329 of the 13680s exported to Canada, and a lower-series El Camino at 5,137 V8s and 1,303 sixes. Only the V8 Malibu/Custom El Camino could take Z25 or Z15. The site prints the Malibu El Camino row total as 40,728, the same as its V8 figure even though the row also lists 539 sixes, and that inconsistency is left standing rather than quietly corrected.¹

The option ledger prices the climb. ChevelleStuff's list, drawn from Chevrolet's option sheet of April 1, 1970, shows Z25 at $445.55 to $455.15, Z15 at $503.45 and the LS6 at $263.30 over the SS 454. The L78 cost $210.65 and went into 2,144 cars. Across the whole line, including Monte Carlos where the option applied, the heavy-duty M22 four-speed went into 5,410 cars, the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 into 43,748, the ZL2 special ducted hood into 28,888 and Positraction into 64,169. None of those counts can be assigned to the El Camino, but they describe the performance market it was sold into.¹

Chevrolet was not alone in putting a 454-class engine into a GM intermediate that year. Pontiac's GTO specifications, issued in September 1969, document four GTO power teams built on 400 and 455 engines, including Ram Air versions. The El Camino, though, had no direct counterpart among those cars: it was the only body in this group with a pickup bed, and the SS 454 made it possible to order a working vehicle with the same top engine as the Chevelle SS coupe. That combination, more than any single number, is what the 1970 El Camino SS brought to the order form.^5,1

The moment did not repeat. For 1971 Z15 remained on the Malibu/Custom El Camino but no longer specified an engine, and 9,502 of the 19,293 SS cars carried the LS5, again with no El Camino split. Chevrolet's 1971 kit still listed an LS6, but its March 1971 price schedule reads "Will Advise" and no 1971 LS6 installations are recorded. On the evidence available, 1970 is the one year in which an LS6 El Camino was a documented regular-production order, and it is also a year in which nobody can say, from Chevrolet's own tallies, how many were built.^2,6

Fact sheet · 1970 · United States

The numbers

1970 Chevrolet El Camino SS 396 and SS 454 — The Malibu/Custom El Camino could carry either RPO Z25 SS 396 or RPO Z15 SS 454, including the 450 hp LS6; the El Camino share is not separately published.

Coverage: Partial — researched sections are shown; missing ones are not yet sourced. Researched through 2026-09-22.

Every figure is labeled with how sure we are. Reported means a manufacturer, registry, or reference figure we cite but have not reconciled against factory records ourselves. Disputed means credible sources disagree and both are shown. Rows are separately scoped; don't add them together unless the note says they make up a total.

Key facts

Z25 SS 396 (53,599) and Z15 SS 454 (8,773) counts include El Caminos but are not split by body.¹
LS6 454/450 hp was available with Z15; 4,475 LS6 installs across the line.¹
Team Chevelle's production-totals page gives 47,707 El Caminos built for 1970 across all trims and engines, matching the sum of this file's own body-scoped rows; it does not separate an El Camino-specific SS count from that total (Z25/Z15 were options added to the Custom V8 model, not tabulated apart from it).⁷

Production

By body style and series
What was counted	Count	Basis	Status
Malibu El Camino, V8 (13680)¹ Malibu · 2-door sedan pickup · V8 · US tabulation The source notes 329 exported to Canada. It prints the row total as 40,728, the same as the V8 figure, although the row also lists 539 sixes.	40,728	built, model-year	Reported
Malibu El Camino, six (13580)¹ Malibu · 2-door sedan pickup · 6-cyl · US tabulation	539	built, model-year	Reported
El Camino, V8 (13480)¹ Chevelle · 2-door sedan pickup · V8 · US tabulation	5,137	built, model-year	Reported
El Camino, six (13380)¹ Chevelle · 2-door sedan pickup · 6-cyl · US tabulation	1,303	built, model-year	Reported

By package or option
What was counted	Count	Basis	Status
RPO Z25 SS 396, Malibu and Malibu/Custom El Camino combined¹ SS 396 · Malibu sport coupe, convertible, El Camino · 402 V8 · US tabulation Not an El Camino count.	53,599	built, model-year	Reported
RPO Z15 SS 454, Malibu and Malibu/Custom El Camino combined¹ SS 454 · Malibu sport coupe, convertible, El Camino · 454 V8 · US tabulation Not an El Camino count.	8,773	built, model-year	Reported

Totals
What was counted	Count	Basis	Status
El Camino, all series (total)⁷ 2-door sedan pickup · US tabulation Equals the sum of the rows above (40,728+539+5,137+1,303), which are independently sourced to ChevelleStuff.net; that match is corroboration, not the basis for this row. The source marks El Camino SS as '*' (an option on the Custom V8 model, not separately tabulated) for this year, consistent with no El Camino-specific SS row being added.	47,707	built, model-year	Reported

Rows are separately scoped; do not add them. No El Camino SS count was found.

Paint and trim codes are from the Chevelle-line tables; paint counts on the source are for all Chevelles and are not shown here as El Camino counts. Trim counts are shown only where the trim code is listed for El Camino models; a count that also covers other models says so.

Prices when new

Model	Price	Basis
Malibu El Camino, V8 (13680)¹	$2,850	manufacturer's suggested retail price, base engine; excludes taxes, license, options, 1970 model year
El Camino (standard series), V8 (13480)¹	$2,769	manufacturer's suggested retail price, base engine; excludes taxes, license, options, 1970 model year

Prices are the nominal dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation.

Engines

Engine	Factory rating	Availability	Built
L34 · Turbo-Jet 396 (402 cu in)¹ 402 cu in · 4-barrel	350 hp @ 5,200, 415 lb-ft @ 3,400 (SAE gross)	standard with Z25	Not yet sourced
L78 · Turbo-Jet 396 (402 cu in)¹ 402 cu in · 4-barrel	375 hp @ 5,600, 415 lb-ft @ 3,600 (SAE gross)	optional with Z25	Not yet sourced
LS5 · Turbo-Jet 454¹ 454 cu in · 4-barrel	360 hp @ 4,400, 500 lb-ft @ 3,200 (SAE gross)	standard with Z15	Not yet sourced
LS6 · Turbo-Jet 454¹ 454 cu in · 4-barrel	450 hp @ 5,600, 500 lb-ft @ 3,600 (SAE gross)	optional with Z15	Not yet sourced
Turbo-Thrift 250 six^1,1 250 cu in	155 hp @ 4,200, 235 lb-ft @ 1,600 (SAE gross)	standard six; chart lists pickups	Not yet sourced
Turbo-Fire 307 V8^1,1 307 cu in	200 hp @ 4,600, 300 lb-ft @ 2,400 (SAE gross)	standard V8; chart lists pickups	Not yet sourced
L65 · Turbo-Fire 350 V8^1,1 350 cu in	250 hp @ 4,800, 345 lb-ft @ 2,800 (SAE gross)	optional; chart application: all models	Not yet sourced
L48 · Turbo-Fire 350 V8^1,1 350 cu in	300 hp @ 4,800, 380 lb-ft @ 3,200 (SAE gross)	optional; chart application: all models	Not yet sourced
LS3 · Turbo-Jet 400 (402 cu in) V8^1,1 402 cu in	330 hp @ 4,800, 410 lb-ft @ 3,200 (SAE gross)	optional; chart application: all models	Not yet sourced

Ratings are the manufacturer's advertised figures under the standard shown (SAE gross before 1972, SAE net after). They are not dyno results, and gross and net ratings can't be compared directly.

Transmissions

Transmission	Availability	Built
3-speed¹	250, 307 and L65	Not yet sourced
4-speed (2.52:1 or 2.54:1 or 2.85:1 low)¹	307, L65, L48, LS3 and L34; L34 also with a 2.20:1 low close-ratio 4-speed	Not yet sourced
Heavy-duty 4-speed (2.20:1 low)¹	LS5	Not yet sourced
M35 · Powerglide¹	250, 307, L65 and L48	Not yet sourced
M40 · Turbo Hydra-Matic¹	every engine on the chart	Not yet sourced

Options and packages

Code	Option	Price	Installed
`Z25`RPO	SS 396 equipment¹	$445.55	53,599¹ Reported
`Z15`RPO	SS 454 equipment¹	$503.45	8,773¹ Reported
`LS6`RPO	454/450 hp engine¹	$263.30	4,475¹ Reported

Paint

Code	Color	Built
`10 (930)`	Classic White¹	Not yet sourced
`14 (931)`	Cortez Silver¹	Not yet sourced
`17 (932)`	Shadow Gray¹	Not yet sourced
`19 (933)`	Tuxedo Black¹	Not yet sourced
`25 (935)`	Astro Blue¹	Not yet sourced
`28 (937)`	Fathom Blue¹	Not yet sourced
`34 (938)`	Misty Turquoise¹	Not yet sourced
`45 (941)`	Green Mist¹	Not yet sourced
`48 (942)`	Forest Green¹	Not yet sourced
`50 (943)`	Gobi Beige¹	Not yet sourced
`55 (946)`	Champagne Gold¹	Not yet sourced
`58 (947)`	Autumn Gold¹	Not yet sourced
`63 (949)`	Desert Sand¹	Not yet sourced
`75 (952)`	Cranberry Red¹	Not yet sourced
`78 (953)`	Black Cherry¹	Not yet sourced

Color names are the factory's. We don't show color swatches, because a screen color is no guide for a restoration.

Interiors

Code	Trim	Built
`756`	bucket seats, Black Coated Fabric (models 13637, 13667, 13680)¹	Not yet sourced
`765`	bucket seats, Medium Blue Coated Fabric (models 13667, 13680)¹	Not yet sourced
`752`	bench seat, Black Pattern Coated Fabric, Black Coated Fabric (models 13436, 13437, 13446, 13469, 13480)¹	Not yet sourced
`771`	bucket seats, Antique Medium Saddle Coated Fabric (models 13637, 13667, 13680)¹	Not yet sourced
`755`	bench seat, Black Coated Fabric (models 13636, 13637, 13639, 13646, 13667, 13669, 13680, 13836, 13846)¹	Not yet sourced
`761`	bench seat, Metallic Medium Blue Pattern Coated Fabric, Metallic Medium Blue Coated Fabric (models 13436, 13446, 13480)¹	Not yet sourced
`764`	bench seat, Metallic Medium Blue Coated Fabric (models 13636, 13646, 13667, 13680)¹	Not yet sourced
`770`	bench seat, Antique Medium Saddle Coated Fabric (models 13636, 13637, 13646, 13667, 13680)¹	Not yet sourced
`773`	bench seat, Medium Saddle Pattern Coated Fabric, Antique Medium Saddle Coated Fabric (models 13436, 13446, 13480)¹	Not yet sourced

Identification

Read a 1970 Chevrolet VIN

The VIN decoder runs in your browser and never sends the VIN anywhere. How the factory numbered this year's cars:

General Motors passenger-car VIN, 1965–1971

Same model year

Also in 1970

AMC AMX The last two-seat AMX: a restyled nose, a 360 base V8 and a 325-hp 390. At 4,116 cars it was the rarest of the three two-seat years.
AMC Javelin Penske and Donohue brought the Javelin to Trans-Am, and the showroom answered with 2,501 Mark Donohue Javelins and 100 red-white-blue Trans Am Javelins, while total production fell to 28,210.
AMC Rebel and Rebel Machine AMC's intermediate supercar: a 340-hp 390, four-speed and Hurst shifter in the Rebel hardtop, first in white with red-white-blue stripes. Totals reported for the one-year run range from about 1,200 to 2,326.
Buick Riviera The 455 (370 hp gross) arrived with a restyle; production fell to about 37,300 with some 3,505 GS cars.
Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX Buick's GS went to a 455 rated at 510 lb-ft, the Stage 1 option added 10 advertised hp, and a mid-year GSX package was built 678 times in two colors.
Buick Wildcat The final Wildcat, Custom trim only, with the 370-hp 455; 23,645 built.
Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The year the Chevelle Super Sport split into RPO Z25 SS 396 and RPO Z15 SS 454, with the LS6 454 rated at 450 gross horsepower.
Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova Last year the source engine table lists the big-block (as 402) in the Nova. Enthusiast-compiled production: 307,280 cars; Super Sport 19,558.
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS The first Monte Carlo, with the SS 454 as RPO Z20: 3,823 of 145,976 Monte Carlos per Chevrolet-report-derived tables.
Dodge Challenger Dodge's first pony car arrived as a 1970 model with nine advertised engines, base, SE, R/T, and R/T SE hardtops, two convertibles, and a one-year Trans-Am homologation special, the T/A.
Dodge Charger The last year of the second-generation body: a new full-width grille, three series (Charger, 500, R/T), the 440 Six Pack added to the R/T, and production roughly half of 1969's.
Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee The final Coronet-based R/T and Super Bee: the R/T fell to 2,615 cars, while the Super Bee added a 3-speed manual and kept its Six Pack and Hemi options.
Dodge Dart GTS, Swinger and Demon With the GTS gone, the Swinger 340 was the only performance Dart; it kept front discs, Rallye suspension and a twin-scoop hood and sold about 13,800 beside the new Challenger.
Ford Fairlane The last Fairlane year: the name survived only on the Fairlane 500 beneath the new Torino, with a mid-year Falcon sharing the body at the bottom of the range.
Ford Maverick Grabber The Grabber appearance and tire package arrived in mid-1970 on the new two-door Maverick; no Grabber count for 1970 was found.
Ford Ranchero GT The Torino-based Ranchero GT could take the 429 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet; reference counts give 3,905 GTs, while Barn Finds rounds the GT figure to about 3,600 of 21,640 Rancheros.
Ford Thunderbird The 429 at 360 hp was the standard and only engine listed in the 1970 catalog.
Ford Torino A new, longer body on a 117-inch wheelbase; the Torino Cobra became its own model with the 429, offered in 360, 370 (Cobra Jet) and 375 (Super Cobra Jet) horsepower forms.
Mercury Comet and Cyclone A new, longer Montego-based Cyclone in three versions: the 429 Cyclone, the small-block Cyclone GT that outsold both others, and the Ram Air 429 Cobra Jet Cyclone Spoiler.
Mercury Cougar The last first-generation Cougar moved to the 351 Cleveland, kept the Boss 302 as an Eliminator-only engine, and built 2,268 Eliminators.
Mercury Marauder and S-55 The second and last year of the 1969-70 Marauder: production fell to about a third of 1969's, with the X-100 near half of it.
Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The 4-4-2 got a standard 455 rated at 365 hp, the W-30 went to 370 hp, and the small-block W-31 moved to the Cutlass and F-85 coupes.
Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda The E-body redesign split the line into Barracuda, Gran Coupe, and 'Cuda hardtops and convertibles, put every Chrysler performance engine through the 426 Hemi on the order form, and added the one-year AAR 'Cuda for Trans-Am homologation.
Plymouth Duster 340 and 360 Plymouth's new Valiant-based fastback coupe arrived with a 275 hp 340 performance model priced at $2,547; the Standard Catalog lineage counts 24,817 Duster 340s among 217,192 Dusters.
Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite Now hardtop-only, the GTX fell to 7,748 cars while its 440 Six Barrel option cost just $119.
Plymouth Road Runner Production halved from 1969, the 440 Six Barrel became a regular option, and the winged Superbird was built as a Road Runner hardtop to put Plymouth back on NASCAR superspeedways.
Pontiac Firebird and Trans Am A late-arriving, coupe-only second generation: 48,739 Firebirds, 3,196 of them Trans Ams, and 88 Ram Air IVs.
Pontiac GTO A new Endura nose, a 455 added beside the three 400s, and GTO production falling to 40,149.
Pontiac Grand Prix The SJ took a 370 hp 455, Hurst built the SSJ, and production fell to 65,750.
Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The T-37 and GT-37 bring budget performance to the Tempest.