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1965 corvette alternator on right or left

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Old Oct 28, 2017 | 03:01 PM
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Default 1965 corvette alternator on right or left

i have looked at pics of many cars and i cannot figure out why some alts are on left and some on right. i understand about AC but many just seem arbitrary. any clues on this? i have a 365 hp car with a 1971(?) 350 with the alt on the left and i want to move it to the right. parts are readily available to do that but it seems there is only 1 wire harness at zip or cc. any thoughts?
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Old Oct 28, 2017 | 03:11 PM
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It’s on the passinger side. Unless you have factory AC there is two manufactures Lictric limited or M&H. Paragon gives you a discount on LL harnes
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Old Oct 28, 2017 | 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by stevelang
i have looked at pics of many cars and i cannot figure out why some alts are on left and some on right. i understand about AC but many just seem arbitrary. any clues on this? i have a 365 hp car with a 1971(?) 350 with the alt on the left and i want to move it to the right. parts are readily available to do that but it seems there is only 1 wire harness at zip or cc. any thoughts?
For 1965, all small block cars had the alt. on the right side except cars with A/C. A/C cars and all big block cars had them on the left side. No exceptions.
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Old Oct 28, 2017 | 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
It’s on the passenger side. Unless you have factory AC there is two manufactures Lictric limited or M&H. Paragon gives you a discount on LL harness
the corvette in the star trek movie was supposed to be a 1965 but the alternator, regulator and wiring are all on the left side. i noticed the rockers appear to be 1966. the serial number on the vin tag is definitely 1965. upon closer inspection the car appears to be a hodgepodge of c2's. 64 tranny, 67 surge tank, 66 grille, 65 emblems on glove box and tail end, 66 3-screw clutch rod boot, 66 3rd member, 65 dash *****, 66 exterior mirror (glass). the serial number on the frame is not visible no matter how hard i look. is there a definitive way to tell if it is 65 or 66? engine pad stamping only shows K11 and CE so that is no help. engine casting is 3970010 but no casting date in the usual places. thanks in advance.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 01:36 PM
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Movie cars are just that movie cars. I would never use one to validate anything. For the year of any car you must go by the GM issued Vin tag located under the glove box on the bird cage. Some of these cars where left for dead and fixed back up with parts from many diffreant years with no concern of originality.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 04:19 PM
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Fuelies had the alternator on the passenger side also
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 04:20 PM
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i am not trying to use the movie car to validate anything. i am trying to validate the movie car. it's in my garage. with reproduction everything available how can i even trust the vin tag?. it has round rivets which is okay as it supposedly is an early '65 car serial ending 09955. the windshield was replaced and other glass is 63 and 64 so no help there. what else can i look for that would show it to really be a 1965 car?
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 04:29 PM
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I see now. What about the trim tag? There are minor diffreances in frames throughout the years.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 09:39 PM
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i think i read somewhere the 65 and 66 frames were identical. please tell me i am wrong about that and there is something somewhere that is different between the 2 frames...a bolt hole for a ground strap or something. anything.

this car is missing the trim tag. probably came off when james t kirk drove it into that quarry in iowa 250 years from now

can't trust them anyway as you can buy used ones and new ones on ebay.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 09:45 PM
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does the frame front cross member have the dent in it like all 65+ frames have? what size brake lines are on the car?
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 10:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Nowhere Man
does the frame front cross member have the dent in it like all 65+ frames have? what size brake lines are on the car?
Considering the fact that GM had put the big block in Corvettes as early as 63, the indented front crossmember has been documented in many, if not all, cars earlier than 65. I spent the afternoon with one of the authors of the "Definitive 1963 Corvette RPO ZO6" book who showed me many GM documents that prove it. The memo from Chevrolet general manager "Bunkie" Knudsen regarding stopping the release of the knock-off wheels prior to release to the public was very interesting.

Last edited by 1snake; Oct 29, 2017 at 10:26 PM. Reason: added info.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 10:16 PM
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yes, the frame has the relief for the BB balancer clearance. i know these cars are supposed to have a 4 way brake pipe connector by the LF control arm but this car has a tee instead. the manual brake master appears correct with most of the thin black finish gone. it also has a tee with one pipe going to the front tee and the other pipe looks like an original rear brake pipe wrapped with spring-wire. both the pipes coming off the master are the same size...looks like 1/4" but i have not taken an actual measurement. the pipe from the front tee running across the front of the front crossmember is smaller. again, no actual measurement. i do not know why the brake pipes were modified in that way but the cars stops very nicely, with no drama. maybe the 4-way connector was damaged and this mod was a quick fix. just a guess.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 10:29 PM
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i see why you asked about brake line diameter. i looked at zip brake lines and saw 3/16" and 1/4". early 65's had 3/16". if my car had 3/16" it would definitely be a 65. as it has 1/4" it could be 65 or 66.
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Old Oct 29, 2017 | 11:10 PM
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Starting in '66, the front to rear brake line ran along the bottom of the frame and there is a generous gap in the crossmember to accommodate this.



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Old Oct 31, 2017 | 08:56 PM
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thank you buns. i think. my car has the brake line running along the bottom of the left frame rail through the hole in the crossmember like in the pic you provided. if that is the case with all 1966 cars it brings up a dilemma. my vin tag is for a 65. how can that be explained? is it possible they started doing that in 1965?
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Old Oct 31, 2017 | 11:06 PM
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Does your car have this relief in the body for the brake line to travel up?



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Old Nov 1, 2017 | 01:14 PM
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yes, my car has that relief. do you know when chevrolet started doing that exactly?

thanks.

steve
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Old Nov 1, 2017 | 03:03 PM
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Does your car have these vents? '65 has them and '66 does not.
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Old Nov 1, 2017 | 03:18 PM
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Default 1965 corvette alternator on right or left

my car is a ragtop.

steve
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Old Nov 1, 2017 | 03:50 PM
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If you know it is a movie car that has been pieced together for Hollywood purposes, does it really matter about the individual components? It is not original so as long as it is titled appropriately and the VIN matches the title/registration, just drive it and enjoy it. I hope you weren’t expecting to buy an all original numbers matching vehicle from a movie studio.
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