Volume 1, Issue 3

by Cara Barrett on September 26, 2011

Incredible ’67 Corvette “Pro-Classic” Convertible Now for Sale at AlanColvin.com

For Sale

I am honored to have the exclusive listing for this incredible 3-owner “Pro-Classic” Corvette on my site. I consider it to be one of the top 10 modified Corvettes in the US. Rich Lagasse built this car and he is considered by many to be the premier modified Corvette builder in the country. This car is not your typical “trailer queen/show only” Corvette….it’s way too much FUN to drive!!

Check it out here.

Sincerely,

Alan Colvin

INSPECTION NOTIFICATION

Inspection

I recently did a pre-purchase Level 1 inspection on a ’66 GTO and it will be posted on my website later this week. For any type of inspection/appraisal done on any car, please contact me at services@alancolvin.com

BOWTIE ADVISOR

El Camino Ideas

I have a 1968 El Camino SS with a 396/ 4 Speed combination. I purchased your Chevrolet by the Numbers book a while back. It has told me all I need to know except for a couple of things. On the trim tag, the numbers “117412 and 201490” at the top and the letters “BF” in the trimline at the bottom . What do they mean? I would also like to know if the transmission is an M22? It has the drain plug boss drilled and tapped and a plug like the one in your book. Can you tell me if this car had a 396/350HP or 396/375HP engine from the factory? The engine block I know is not correct but it still has the original intake manifold with casting #3933163. Thanks for all your help. -K. P., Burwell, NE

The numbers you are asking about are the daily production sequence numbers which were used to track the car through the plant. They make no reference to the options of the car. The letters “BF” do not have any reference to options either. Many Chevelles had one or two letter codes which were stamped on trim tags but no one has ever discovered any correlation to them relating specific information to the car. The transmission is original to your car since the VIN matches the cars VIN.The front drain plug being tapped is a good sign that it could be an M22. When the car is driven, you should hear a REAL loud whine, which is indicative to all M22 transmissions. The only sure way of telling if it is an M22 is to pull the side cover and inspect the pitch of the gears. On the issue of which engine was originally installed, check several other original cars to see if there any differences in the fuel lines of a 350HP car to a 375HP car. This can sometimes be a tip off since the Rochester carb cars sometimes had two lines (one was a return for emissions regulations) from the tank, where a Holley equipped car would only have one. If the intake is original as you say, it would only be correct for a 375HP car. On a final note, if the car does indeed have the M22, it is also doubtful that someone would order an M22 transmission behind a 350HP car. Food for thought, huh?

LS6 Chevelle Dreams

I have a ’70 LS6 Chevelle and I am interested in determining if the VIN, trim tag and engine are matching. It is difficult to tell if any of these numbers were forged or if they are all original. As you can see they do match. Do you feel these are matching numbers and are they correct? Thank you for your help. -D.R., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Trim Tag:

ST 70 13637 A 49297 BDY

TR 756 B80 B90 75 75 PNT

05C 375660 480270

VIN: 136370A163437

Engine Code: T0413CRV

Engine Stamp: 10A163437

Transmission VIN: 11P148894

Transmission Build Date: P1A21A

Rear Axle Code: CRV1223B1

It looks like the VIN, trim tag, engine and rear axle are correct for this car, although it looks like someone launched the transmission at some point. The transmission is obviously wrong and looks like it came from a 1971 Pontiac. It has the letter “A” in the build date which designates an M20 wide ratio transmission, which is totally incorrect for this car. All 1970 LS6 Chevelles came with either an M22 (build date code “C”) or a Turbo hydramatic 400 transmission. No other four speeds were ever installed. Other than this transmission, it looks like a pretty complete car. If you need a correctly dated M22 transmission for your car, call some of these top 4 speed rebuilders: Darrell Shepperd/4Speeds by Darrell at 800-365-1102 , Keith Hoak/Hoss’ Gear Shop at 412-423 6502 or Eric Davidson/Crash Enterprises at 414-657 1962 (6 10PMonly) Tell them I sent you.

Got a Chevrolet question you can’t find the answer to, well send it to me and let me take a crack at it! Email me at bowtieadvisor@alancolvin.com

For more GM &Chevy Q & A, visit www.alancolvin.com

Previous post: We met a driving hero, a real legend in motorsports, Walter Rohrl.

Next post: SOLD: Stunning ‘56 Ford T-bird Now for Sale

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  John (Hutch) Hutchinson, Owner/Manager, Corvette Grand Sport Registry
- “Alan is an classic car industry expert with solid auto industry management experience, he was an excellent manager for us at Autocomm. His technical ability is obvious with the series of books he has written on the auto industry. He has a great grasp of the business angles and relationships and I look forward to working with Alan in current and future endeavors.”
  
  Eric Gettemy, Former VP/Partner, AutoComm Inc./Current SW Regional Director at AIM
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Volume 1, Issue 3

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