1965 Z16 Chevelle production dates?

[Mr70]

I think production began February 15th,1965 with only 201 made.The first two being built at Baltimore,while the remaining were built at Kansas Leeds plant.

[jfkheat]

Does the 201 figure include the test/preproduction cars? The red one that was here in Greenville SC was supposed to be one of the test cars. Kevin Whittaker had it displayed at one of his Chevy dealerships. It disappeared last year. I don't know if he sold it or moved it.
James

[markjohnson]

I bought a complete Z-16 396-375 HP engine from a bank parking lot swap meet in the early '90's for $900.00 that had a casting date of Feb. 5, 1965.

[PeteLeathersac]

On a similar note, isn't Feb. '65 the same time Mark 1V production was replacing 409s in full size units? . What would the earliest casting of any Mark 1V production blocks be? . So Mark, where did this Z-16 motor go....did you find any info on the car it was from? ~ Pete

[markjohnson]

I'm pretty sure you're correct in the assumption that Feburary 1965 was the changeover month from the 409 to the 396 in full size cars. Back to my old Z-16 engine, I was street racing pretty heavy at the time and was not worried too much about the "IX" suffix on the block. I was more interested in the fact that it was a fresh four bolt main, steel crank Rat motor that would handle some serious spray. I don't remember the VIN of the car but I do know that it was punched out to 427 cubic inches which was possible on those 1965 four-bolt 396 blocks. I ran it for about a year, then sold it to a collector on the east coast. What's funny is, when he asked me what state I'm in, I told him Missouri. He tells he recently purchased an engineless Z-16 Chevelle body from a town called Imperial, Mo. I then tell him that I live in the town next to Imperial about two miles away, and I think he went into cardiac arrest over the telephone. It turns out though that it wasn't his original engine, but from a different car. I was actually shocked that I did not know about the car he had bought from Imperial that had been so close to me for years.

[PeteLeathersac]

Cool story Mark....gotta' love where things can go when keeping check on suffix codes! . Not to take away from the original post of the production window of Z-16's (anyone who knows please respond), but was the replacement to L-78 from FI motors in the 'Vettes this same time period too? ~ Pete

[mrrec]

[ QUOTE ]
What would the earliest casting of any Mark 1V production blocks be? ~ Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

A 5 is the earliest I've seen. It is possible (but not likely) there were some Dec 64 blocks and heads but the early heads are not dated. Engineering received the #1 car on about the 24th of Dec, 1964 and hand made most of the special parts. It is very unlikely anything Z16 predated this by more than a few weeks. As an example, the 12 bolt rear center section used was cast (for all Z16s) in late December, but there is nothing special about the center section, so they built the GA rears on two days in January from a pile of centers that had been cast a few weeks earlier. Most components show a similar pattern: build a batch (199) on one or two days with a common casting date.

Dave

[SS427]

Dave,
I took these pictures at Super Chevy Sunday in Indy around 1983. Note the lack of a vinyl top. Do you know the car? The current owner is welcome to the original photos I have.
Rick



Thanks to Bruce for helping me post them.

[mrrec]

Rick:
Can't tell which car that is without numbers - there are a number of red, no top, black int. cars out there (in fact, that is about the most popular color combo). It is, however, likely real as there just wasn't enough info out there in '83 to fake it. The master cylinder, exh manifolds and wheelcovers are wrong......
Thanks.
Dave

[mssl72]

[ QUOTE ]
On a similar note, isn't Feb. '65 the same time Mark 1V production was replacing 409s in full size units? ~ Pete

[/ QUOTE ]

Pete,
The L35 (396/325hp), M40 (Turbo 400) and the Z18 (Caprice Custom Sedan option) all entered production in February 1965. Colvin's book mentions February 15th as the day the 396's went in production.

The option list I have also shows totals for the L78's (396/425hp) but doesn't state when it went into production. I don't see a listing for the L37 that the Z16's had. I would assume all 396's started about the same time.