How Many LS6s, Based On Body Style or Series, Were Sold?

See another example on 1969 SS396-optioned 300 Deluxe coupes.

Chevrolet did not keep, or at least did not release, information on how many of any particular body style were sold with what specific options for a number of years. So, there is no known figure on how many of the 4,475 RPO LS6 options were sold in a coupe, convertible, or sedan pickup body style. The same applies to how many H.D. 4-speeds, TH400 automatics, Positraction, vinyl tops, radios, etc. were sold by particular body style or in combination with other options.

How many of a individual option and what series and/or body styles they were available in is known for regular production options; combinations of any two or more options are not. Exterior paint colors sold were a choice the consumer made and not technically an option so even the overall number of red/blue/green/etc. Chevelles is not known. Toss in an unknown number of 1970 Chevelles with RPO ZP3, special order paint, and you now have an unknown to factor in. While something simple like the number of Chevelles sold with bucket seats (RPO A51) is known, the colors of those seats and the body styles they were installed in is not known.

Examples of what is known and what can statistically be calculated given the number of 1970 Chevelle V8 Malibu sport coupes, convertibles, and sedan pickups along with the number of known LS6 options. Here there are still two possibilities. Chevrolet reports that 289,622 V8 sport coupes were sold but that number includes 25,938 'imported' from Canada. Since no known LS6 Chevelle was built in Canada, it's logical to only include the U.S. figure or 263,684 V8 sport coupes built in the U.S. No V8 Malibu convertibles or sedan pickups were 'imported' from Canada so the number of those two models remains constant.

Total of possible body styles that the LS6 could be ordered in: 311,533
13637 V8 sport coupes: 263,684 - percentage of total possibilities, roughly 84.63% (Canada exports to the U.S. are excluded)
13667 V8 convertibles: 7,141 - percentage of total possibilities, roughly  2.29%
13680 V8 sedan pickups: 40,728 - percentage of total possibilities, roughly  13.07%
RPO LS6 options: 4,475

Using an evenly distributed formula:
13637 V8 sport coupes: 84.63% of 4,475 results in 3,387 sport coupes.
13667 V8 convertibles: 2.29% of 4,475 results in 103 convertibles.
13680 V8 sedan pickups: 13.07% of 4,475 results in 585 sedan pickups.

When one tries tossing into the mix the H.D. 4-speed, the TH400 automatic, and the ZL2 cowl induction hood - all three available on other SS396 & SS454 optioned Chevelles, those figures become even more diluted. So the next time you see a Fathom Blue, LS6 4-speed with white interior being sold as '1-of-20' or 1-of-{any figure}, etc. you can pretty much guess which part of the human anatomy it came from.

Vintage Vehicle Services resources know how many Chevelles were built in Canada and how many were built in the United States and imported into Canada for Canadian sales. On documentation they provide, for a fee, they indicate how many of a particular body style, such as the Malibu 2-door sport coupe, were built or imported and how many are estimated to have particular SS and other options. Reported documentation on one sport coupe in particular indicates that 231 LS6 equipped sport coupes were imported into Canada for sale. In this case, the 231 LS6 sport coupes reportedly imported into Canada for sale would be part of the 3,840 sport coupes calculated above using an evenly distributed formula and not in addition to them.

Many of these 1-of-xx figures come from an appealing and colorful production poster by Chevelle enthusiast Dan Carr. This poster had production figures for 1968 to 1972 Chevelles and Dan breaks down the figures in a very unbiased way (mathematically) in an attempt to show how many of a body style might have been ordered with various SS and non-SS specific options; mainly which SS package, transmission types and cowl induction hoods for 1970 through 1972. With Dan's permission the following excerpt from his explanation on how certain figures were determined is presented here.


* The asterisk is my inclusion since it is now known that NO LS6 Chevelles were built in Canada and imported into the U.S. In fact, just the opposite is true. All LS6 Chevelles, be they coupes, convertibles, or pickups, sold in Canada were built in the U.S.; hence the difference in Malibu coupe figures of 263,684 and 289,622, or 25,938 units. These 25,938 Malibu coupes imported from Canada should not be counted in the percentages for possible LS6 optioned Chevelles in 1970. No convertibles or El Caminos were built in Canada so these production figures are sill valid, U.S. numbers.

Continued...

1968 - 1972 Poster by Dan Carr

How Many SS396s, Based On Body Style or Series, Were Sold?

Let's take another popular example, SS396-optioned 13427 300 Deluxe 2-door coupes in 1969. It is known there were 86,307 SS396 options (RPO Z25) sold in 1969. This option was available in 5 different series; 13427 300 Deluxe coupe, 13437 300 Deluxe sport coupe, 13637 Malibu sport coupe, 13667 Malibu convertible, and 13680 Malibu pickup.

The total possible Chevelles that could have been ordered with the SS396 option in 1969 are broken down here and percentages of each series is calculated against the total of those series.

Series/Model Quantity Sold Percentage of Total
13427 5,620 1.62%
13437 7,181 2.07%
13637 286,162 82.6%
13667 8,443 2.43%
13680 39,000 11.25%
Total Possible 346,406  

So, now that we know the percentages of each possible Chevelle series against the total possible that could have ordered the SS396 option, all that's needed is to take each of those percentages and apply it to the number of SS396 options sold, or 86,307.

Series/Model Percentage of Total Possible SS396
13427 1.62% 1,398
13437 2.07% 1,787
13637 82.60% 71,290
13667 2.43% 2,097
13680 11.25% 9,710
Total Possible 99.97% 86,281

The total possible number of 86,281 is less than the actual of 86,307 due to rounding percentages and Possible number off but, again, it's close enough for our purpose.

Is this a true and accurate accounting of how many of a particular series was ordered with the SS396 option? No. But it is an unbiased look at the statistical possibility.

See http://www.designscomputed.com/auto_pub/a_body_68_72.html for ordering information on Dan's poster.