1970 Camaro Column Shift Is it rare?

[Fbodywarehouse]

I lined up a project today and here is the info on it:
Gold in color
1970
Air Conditioning
150 Speedo NON full gauges
Deluxe interior (black)
Column shift car (No center console)

Question is is this a pretty rare car?

Any ideas ball park on how many were column shift cars in 70?

If it is really rare will build it back to spec otherwise wll have some fun and go mild custom.

Thanks for any input guys!
Pete

 

[Gary S]

All automatic tranny cars without center console had column shifter. I can't find the numbers of center consoles made in 1970, but consoles weren't really popular back then. I don't think column shift would be that rare.


Edit: I found the numbers. Approximately 84,000 '70 Camaros had the console. There were approximately 125,000 cars built. So, if we assume that the same proportion of manual tranny and automatic trannys got the console, then about 1/3 of the auto cars should have the column shifter.

 

[Fbodywarehouse]

Cool thanks man!

 

[krabben1]

I love the 70.I would say its rare in itself.

 

[flowjoe]

I love the 70.I would say its rare in itself.

Even though GM built fewer Camaros in '71 (114,630), '72 (68,651) and '73 (96,751)??

 

[ggtsvnv]

Column shifters are rarer now then back then. Most people don't like them and switch them to the floor.

 

[SS2001]

Not a 70, but says column shift: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1187426559.html Not too far either.

 

[krabben1]

Even though GM built fewer Camaros in '71 (114,630), '72 (68,651) and '73 (96,751)??

Yes.

 

[April81Z28]

My 72 automatic has the shifter on the column. I've only seen one other early second gen with one. And people are always saying to me, "I didn't know they made any Camaros with the shifter on the column." Then I always have to explain that the console delete cars had the shifters on the column.

They may not have been "rare" back in the day - but they sure are now!

 

[flowjoe]

My 72 automatic has the shifter on the column. I've only seen one other early second gen with one. And people are always saying to me, "I didn't know they made any Camaros with the shifter on the column." Then I always have to explain that the console delete cars had the shifters on the column.

They may not have been "rare" back in the day - but they sure are now!

The column shifter is the default for base cars with AT - so it's not really a console delete. A buyer had to pony up for the optional console. I often hear comments like Gary's, that consoles weren't that popular back in the day. I've never really bought into that argument and with ~2/3rds of the cars being built coming with consoles that would tend to support the the popularity of consoles.

Column shifters do seem to pop up less frequently floor shifters (perhaps for the reason ggtsvnv suggests) but I still "run into" them on a regular basis.

Sort of like front bench seats in 1st gens (way fewer units sold than anything we've discussed here), not popular after the fact and certainly not inline with the "sporty" image of Camaro yet one see's them fairly regularly (I've even owned a few).