induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

[Keith B.]

the judging manual states it was available around vin 10,000. has there any better research when the first car for production sale was built? Or when was the option released to the dealers to take sales. I did do some searching on here with no luck

[Richard M.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

I think Jack Morocco may have some indirect knowledge. I think he has some early/late dealer sales order forms for '65, or some years. Ping him with a PM maybe.

Rich

[James G.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

First fuel injected car WAS SOLD AT DANIELS CHEV , Colorado Springs. vin #90xx

[Jack M.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

I've looked thru a bunch of paperwork... unfortunately, nothing is definitive. The original 1965 Corvette Dealer Order Form (dated 7/64) does list the N14 sidepipes... then again, some of the 1963 order forms list the knock-off wheels.

Looking at the 1965 Chevrolet Finger-Tip Facts, once again the sidepipes are listed as an option. Later in 1965, the REVISIONS list the 396 engine and a few other Corvette option changes, but OMITS any mention of the sidepipes. As a possibility, it could have simply been omitted because they were already listed.

Checking the 1965 editions of Corvette News, the first mention of sidepipes was midyear... when the 396 came out. Even though it mentions the sidepipes as 'new', it could have been just 'new' to the model year.

Looking at the 1965 Chevrolet Product Data Book, there was nothing specific in any of my bulletins. The 1965 intro edition of Chevrolet Service News does mention the sidepipes... very similar to all the lead info, brochures, and dealer albums.

Over the years, perhaps the NCRS has validated an early 1965 Window Sticker, Car Shipper, or Order Copy 7 with the N14 sidepipes... that would be ideal info to obtain.

[Keith B.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Thanks to all. Reason for the question there was a guy on the CF claiming to have a car with a vin under 2000 with pipes. It’s a 365 with AC red on red car. So I think something is amiss

[Jack M.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Keith- Nothing I've mentioned would confirm or deny the possibility of early sidepipes in 65.

[Richard M.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Good info Jack.

Keith, A clue would be to observe the horizontal birdcage rails for the proper telltale notches, St Louis build, etc?

Rich

[Owen L.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Are there any dated notes in the AIM that could help pin down the time-frame?

[Duke W.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Sure, the AIM sheet(s) for N-14 will have the release date - FOR THE SHEETS, themselves, but that could be either before or even after the parts were available at the plant for production.

I recall the issue of Corvette News that announced both the 396 and sidepipes options and my memory has an image of a coupe photo with both options.

The "revision box" at the lower LH corner of ALL AIM sheets are a wealth of information, unless they ran out of room and overlaid a second revision box or the sheet was "revised and redrawn" in which cases the previous revision information is lost since the AIMs that are available represent late production.

The plant didn't keep superseded, AIM sheets and I'm not sure if engineering did. Think about this. If you kept every old copy of various engineering documents you'd pretty soon be drowned in paper and run out of storage space.

The same with the build sheets that went to the various assembly stations. Most were thrown away after the job was done other than those guys that found the best way to dispose of the trash was to stuff it inside the door panel, under the dash, carpet, etc. A few of use are fortunate for their creativity.

Duke

[Jack M.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

Doing more research, we now have some additional info regarding the 1965 sidepipes.

Back in 2006, JohnZ had posted that VIN 194675S107186 was too early for sidepipes: CLICK HERE

Several years ago, I had downloaded some INTERNAL Chevy documents from the Corvette Action Center.
The 1st letter is from 12-17-64... sidepipes were NOT yet a Corvette production option.
The 2nd letter addresses the intro for the 396 engine for Corvette in early March of 1965... but no mention of the sidepipes.
In my 'guesstimation', the sidepipes weren't mentioned here/now, because they were already released (perhaps in Jan-Feb).

For quick reference, I've added some highlights:

1965 Chevrolet Engineering Center Internal Notes-1a.jpg
1965 Chevrolet Engineering Center Internal Notes-1b.jpg

1965 Chevrolet Engineering Center Internal Notes-2a.jpg
1965 Chevrolet Engineering Center Internal Notes-2b.jpg

[Keith B.]

Re: induction of the N14 side exhaust in 65

thanks that is some good stuff