1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

[John H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

I didn't think AC was available in solid lifter engines in 63 or 64? I don't believe I have ever seen one.

Bob -

It wasn't in '63, but it was in '64 and '65 on the L-76 (365hp) engine; that was the last solid-lifter Corvette engine available with A/C until the '72 LT-1.

[Jim T.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Jim,

There is no attachment in your reply, attached is the pic of the right inner fender, it does have two holes, but not sure if this this the right location since they don't line up w/ the spark plugs.

Also Do you have a 4 speed? can you also attached a pic or two of the linkage from the firewall to the transmission? trying to replace that powerglide and put back the original 4-speed config.

-Danny

Danny I was referencing your attachment photo of the center dash air conditioning duct outlet. My 64 was a 4-speed with 3:08 positracton. The two holes in the right inner fender I mentioned was used to access/remove the front two spark plugs using extension/extensions. With the air conditioning compressor mounted over the two front sparkplugs it made changing the spark plugs easier through the two holes. My holes were a clean cut and looked like it could of come from the factory with them. A 4-speed will have no linkage from the firewall to the transmission. The linkage will only be from the 4-speed shifter to the transmission. I sold my 64 in 1969.

[Domenic T.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Could he be talking about the push rod that go's thru the fire wall that joins the Z-bar then down to the fork?

DOM

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Could he be talking about the push rod that go's thru the fire wall that joins the Z-bar then down to the fork?

DOM

Yes and found good drawings of it in the '63 shop manual and '64 AIM. I think I have all the parts identified now and plan to switch that powerglide to a 4-speed soon.

-Danny

[Dino L.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Compare your hood latch release to see if it is taller than a standard C2 version.....thats a hard to fake C60 giveaway, also you should have the big diameter pulley on your alternator mounted on driver side for an L76.

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Compare your hood latch release to see if it is taller than a standard C2 version.....thats a hard to fake C60 giveaway, also you should have the big diameter pulley on your alternator mounted on driver side for an L76.

Hi Dino,

I attached couple pics, can you able to tell? Also there is a button on top of the hood release bracket, do you know what is it for?

Thanks,
Danny

[Dino L.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

The button on top of the hood relaease was added, it does not appear original. The release looks like a standard C2, and the lower vent plenum looks like it is missing, do you have the lower plenums/ducts in place?

Also the alternator is a modern rebuild, with the pulley and the fan of wrong configuration....I know it is a newer motor, so you can choose to start collecting parts which is a lot of fun....start with the finned SHP balancer and you need the idler pulley and correct pulleys. It looks like your oil fill tube is a L79 version instead of the L76. You also need the proper intake and carb set up...you can get that engine looking stock great in no time. I see you have power brakes, your car is highly optioned!...that intake manifold fitting is hard to find.....for AC, PB and L76. Good luck.....

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

The button on top of the hood relaease was added, it does not appear original. The release looks like a standard C2, and the lower vent plenum looks like it is missing, do you have the lower plenums/ducts in place?

Also the alternator is a modern rebuild, with the pulley and the fan of wrong configuration....I know it is a newer motor, so you can choose to start collecting parts which is a lot of fun....start with the finned SHP balancer and you need the idler pulley and correct pulleys. It looks like your oil fill tube is a L79 version instead of the L76. You also need the proper intake and carb set up...you can get that engine looking stock great in no time. I see you have power brakes, your car is highly optioned!...that intake manifold fitting is hard to find.....for AC, PB and L76. Good luck.....

Thanks for the note, unfortnuately it was an after market power brake, and the button was for the car alarm after re-exam, plan to remove it later. I actually have found all the right block/heads/intake & exhaust manifolds/4-trans in the past few weeks, no carb and oil pan yet. The hardest one is that whole AC unit, and yes, the lower vents are missing and not sure about the parts behind the dash yet. It is going to be a very long project...

-Danny

[Dino L.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

1 088.jpg

1 090.jpg

1 087.jpg

1 081.jpg

These may help you...they are photois from an early 64 AC unit

[James G.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

My trim is 491DE & 923AA paint, riverside red w/ red/white interior, the paint is decent & correct same as the the red dash, but everything else is black now, carpet, seats, softtop. Man, if I can get half of that, I will pay someone to restore it to white in a heartbeat...

Style is E18 64 (what is E18 means? I assume the 64 is for 1964), also what is 5433 Body?

Danny, in 1964 they made only 138 Corvette convertibles with the 365hp engine and air conditioning. In 65, only 133, so they are very rare automobiles. Now add to that Red paint with red/white interior. The correct interior is outstanding. Red dash, red console, red carpets, and white seat covers, door panels. It really "POPS". How many 64 AC 365hp cars with this color combo do you think they made ? 5......10.....12....? Not many I can assure you

64's have always gotten a bad rap, and that goes back to the old drum brake system. Over the years however I have seen 365hp AC 64's sell in the 55-75 range, and that was for a coupe. Converts are really rare.

You might email Diano and ask him if he wants to sell his air conditioning parts......or at least see how much he paid for them. That will give you an idea if you want to tackel the job.

The one item you have not discussed is just how nice is the car? Does it have massive front body damage repair? Is the chassis rusty ? I am not being critical, but these items might make you think hard about putting money into this car.

I like it however, and it really is part of your family. Just think, in 2024, the National NCRS Convention might come back to your town......and you have one of the rarest and neatest 60 year old Corvettes on the planet. And "you" did all the work yourself. It is very rewarding.

[James G.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Style is E18 64 (what is E18 means? I assume the 64 is for 1964), also what is 5433 Body?

E18 means Saturday January 18, 1964 build date.Body #5433 means the 5433rd convertible St. Louis Body. That puts the last 4 digits of your vin # somewhere around 9891.

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

E18 means Saturday January 18, 1964 build date.Body #5433 means the 5433rd convertible St. Louis Body. That puts the last 4 digits of your vin # somewhere around 9891.

pretty close, my VIN is around 9400.

-Danny

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

Danny, in 1964 they made only 138 Corvette convertibles with the 365hp engine and air conditioning. In 65, only 133, so they are very rare automobiles. Now add to that Red paint with red/white interior. The correct interior is outstanding. Red dash, red console, red carpets, and white seat covers, door panels. It really "POPS". How many 64 AC 365hp cars with this color combo do you think they made ? 5......10.....12....? Not many I can assure you

64's have always gotten a bad rap, and that goes back to the old drum brake system. Over the years however I have seen 365hp AC 64's sell in the 55-75 range, and that was for a coupe. Converts are really rare.

You might email Diano and ask him if he wants to sell his air conditioning parts......or at least see how much he paid for them. That will give you an idea if you want to tackel the job.

The one item you have not discussed is just how nice is the car? Does it have massive front body damage repair? Is the chassis rusty ? I am not being critical, but these items might make you think hard about putting money into this car.

I like it however, and it really is part of your family. Just think, in 2024, the National NCRS Convention might come back to your town......and you have one of the rarest and neatest 60 year old Corvettes on the planet. And "you" did all the work yourself. It is very rewarding.

Thanks for the insight, I did notice some work done on the front end and the driver side quarter panel too. The paint job is decent, still turning heads. There are rust on the frame/rear end and few other places, but not too bad I think. Besides rust, the underside is clean, not much oil stains, no leaks in enigne or trans. I have attached couple low-res pics of my "CQRVETT", this special license plate came w/ the car, anyone knows the previous owner(s) or have seen it before?

If you look closerly, you will notice the antenna is on the front passenger side, it also came w/ the car.

I wasn't thinking about doing a frame off, but maybe I should now...

What would you do if there is a budget constrain - do the engine/trans first then frame off much later in 2023? Or wait (save enough money) and do it at the same time? I do have the right date code engine/trans on hand now, just need to rebuild them first.

-Danny

[Danny H.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

First of all, I like to thanks all of you that replied to my original thread. Thought I share the below story w/ you..

For the past few weeks I have been busy taking the body off. But finally got it done and the wife is definitely not happy.

What tip the scale about just doing the 4-speed vs frame off restoration (at a much later time) was that $40 dealership letter...

As I mentioned in my thread, I got a great impression of the vette when I was kid. I was born in Taiwan, came to the States when I was about 12, all I knew about US was the DisneyLand then, but somehow we landed in the Heartland of America, good o' Kansas City. Guess my sis and I got tricked by my folks. I was at a batting cage one day, about 15, out of no where, this man came by and ask if he could show me a thing or two about hitting "correctly". I was so impressive about how he can hit those fastballs w/ just one hand. As he was driving off, of couse, it was a C2 vette. After got my degree at KU, I moved to the Bay area (Go Giants, but my heart is still Royals) and finally got my vette in '94, then got married in it on Oct 18th '97.

So what is all this got to do w/ the shipping data report? I was hoping the report indicates a CA car, but of course it won't be the case. The car was ship to Bill Ireland Chevrolet in .... guess what Kansas City, MO where I spent the first 10 years in the States!! And the kicker is.. Roy Sinor signed this data report on Oct 18th, 2010!! What are the chances of all these..

Anyway, since the body is off, I will be posting many questions about restoration in the coming days/weeks/years. Just want to thank you all in advance.

-Danny

p.s. For those Chiefs fans in KC, if you know anything about the location of Bill Ireland, please send me a note.

[James G.]

Re: 1964 w/ 327/365 AC, worth to restore?

CONGRATS Danny. You are full speed ahead.

The GIANTS should make you happy also.

Now back to 64 Corvettes. I see disc brakes on the chassis. Excellent upgrade. My 64 race B/P Corvette had 67 J-56 duel pin calipers. I don't think you are in the mood to change them back to drums are you?

I also noted some body repair on one of your photos of the right inner fender where it bonds up to the top surround panel. The top surround area was thick with repair. The easiest time to repair that is now when the body is off the frame. You might get "inside" the fender tire cavity and photo each wheelwell, with the bonding strips from the firewall to the headlight area. Body people here on the forum can then help you with discussion on repairs for these areas.

Tell the wife to not get discouraged. The finished product will be well worth the effort. And when complete and done by "you", the personel satisfaction is priceless.