1965s with factory installed M22

[Bill W.]

I would be very interested in the vin number and engine option of anyone who has a 65 with a factory installed M22 . The judging manual says there were 30 built after about April 15 65 .

[David B.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

I would be very interested as well. Final production numbers from Tech Center show no M22 equipped '65 Corvettes. ???

[John D.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Al Grenning did a great presentation on this topic at a regional meet in NJ years ago. Apparently there were some built.

[David B.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Do not know Al Grenning and the basis for his presentation. Did he have/leave any documentation with the NJ regional to prove. Anything is possible but find it puzzling that the M22 is not listed in production figures for '65. It does show 15 in 1966. I do find it unusual that 30 are shown in the judging manual for 65 but only 15 installed in 1966.

[Bill W.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

David . The black 65 396 race car pictured in the "Bloomington" thread serial number 14365 was built in early April and is on Jim Gessners race car website has a original M22 per Jim and was NOT built for or sold to a a race car owner or driver when new . There is a 396 # 20929 that I looked at a couple years ago that we think may have a M22 I hope to see it again soon for a better inspection and some photos .

[William C.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

One of the major changes in Muncie transmissions was the model change between 65 and '66 when the countershaft and associated bearings were upgraded to a larger diameter. I do not know of any M-22 set up for the small countershaft, making me a sceptic of a pre-1966MY M-22. Does anyone have actual factory documentation of such a unit? 65 used the '325 casting and '66 was the first year for the 010 series casting with the larger countershaft used thru the end of production...

[Wayne M.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

David . The black 65 396 race car pictured in the "Bloomington" thread serial number 14365 was built in early April and is on Jim Gessners race car website has a original M22 per Jim and was NOT built for or sold to a a race car owner or driver when new . There is a 396 # 20929 that I looked at a couple years ago that we think may have a M22 I hope to see it again soon for a better inspection and some photos .

Bill -- I'm not familiar with the "Bloomington" thread, but the black/blk 396 tanker that was ordered by racer David Billes, in Canada, is VIN 18966. This is all covered in detail a 6 page appendix in Alan Colvin's "Chevrolet by the Numbers, 1965-'69".

Maybe Jim G's earlier listed car is a different one.

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

The transmission in Colvin's article had a 325 case with the casting number milled off and the countershaft hole bored to one inch allowing for the same M-22 gear set used in 66 and 67 with the 010 case.

[Gene M.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

One of the major changes in Muncie transmissions was the model change between 65 and '66 when the countershaft and associated bearings were upgraded to a larger diameter. I do not know of any M-22 set up for the small countershaft, making me a sceptic of a pre-1966MY M-22. Does anyone have actual factory documentation of such a unit? 65 used the '325 casting and '66 was the first year for the 010 series casting with the larger countershaft used thru the end of production...

I agree the shaft size is a factor in no '65 M22's. But if one shows up at an NCRS meet for flight judging according to Roy's published decree it is the owner's responsibility to provide conclusive documented proof. Here say or he said should not cut it. With all the bogus stuff going on it makes me skeptical at best.

[Bill W.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Wayne the thread is titled "Bloomie 2015 at Indy " the car pictured is a Black 65 conv. in unrestored condition .The thread is still current . I am not saying it is original to the car but it claims to have an all original drivetrain including the M22. I am just interested in finding out about the 30 that were built per the judging manual .

[Wayne M.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Wayne the thread is titled "Bloomie 2015 at Indy " the car pictured is a Black 65 conv. in unrestored condition .The thread is still current . I am not saying it is original to the car but it claims to have an all original drivetrain including the M22. I am just interested in finding out about the 30 that were built per the judging manual .

Bill -- found the Bloomie thread; thanks. St.Louis birthday calc. shows April 6th for VIN 14365. Unfortunately, [again per Colvin's Appendix research] Muncie plant records (handwritten ledger) show first build of M22 (Rock Crusher) on 4/15/65, and first shipment on 4/19/65. So at best, this car has a routered-off casting number and the maincase drilled to 1" for the larger countergear. A bonus would be an assembly date of P 04 15 or shortly thereafter. Or, it was obtained from Central Office using big name race connections prior to Oct 5th, when it began its racing career.

As you can imagine, everyone that locates a 325 maincase with a P 04 15 assy. date has now performed the above "surgery" and is now claiming one of the rare 1965 M22's. Lucky for them NCRS does not judge the tranny VIN derivatives, or casting numbers or assembly dates.

I

[Mike E.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

A couple years ago Al Grenning gave a presentation at Pro-Team where he presented this overhead. This is screen capture from the presentation linked below. This must be the same document that Wayne is talking about. Although he doesn't go into specifics of the '65 M22, this does show there were some cars produced with the transmission. The seminar itself was about the early development of the Mk IV for the Corvette, and it's pretty interesting.

Mike

[David B.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Maybe I am missing something here with regards to this seminar, the hand written chart shows M22 production but I do not see anything that indicates it was installed as an option at St Louis. What buyer would even know of it's existence?? Available over the counter in the parts department ??

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Maybe I am missing something here with regards to this seminar, the hand written chart shows M22 production but I do not see anything that indicates it was installed as an option at St Louis. What buyer would even know of it's existence?? Available over the counter in the parts department ??

I AGREE Who knows where the chart came from. That chart doesn't look like any factory production/ inventory sheet I have seen. Don't think that sheet came from the Muncie plant.

[William C.]

Re: 1965s with factory installed M22

Maybe I am missing something here with regards to this seminar, the hand written chart shows M22 production but I do not see anything that indicates it was installed as an option at St Louis. What buyer would even know of it's existence?? Available over the counter in the parts department ??

I'm with you, a modified case would generally indicate a part headed for Chevy Engineering rather than the Car plant...