new member with question ...... or two

[Dave B.]

Just recently joined NCRS as well as returning to C2 ownership. My recent purchase ('67 BB roadster) unfortunately came with little to no documentation. I know it's NOM and was 'told' it to be BB (427 / 390) car from birth. Given vin, trim tag, etc what avenues do I have to try and further document my car.

Thanks in advance for guidance

[Michael J.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

This is a common problem with older cars, especially Corvettes. You should know who sold you the car, ask them who sold it to them, and try to trace the ownership chain back as far as you can, talk to previous owners. I have found many are happy to talk about it, some not, but some will also give you old pictures, documents (window stickers even), details, etc. that will help you create the car's history. You can do it or have a car detective, like AutoAncestry.com do it for you. Good luck!

[Bob R.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

On this web site you can order the shipping data report for your car. It will give you the dealership and date the car was delivered to when new this information may be helpful in tracing the history of your car. You may want to bring your car to a local chapter event to have some members look it over and offer their opinion on the car.

[Keith B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

if your trim tag is a St. Louis body then you have a 50/50 chance it could have been a BB car. if its a A.O Smith tag it started out as a SB. if the car was restored correctly the restores would have erased all the clues. if its just been maintained over the years there will be some clues a trained eye can find. join a local chapter and find out.

[Richard M.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

1967 Corvettes had a build sheet glued to the top left side of the fuel tank. This "Tank Sheet" may still be there. If it is it will tell the story of options. It's difficult to see from the fuel door area, so the tank must be removed for best visual access. Very dirty sheets prevent viewing details, even with the use of probe cameras.

If the tank was replaced in the past, the tank sheet is gone.

Rich

[Dave B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Gents, thanks for your reply's ! Richard, the fuel tank has been replaced so that option is out.

Keith, here's the trim tag ........

http://cc.dealeraccelerate.net/vehicles/76/1967-chevrolet-corvette

[Tom K.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Trim Tag is for a St Louis car, however I am not an expert on trim tags. I have had mine apart for a few years so my memory may be a little foggy, but I don't see any sign of a rear sway bar. Only big block cars in 67 had a rear sway bar. Hope this helps
Tom
I had another look at the picture and I can't tell if it has a big block rear end and half shafts. If it has u bolts holding the half shafts to the differential then it is a small block diff. Also you can check the date and code on the diff to see if it is the original differential. Front sway bar is larger on big block cars, I think 13/16" or 7/8" depending on option. I was lucky with mine as it was unrestored with a 350 nom when I bought it.

[Timothy B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Dave,

Looks like a very nice car, there are lots of posts in the archives about your question if you have the time to read them. As mentioned above, look for the rear sway bar, heavy duty rear yokes, the steel fuel line turns 90* where the fuel pump hose connection is attached etc. If you can locate the Noland Adams book you will probably enjoy reading about all the C2 years.

By the way, nice red line tires.. :-)

Tim

[Dave B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Dave,

Looks like a very nice car, there are lots of posts in the archives about your question if you have the time to read them. As mentioned above, look for the rear sway bar, heavy duty rear yokes, the steel fuel line turns 90* where the fuel pump hose connection is attached etc. If you can locate the Noland Adams book you will probably enjoy reading about all the C2 years.

By the way, nice red line tires.. :-)

Tim

hey Tim, looking forward to see your C2 with those redlines !
yes, the car has the HD rear end components as for the rear sway bar, it was removed (so I'm told) when the prior owner did the body on restoration and replaced the trailing arms and did not put it back ?? don't know why ?? correct 1" bar up front

[Richard M.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Dave,

Just to clarify, the front sway bar on SB was 3/4", BB was 7/8". If the BB(L71, L89, L88) had optional F41 HD suspension, the bar was 15/16".

[Mike M.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

f-41 OD was 15/16" wasn't it rich? mike

[Richard M.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Ooops, Thanks Mike, Correct! Brain blip. I'll edit my post.

f-41 OD was 15/16" wasn't it rich? mike

[Dave B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Thanks Richard, I'm starting to think this car was born a SB .......

[Richard M.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Dave, Here are a few other tidbits of information that only apply to BB cars.....

Under the front valence on the right side, there are depressions for the lower front bumper braces. The BB radiator had clearance issues on the right side. The factory used a rough cut saw to cut away a little bit of that depression. Here is a original '67 BB car with all original body parts.




Left(Driver side) depression. Note the even edge of the fiberglass.


Here is the right(Pass) side. As you can see, the edge is cut away in the forward direction. This was to help clear the radiator and support which is unique to the BB cars.


Also note the unpainted area that is squared off with the hole. You can also see 2 holes, each side, for the headlight surround support rod lower L-brackets which attach to the lower support horizontal. A 5/16" bolt passes through the lower support, rear to front, into the open hole of the L-bracket, then threads into the support rod weld-nut. SB cars used the valence hole towards the rear, as the support for the SB cars was unique and not as deep. Original lower valences all had those 2 rearward holes.

For BB cars, the worker on the line would have to drill a new hole in the valence on each side, apx 2' forward(as shown above with that squared off textured unpainted area), to accommodate the BB support. A Phillips head screw and washer was installed from under the valence up into the weld nut on the L-Bracket. Since the support, L-brackets, and Phillips screws/flat washers were installed BEFORE paint, the Phillips screws and washers would get body color, albeit typically light coverage.

Here you can see the BB L-brackets, rods and the Phillips screws under the valence. Screws were painted black on this car after assembly in this case as I removed the support and refinished all pieces including the screws.


Here's the lower rod and L-bracket hardware before assembly. These photos from a SB car as I didn't have photos of those parts for the above BB car. The lower valence on this car was missing the holes and L-brackets so I had to drill holes for the Phillips screws. I had to acquire reproduction brackets. ignore those cutoff pieces in the photo as those were what a prior owner had mounted instead of the L-brackets.



If you see traces of those L-brackets on the inside of the valence on each side, at the rear holes for the Phillips screws, meaning old depressions and a squared off texture, then it may have been a SB car. You probably need the car to be on a lift to view this entire area better. Sometimes you can see the top valence area with the hood open looking down in front of the radiator support lower horizontal.

Rich

[Dave B.]

Re: new member with question ...... or two

Hey Rich, thanks for all the great detailed info, I appreciate it !

now I've got todo some 'Dick Tracy' work !