Hello, my name is Jeff. I have been searching for a budget mid-year for about the last 8 years. I finally found it last week and drove it home today! Its a '65 with 327/350 4-speed. I will admit that I dont know everything about these cars, so I have a question: is there anyway that I can find out what the original factory options were? I think the car was originally a side-pipe car (there are 3 clues) but how do I determine the truth? thanks for any help!
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Re: 65 options
Hello Jeff,
I have some question about your 1965.
What is the VIN and trim tag info?
Thank you,
Drew Papsun -
Re: 65 options
No way to tell for certain without documentation, but you can rule out some options and maybe get some clues from the trim tag. The trim tag will tell us which plant the body came from, that way we can verify the possibility of a side exhaust car. AO Smith cars weren't built with pipes, so we need to check that first. Sounds like a neat car. Looking forward to hearing more about it !! Best of luck. Keep us posted and I'm sure many here can help ! I owned a 65 for 15 years, so I'll be glad to lend a hand with anything I know !Tom Hendricks
Proud Member NCRS #23758
NCM Founding Member # 1143
Corvette Department Manager and
Specialist for 27 years at BUDS Chevrolet.Comment
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Re: 65 options
Thanks guys! the VIN is 194675S107186
The trim tag info is:
F18
style 65 467
Trim STD
Body S2343
Paint 900CCComment
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Re: 65 options
Hello Jeff,
Your 1965 Corvette is NOT a factory installed side pipe car. The too early before the option was released for production.
Regards,
Drew PapsunComment
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Re: 65 options
Jeff - in case you are wondering what information can be gleaned from those tags:
Thanks guys! the VIN is 194675S107186
=> your car is the 7,186th 65 model year Corvette produced, it is a convertible and it rolled off the assembly line (its "borthday" on or about January 18, 1965. Not much else can be learned from the VIN, and aside from vert vs. coupe, nothing else in the way of options is indicated in a C2 Corvette VIN.
The trim tag info is:
F18
=> The body in this particular car was built on January 18.
style 65 467
=> 65 model year, and the "6" in the 467 indicates a vert
Trim STD
=> car was originally equipped with the "standard" interior, black vinyl
Body S2343
=> the "S" tells us that your car's body was built in the St Louis plant (there were two possibilities, the other being the AO Smith plant in Iona). the coupes and the verts built at each plat were numbered sequentially, yours is 2,343rd 65 vert body built in St Louis plant.
Paint 900CC
=> your car was originally painted Ermine white
While this info does not tell us much about how your car was originally equipped in terms of engine and options, some things can be ruled out. Sidepipes, for instance, can be ruled out with respect to cars whose bodies were built at the AO Smith facility. Yours wasn't built at AOS, but Drew is also raising another "tell" - the sidepipe option was not available at the start of the model year in 1965, it became available later in the course of the production, and perhaps at a point after your car was built and "born" on January 18.
What you are really going to be interested in is whther the engine in your car is the original engine, and if not, just what was the configuration (HP) of the engine that was originally installed in your car.
Enjoy your new (to you) 65, I have one too, and love it. Consider joining the NCRS, and there are some great reference books available from this organization that will be of great help as you "dive in".
If I got anything wrong in this post, I am sure the smart and knowledgeable folks here will correct it . . .65 MM Convertible, L76 (365 hp)Comment
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Re: 65 options
I must be missing something. Jeff's trim tag has a body style S2343. That is St. Louis not AO Smith??? So I could be a sidepipe carComment
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Re: 65 options
Dave -
Sidepipes weren't available that early in the '65 model year.Comment
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Re: 65 options
Ohh...I understand. I thought you were deciding based on the bodyComment
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Re: 65 options
To be specific and to help the owner of this car, it is accepted by NCRS that the side exhaust option was intoduced "somewhere" near serial number 10,000. According to the judging manual for 1965, any sidepipe car with a vin earlier than 9000 should be examined with great scrutiny. The point is, even though your car was a St. Louis built body car, it was produced before the side exhaust option was made available.Tom Hendricks
Proud Member NCRS #23758
NCM Founding Member # 1143
Corvette Department Manager and
Specialist for 27 years at BUDS Chevrolet.Comment
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Re: 65 options
I have a 65 coupe with a body build date of E23 yet the birthday book says car was built(Born) on the 28 December,64. His body build date is febuary 18 and was born on the 18 feb....What gives? Both bodies are St.Louis built............................JoeComment
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Re: 65 options
Joe,
I think the Christmas holiday may have been a factor in the dates. If the trim tag was installed late on Wed, 23 Dec., it's likely the car sat on the line over the holiday (Friday) and into Monday, the 28th. The info that GM kept was by final VIN per week/month which sometimes makes it difficult to determine the actual roll out date from the body build date.Comment
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Re: 65 options
Thanks guys! That helpsComment
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