Early 1965 396

[Jack M.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Is it correct to assume that "in production at the Assembly plant" means the engine assembly plant - Tonawanda - and not available for installation at a vehicle assembly plant?

A guy I knew in high school - a year ahead of me - got a very early L-78, I recall it was March, but that seems a bit early based on the above, so maybe it was April or even May. I recall the first time I ran across him we got into a little match race, and he blew me off in the first second although I may not have been in the right gear.

If he was still around I could probably contact him through my high school alumni association to see if he remembered anything about the car or had any documentation, but he passed away in 2018.

It's looks like we're not going to get a photo of the stamp pad for the subject vehicle in this thread.

Duke

Duke- If you're asking me, I'm just one voice... perhaps more knowledgeable members will be willing to chime in.

Letz use your assumption, and follow it thru:
If this memo was just in regardz to engines, and St Louis was waiting for these engines... they'd get delivered ASAP.
My semi-early 66 427 was installed in my Corvette just a mere three dayz after it was assembled in Tonawanda.
I've been assured (by several in-the-know individuals), that although not the norm... it occasionally happened.

Given that possibility, a March delivery date of your friendz early L78 would NOT be out of consideration... it fits the timeline.
With production estimated to commence the week of March 8th (Monday), that should be plenty of time for a delivery...
Even if the production calendar was somehow delayed for another week.
(the March 19th memo was likely just a CONFIRMATION that they were already in production)

BTW- Please give Charles time to get the requested photos... as hez noted, the car is in storage.
And with the hovering vultures ready to pounce, I'd take my time... and maybe contemplate what I'm about to step in.

[Duke W.]

Re: Early 1965 396

I'm just one voice too, Jack, and I'm going from memory of events nearly 60 years ago.

Being as how we were in Seattle it would probably have taken at least 10-14 days for the car to have been delivered to a Seattle dealer and prepped for sale. I expect it was probably Alan Green Chevrolet where I ordered my SWC for plant delivery since he was the highest volume Corvette dealer in the pacific northwest, but I don't know if Dick ordered his 396 at Green or another dealer, or if he was just able to grab the first available stock delivery from any local dealer.

I remember it was the third volume of Corvette News for the '65 model year that I read about the newly released 396 (and side exhaust), and I recall it arrived in the mail in February.

I don't recall running into Dick to talk about his 396 after our little "face off", but it was certainly known to our mutual acquaintances of the day - word gets around!

That '65 396 Convertible was just a rocket ship!

Duke

[Jack M.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Duke- Too many unknowns to be certain about your friendz 65 BB. Perhaps your memory of the month he obtained it is inkorrect... or what dealer he got the car from... or the shipping time to a high volume dealer in the NW. On top of that, we don't know if your premise on the memo dates is korrect or not... lotza guessing, which potentially leads to more mistakes (especially for those searching the archives in years to come).

As for your references to Corvette News... please remember it was just another car magazine. The articles were NOT alwayz timely, nor exactly 'introductions'... especially since there are a couple months between issues. Stories had to be spread out during the year... and some were held/published the following model year. Case in point... the Gold Stripe tire article featured a 1965 hubcap, was introduced during 1965 production, but the article was published in Vol #9 - Number 3 (thatz the mid 1966 model year).

Unfortunately, we are now getting a little off topic... my apologies to Charles.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Guys - plain English...

Assembly Plants - means Cars Trucks

Eninge Plants were engine plants.

Is it correct to assume that "in production at the Assembly plant" means the engine assembly plant - Tonawanda - and not available for installation at a vehicle assembly plant?

A guy I knew in high school - a year ahead of me - got a very early L-78, I recall it was March, but that seems a bit early based on the above, so maybe it was April or even May. I recall the first time I ran across him we got into a little match race, and he blew me off in the first second although I may not have been in the right gear.

If he was still around I could probably contact him through my high school alumni association to see if he remembered anything about the car or had any documentation, but he passed away in 2018.

It's looks like we're not going to get a photo of the stamp pad for the subject vehicle in this thread.

Duke

[Tom D.]

Re: Early 1965 396

SN ...00046 ... said to be a black coupe.

[Charles S.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Mystery solved thankfully through two people on this thread. Turns out it is not the original engine. Again I want to thank the two people who offered to help out drilling into the details. While the car itself is an early 65 the 396 in it is dated E 27 5.

[Michael J.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Very good, alls well that ends well.

[Mike T.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Charlie - I'm still curious, what are the numbers (casting and stamped front pad) from that 396 and is it a 4-bolt block?
There is a Silver/Black L78 Coupe, VIN#15331, on our L78 List and while it no longer has it's original engine, the replacement
396 was from another 1965 L78. That Silver Coupe was eventually sold and I believe it went overseas.

[E S.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Never heard of a 65-L78 in a Caprice,Impala, Or Impala SS-But there it is in black and white!
Jack- As usual, Thanks for the information!

[Duke W.]

Re: Early 1965 396

L-78 rated at 425 HP was available in the B-body in 1965 and guess what, a guy I knew in high school had one though I remember it was actually his dad's car.

I recall L-78 was also available in the A-body, but I'm not sure what years. Rated at 375 HP the only difference was different exhaust manifolds that were less efficient than those used on the Corvette, but I doubt if they cost 50 HP.

Later, a 396 rated at 375 HP was available in the A-body, but it was not the same as L-78, and I don't recall the RPO code... hot hydraulic cam rather than mechanical lifter. It's always been somewhat confusing to me.

Maybe Joe Lucia can sort it out.

Duke

[Michael J.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Yes, when I was searching for a BB Impala or Bel Air, I looked at an Impala with an L-78. But I really wanted the 409, and '65 was the last year of that great engine, so passed on it.

[Justin S.]

Re: Early 1965 396

Duke,
I think the other hydraulic cam 396 versions were the L34 and L35.

They were 325hp and 350hp respectively.

[Duke W.]

Re: Early 1965 396

I recall the 396/350 HP cam was the same as the 427/390,400, but the 375 HP hydraulic cam was different and more aggressive.

I don't have a P & A catalog for pre-'76 passenger cars.

Duke

[Richard M.]

Re: Early 1965 396

I recall the 396/350 HP cam was the same as the 427/390,400, but the 375 HP hydraulic cam was different and more aggressive.

I don't have a P & A catalog for pre-'76 passenger cars.

Duke

Duke, Although not easy to page through these digital versions, they are a good reference to find data.

http://www.gmpartswiki.com/browse

Also, part numbers or strings can be entered using the "Search" button, also with the ability to look up specific catalogs, years, etc.

Rich
P.S. I also have access to a copy of the RPO"s for all Chevrolet's up to the early 70's. However the hardcopy is far from my fingers for a while.

[Richard M.]

Re: Early 1965 396

I checked my laptop and discovered I had scanned several sections of the 1965 Passenger car RPO data. Here are a few jpg images I extracted from the 1965 section. Not the best quality so best to download and zoom in for better clarity.

I have all pages in pdf form but too big to upload here. I'll see if someone can squish it down to allow it to load here later. I've also included the two 1965 Engine data pages. This may help clarify some RPO usage.

Rich

1965 INDEX PAGE
1965_1.jpg
1965 ENGINE RPO's
1965_2.jpg
1965 ENGINE RPO's (cont)
1965_3.jpg
1965 ENGINE DATA 1
1965_EngineData_1.jpg
1965 ENGINE DATA 2
1965_EngineData_2.jpg