'65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

[Carr C.]

According to the '65 JG, the exhaust system should be blacked out on the bottom by mits and done very sloppy.

Our judging sheet we just got back from the NCRS Regional in Frisco, TX the judge has a note saying it should be on the top and not the bottom, which is completely opposite from the JG.

What's going on with that? Did the judge just completely miss this?

Does anyone know the truly correct way to do the black-out?

Thank you!

[Alan D.]

Re: '65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

The idea of the muffler black out was to hide the bright muffler when the customer was looking at the car, therefore the blackout is more on the side of the muffler - both top and bottom. Some good photo's of original cars may also be seen under threads of the off road exhaust.
As for "mits" NO SUCH THING!!!

[Wayne M.]

Re: '65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

Then there's that 1964 Motor Trend review; put the car on a hoist. A real black-out mess .



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[Tony S.]

Re: '65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

The '64 photo in Wayne's post is typical for '64 but not necessarily for the '65 exhaust system. The '65 JG is now under revision, and this is an area that will be amended. Attached are photos of an original 8,000 mile '65 396 under car exhaust system. There is typically littleMuffler lower.jpgMuffler top.jpg blackout on the pipes but obvious paint on the outboard half (upper and lower) of the muffers. In '65, the chassis was upright when the blackout was applied. Even is Wayne's photo above, you can see that the drips run down--not up (as it would if the blackout was applied with the chassis still upside down). GM didn't want the glint of silver to shine through the rear wheel well so the outer portion of the muffler should be blacked out. As for the exhaust pipes, if you are going to black them out, then it should appear that the black paint was sprayed from the top with drips running down--not vice versa.

This is an example where the current '65 JG is not correct.

[Bill W.]

Re: '65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

Hi Tony . So if blackout was sprayed on the mufflers while hanging on a semi completed chassis going down the line you should expect to see some black on the rear suspension & axle shafts . If you have a 65 with side exhaust there should be no sign of black overspray correct ?

[Tony S.]

Re: '65 396 Exhaust Black-Out???

Bill, I would not be surprised to see blackout on portions of the rear suspension (half shafts, maybe a small amount on strut rods, the top of the rear spring and perhaps even blackout on the differential). The front sway bar often has blackout on it. I don't think these cars were blacked out uniformly. However, when you keep in mind the manufacturing sequence, you get a sense how the blackout should appear in these areas. When we judge chassis, we don't get that hung up on the exhaust pipe blackout, but we do with the muffers. If, however, an owner chooses to blackout the pipes, then the blackout should appear as though it was applied from the top with black drips running down. It makes sense that cars with side exhaust may have less blackout than under car exhaust cars.

Hope this helps.

Tony