'67 Convertible: Questions after inspection

[Oliver S.]

Hello,

yesterday I inspected a '67 Corvette Convertible. Now I have a few questions:
- The gap between the left back wheel and rear fender differs from the right side gap by approximately 0.7 inch / 2 cm.
- The left A-Arm has one thin shim in the front and two thicker ones in the back. The right A-Arm has 2 thicker shims in the front and 6 or 7 in the back.
Do these two issues point to a possible frame problem/prvious accident or are these observations within tolerance?
- The Muncie Transmission has a casting number 3885010 which is correct for a '67 Corvette. The assembly date reads P0706. Does this fit for a Corvette (I forgot to look for the stamped VIN,grr). Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Oliver Schoenhaar, # 33229

[John H.]

Re: '67 Convertible: Questions after inspection

Oliver -

The difference at the rear wheel opening could be a stackup of tolerances, the body not centered on the mounts, different wheel offsets on each side, or it could indicate a repair.

The shim pack for the upper control arms didn't follow a set pattern; hard to tell if it's a problem without knowing if the front end is within alignment specs.

The transmission is from a '65 or '66, built July 6th of one of those two years; 1967 Muncies had a different date code format like "P7A01", where "7" is the model year, "A" is January, and "01" is the day of the month. The VIN derivative on a '67 Muncie ("S" followed by the last six digits of the car's VIN) is stamped vertically on the driver's side at the rear of the main case.

[Rob A.]

Re: '67 Convertible: Questions after inspection

Regarding shim packing on front "A" arms, if the shims are equal on each side, left and right, don't worry about. I have seen "unhit", perfect, straight frame cars like this. More shims in the front of each arm than in the back is not a problem if both sides are done the same way. I found the best way to tell if a car has been repaired in front is to examine the attachment points of the front grill. It is almost impossible to put the grill back as it was originally after repair, with the upper and lower tabs lined up properly where they screw on to the grill. It is the first thing I look at when I inspect a car to tell me whether or not is has been damaged in front. If the grill tabs line up and fit tight to the fiberglass tab attachments, no spaces, etc., it either has not had front end damage or been "correctly" repaired.