K19 option

[Robert M.]

Was the K19 option available on 1966 L72 427/425 Corvettes?

[Gary J.]

[Robert M.]

Re: K19 option

Gary,
Thanks for the information
Bob

[Duke W.]

Re: K19 option

I'm not so sure about that. The subject has been discussed before and it's controversial. All '66 and '67 cars sold in California had to meet HC and CO tailpipe standards. The only way to do this back then was air injection and ported vacuum advance. As far as I know L-72/71 were available for sale in California those two years.

As an interesting side note, there was only one carburetor for L-72. It has ported vacuum advance and was also used on L-72s that were sold in the rest of the country. My take is that because L-72 was a low volume engine, Chevrolet decided not to have a different 49-state carb with full time vacuum advance, and the ported vacuum advance is a big reason why L-72s tend to run hot, especially in hot weather low speed traffic.

Duke

[Jack M.]

Re: K19 option

I'm not sure if this helps, or clouds the topic... but this info appears in some 1966 documentation:

[Duke W.]

Re: K19 option

That's interesting... what document is it from?

Duke

[Jack M.]

Re: K19 option

Duke- That particular image is from my copy of the 1966 Chevrolet Finger-Tip Facts.
It's also included in a couple different locations within the free GM Information Kits.

[Jack M.]

Re: K19 option

Similar text appears in the 1966 Chevy Truck Data Book (there's a section for passenger cars)... also included in the same GM Info Kit:

[Gary J.]

[Joe L.]

Re: K19 option

I'm not so sure about that. The subject has been discussed before and it's controversial. All '66 and '67 cars sold in California had to meet HC and CO tailpipe standards. The only way to do this back then was air injection and ported vacuum advance. As far as I know L-72/71 were available for sale in California those two years.

As an interesting side note, there was only one carburetor for L-72. It has ported vacuum advance and was also used on L-72s that were sold in the rest of the country. My take is that because L-72 was a low volume engine, Chevrolet decided not to have a different 49-state carb with full time vacuum advance, and the ported vacuum advance is a big reason why L-72s tend to run hot, especially in hot weather low speed traffic.

Duke

Duke------


There was at least one other 1966 Chevrolet model that was also K-19 exempt for California. That was 1966 Chevelle SS 396 with L-78 engine. Many references, including GM sourced references, do not show this engine option. A total of 3,099 so-equipped 1966 Chevelles were built, though. Just how many came to California I do not know. Way back when, I had a friend that factory-ordered one brand new. It was delivered here in California and it definitely did not have AIR. In fact, this car was the inspiration for myself and another friend later ordering 1968 Chevelle SS 396's with L-78 (and M-22 in our cases). Unfortunately, beginning in 1967, the "exemption" ended and our cars were equipped with K-19.

Also, I knew several guys that, back in the day, bought new 1966 L-72 Corvettes delivered here in California. None had AIR. In fact, for some reason, I recall one vividly. The guy that owned it was a butcher at the Safeway store I worked at part-time during my college years. It was a coupe and was Mossport Green. By the way, even back then I knew how to tell cars that had AIR removed because of the plugs in the exhaust manifolds.

[Ray K.]

Re: K19 option

Duke,

My 1966 New Product Training Booklet ( TP37 ) states that " The Air Injection Reactor System is mandatory on all Chevrolet, Chevelle, Chevy II, Corvette, and Corvair engines in California ( except the 90 HP, 153 cu. in L-4, and the 425 HP -427 cu. in. V8, and all 10 and 20 series trucks. ) "

Ray

[Joe L.]

Re: K19 option

Duke,

My 1966 New Product Training Booklet ( TP37 ) states that " The Air Injection Reactor System is mandatory on all Chevrolet, Chevelle, Chevy II, Corvette, and Corvair engines in California ( except the 90 HP, 153 cu. in L-4, and the 425 HP -427 cu. in. V8, and all 10 and 20 series trucks. ) "

Ray

Ray------


They missed the 375 hp 396. The 1966 Chevrolet price guide does not even mention the 375 hp 396 in Chevelles but Chevrolet made 3,099 of them. Just another example of mis-information regarding the 375 HP 396 in 1966 Chevelles. As I mentioned, I'm 100% certain that this application did not get AIR in California.

[Ray K.]

Re: K19 option

Joe,

I am inclined to agree with you on the 375 HP Chevelles. I, like you, had a friend that ordered one new, and to the best of my recollection it did not have the AIR system, whereas the the 360HP engines did. The P &A books definitely support the fact that 375 HP engines were available and built for 1966. The local racers in the San Diego area immediately removed the AIR system after their first full throttle run.

Ray

[Jack M.]

Re: K19 option

Here's some 396 info from the 1966 Showroom Catalog... a quick picture of the top, and link to full PDF with Power Team specs:



1966_Chevelle-396.pdf

[Duke W.]

Re: K19 option

Duke------


There was at least one other 1966 Chevrolet model that was also K-19 exempt for California.

So evidence has been presented that California-bound L-72s along with a couple of other engine options did not need AIR. This begs the question why. Why would California offer any "exemptions"? I have never seen any statutory authority for this, and those engines would have definitely needed AIR to pass tail pipe standards because they all have relatively high overlap cam engines, which produce greater HC and CO at idle and low load than more moderately tuned engines.

Also, another question is how did any '66 models without AIR pass field emission tests when they became law back in the mid-eighties for all vehicles back to the '66 model year?

Duke