65 drive shaft markings

[Edward H.]

I'm restoring a 65 396, which was missing the driveshaft. Would someone please tell me the correct placement and colors of paint markings on the drive shaft. Thanks

[Wayne M.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

I'm restoring a 65 396, which was missing the driveshaft. Would someone please tell me the correct placement and colors of paint markings on the drive shaft. Thanks

Edward -- the '65 TIM&JG is silent on driveshaft paint marks (although mentions lime green for the 396 half-shafts).

If you can lay your paws on a copy of Burroughts' "Corvette Restoration; State-of-the-Art", pages 40 (unrestored) and 62 (restored), you'll see the green stripe at the differential end of the driveshaft of this 396 car. It's darker than lime green (sort of a "canoe" green, if you're the outdoors type). Burroughs shows it as about 4 inches long by about 1/2 " wide.

Here's a pic of my late 396 (Texas and Louisiana car for most of its life) with little chassis rust (but more than Brurroughs' candidate). I would say that my stripe was about 3 inches long, starting on top of the weld bead. You can see a pinhead sized fleck at the right of the picture. Trouble is that if you sand or brush the rusted surface, you eliminate the evidence.

However, no indication of any other circumferential candy-cane bands or stripes (orange or green), either on my car, or Burroughs'.

Psst -- can show you the halfshaft lime stripes if you're interested.

[Edward S.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

I can tell you that I bought a June 65 build 396 - when I bought it It had two colored rings around the drive shaft one green and one orange - had the undercarriage done by a well known restorer and master judge, It came back with newly painted rings of the same color. I have taken the car through the Duntov award to the Triple Crown and lost no points on my drive shaft. My green ring is not lime - more like traffic light green. I hope this helps you out. Good luck.

[Tony S.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

Here's a photo of my original drive shaft from my '65 396 survivor car. When I restored it, I recreated the stripe and paint daubs. Hope this helps.
Good luck.
Tony

[Wayne M.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

Here's a photo of my original drive shaft from my '65 396 survivor car. When I restored it, I recreated the stripe and paint daubs. ...

Tony, Ed -- Mea culpa; didn't look at all the pics I took back then. Found some more which changes my story slightly. Yes; found the second paint mark -- a circumferential dab [can't call it a ring because it only showed on one side (but was probably 360 deg from the factory and sacrificed in my 600-grit wet sanding )]. Seems to be the same lime green that is on the half shafts. You can see how far mine is from the differential yoke weld bead; about 6 inches. Look closely and you can also see the longitudinal (electric seam) dark, smooth weld line.

On a second look, Burroughs' book also shows what could be a single ring in the same location on the unrestored chassis, yet his text and the resulting restoration pic does not discuss or show it .

We're talking L78's here, but IMO, there should be no difference for any manual (and maybe auto) driveshafts. Comments ??

[Michael H.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

The green paint blob at the end was the one used for installation/alignment with the differential companion flange for proper balance. That's why the flange also had a paint stripe.

[Tony S.]

Re: 65 drive shaft markings

Ed. There are some really good people in here with terrific expertise with L78 cars. They were a big help to me when I restored my car. We all enjoy "paying it forward" to help other L78 owners with their cars. Don't be afraid to ask. The '65 JG definitely needs some updating with the help of those in here.

However, one of your best teachers is your car itself. You can learn so much from it if you take the time to look. If you pull your body (that's the best way to restore a car), carefully clean your car and pay attention. Get a really good digital camera and shoot as many photos as you can, then load them on your computer. The smallest detail can be really important to you or someone else later on down the road. When you look at the Hanson/Burroughs car, alot of what is recorded are just small details that someone took the time to study and record. You can do the same thing with your car.

Keep at it. Our L78 cars are important to the history of Corvettes.
Tony