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1965 Convertible 42,000 miles 411 rear-end,Muncie 4 speed 6500 rpm red line 80 psi oil. Trying to figure out what motor it might have had from the factory. It has a big block hood. The frame on it looks like original and is as clean as the outside
I forgot to add that the car has factory disk brakes front and back
That's a great car, Dennis. I think there's enough evidence for all practical purposes to feel pretty confident it was originally a BB car! What motor is in it now???
Dennis - Yes, those caps were only seen on Bigblock differentials so that's another piece of the puzzle. There are more things to search for to verify your roadster started out as one of the 2157 65 L78s made but so far...you're batting 'a thousand'. Did you get a chance to look up at the ends of the trailing arms to see if the rear sway bar is still there?
And, if you have the car up on a lift or jackstands, look at the underside of the differential for codes. Midyears have stamped letters and numbers on the diff and when mounted in the car...those characters face 'the ground'. Now, quite often, Corvettes were driven hard and the diffs got changed out but Bigblock codes are different from smallblock codes and that's just one more piece of the puzzle. Here's a pic of the FA-code 3:70 posi in my 65 L78
. That's the only part of the drivetrain that still remains, the engine and trans went 'bye-bye' a long time ago...not an uncommon occurrence on any Corvette. My lower horsepower 300 horse 65 Coupe has a '68 vintage 3:08 in it, so you sure didn't need a Bigblock to blow up the differential back then...uh, or now ;-).
Mike T - Prescott AZ
That is a great looking car. There are sure some clues that it was originally a big block car. If you can, look at the back underside of the instrument cluster for a white paper label. IIRC, big block cars had LB in big red block letters on the label.
My long gone 65 had rear flares like yours and smaller flares on the front. At some time in its life it was converted to big block, definitely too early in the model year to be a real one. No matter it was fun to drive all the same. Enjoy it!
As Avispa pointed out, there should be a tag glued to the backside of your instrument cluster and on Bigblocks the Red Letters should be 'LB'. With the cluster in place on the dash, you will probably need a mirror to see the sticker.
Here's a pic of the cluster from my L78.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Is it true that, at least in some early BB years, there was some relief formed into the front crossmember to provide clearance for the crankshaft mounted pulleys. Would that be the case for a '65?
This would be pretty definitive in determining if Dennis' car was an original BB car, assuming the numbers match.
73bbc - as far as I know, all 65-on Corvettes had that 'depression' in the front crossmember. My early 65 VIN 300 horse Coupe has it. The stories I've heard was that all frames had that in preparation for the Bigblock introduction.
There are other tell-tales that we'll no doubt run through on his 65 roadster but so far, it's looking like that car started out as one of the 2157 made in 65.
Mike T - Prescott AZ
That does look like it could be an 'LB' alright.
A few other things to look for, when you get the chance:
Differential Code (stamped on the bottom of the housing - facing down)
Rear Sway Bar
90-Degree Bend in the Fuel Line - where it turns from frame to fuel pump.
Passenger side of the Radiator Core Support for the three holes in a triangular pattern that secured the Transistorized Ignition Box. (pic attached of that area on my 65 L78 but the
TI is MIA as is the one from my 66 L72)
Mike T - Prescott AZ
Nice ride, almost looks like a close friends has retro mod LT4 engine, and also ragtop!
