When I was 16 years old and in the tenth grade I met up with a friend at lunch and he told me he got a car, I said what did you get, he said, lets sneak out to the parking lot and I'll show you. Wow, I was not expecting that, it was a 1965 SS Chevelle, Blue on blue, with a 327 and four speed. I got my first speeding ticket in that car.
Never heard from any GM Engineers why they Chose the same BB High Lift Hydraulic Cam used in the L34,L36,L68,and LS5 Engines vs the #3863143 Solid Lifter Cam used in the L71,L72,L78 and LS6 Optional Engines from 65-71. That same engine in the 65 Corvette with the 143 Cam was rated at 425hp. All other 396's in Chevelle,Camaro,Nova, etc. were rated at 375hp. The reason for this HP Difference was the Corvette's 425hp rating was @ 6400rpm vs the other Models 5600rpm . The Main reason the Corvette L78 Engine was taken to this RPM for the 425hp number was because the Optional L84 327c.i. Fuel Injected SB was rated at 375hp. It wouldn't have been a Good Marketing Strategy to have a newly introduced BB engine that was almost 70 cubic inches larger then the L84 SB and yet have the same HP Numbers. Easy Fix was to just rev the L78 another 800rpm higher and get the higher numbers. Aside from the Cam difference in the Z16 All L78 Engines had identical Engine Components, both internal and external.
I met a guy at a car show years ago (maybe 20 years ago) that had 5 of them & brougt 3 to a car show in Georgia. He had 3 of them inside a huge car haul enclosed trailer. I asked if I could see them & he opened the trailer door & Wow!!!
My little 283 cu. in. 4 speed was a 1964 ss car, came with a 3 speed but put the 4 speed but i never got to race it cause i sold it to a friend of mine without thinking the consequence of what i did? But it was fun while i had it!!!!
The Z-16 is my personal favorite of all the Chevelle's. I remember reading about them back in the 70's as a kid in Junior High. My buddies and I were just starting to get really interested in muscle cars and even then the Z-16 seemed very, very special! One thing I never understood was the single spin rear end. Apparently they claimed it was intended to make them corner better. My guess is that it was really done to keep the "celebrity" or "VIP" owners from killing themselves. That wouldn't have been very good publicity! Another interesting thing about the Z-16 is the rear anti sway bar. Wasn't it 1968 before they appeared on the Chevelle again?Really sad to hear about the one that got "wrecked" a week before the show! Could you please elaborate more on that? Was the car a total loss? Hopefully not!
Dan Blocker did own one . Chevrolet was the prime advertiser on Bonanza and so they arranged for him to get one, He sold it around 1968 and the car is still on the road ,
Yes Dan Blockers Z16 Chevelle was the only convertible Z16 Chevelle and it did get sold I think I seen it on TV one time and I believe it was in Georgia but it was the one and only see 16 convertible cuz Dan Blocker wanted a comfortable Z16 Chevelle convertible was Dan Blockers one and only convertible thank you
John Biolchini And I would imagine Dan Blocker had a very difficult time sitting in the drivers seat (due to his huge size). Probably hardy drove it I would guess.
John Biolchini Not sure if that is correct that Dan Blocker had a convertible. His car was in Georgia at one time & a guy was restoring it but that was years ago. There was supposedly 1 convertible made & it went to a GM executive I was told.
. . . to think what a big deal this optioned car was at time of delivery and first drive home and conversations with neighbors..between the horsepower and when us made muscle cars and new car models in general were a big deal and recognized around town... I owned a 65 impala ss convertible- my friend had red . on red 65 ss impala hard top with a much more rare hp 327 package that many don't know about... another owed 65 white ss Conv. impala , another owed 67 chevelle conv. another owed 67 ss chevelle hardtop many..many sets of tires between all of us.... many have no idea of the size of 396 and up heads and general dynamic of big block in your face hp Thanks for sharing
these z16 option is a cool option. a special answer for the gto !
When I was 16 years old and in the tenth grade I met up with a friend at lunch and he told me he got a car, I said what did you get, he said, lets sneak out to the parking lot and I'll show you. Wow, I was not expecting that, it was a 1965 SS Chevelle, Blue on blue, with a 327 and four speed. I got my first speeding ticket in that car.
Beautiful cars.... my dad owns one 65 SS it has 38 years on our family
One of he best looking muscle cars imo.
1965 was the last year for the 409. was ever build a malibu with a 409 ?
Never heard from any GM Engineers why they Chose the same BB High Lift Hydraulic Cam used in the L34,L36,L68,and LS5 Engines vs the #3863143 Solid Lifter Cam used in the L71,L72,L78 and LS6 Optional Engines from 65-71. That same engine in the 65 Corvette with the 143 Cam was rated at 425hp. All other 396's in Chevelle,Camaro,Nova, etc. were rated at 375hp. The reason for this HP Difference was the Corvette's 425hp rating was @ 6400rpm vs the other Models 5600rpm . The Main reason the Corvette L78 Engine was taken to this RPM for the 425hp number was because the Optional L84 327c.i. Fuel Injected SB was rated at 375hp. It wouldn't have been a Good Marketing Strategy to have a newly introduced BB engine that was almost 70 cubic inches larger then the L84 SB and yet have the same HP Numbers. Easy Fix was to just rev the L78 another 800rpm higher and get the higher numbers. Aside from the Cam difference in the Z16 All L78 Engines had identical Engine Components, both internal and external.
Just to cover all bases, the 396 V8, as installed in fullsize 1965 Chevrolets was rated at 325hp, 410 ft-lbs of torque with one 4BBL Holley.
I met a guy at a car show years ago (maybe 20 years ago) that had 5 of them & brougt 3 to a car show in Georgia. He had 3 of them inside a huge car haul enclosed trailer. I asked if I could see them & he opened the trailer door & Wow!!!
My little 283 cu. in. 4 speed was a 1964 ss car, came with a 3 speed but put the 4 speed but i never got to race it cause i sold it to a friend of mine without thinking the consequence of what i did? But it was fun while i had it!!!!
The Z-16 is my personal favorite of all the Chevelle's. I remember reading about them back in the 70's as a kid in Junior High. My buddies and I were just starting to get really interested in muscle cars and even then the Z-16 seemed very, very special! One thing I never understood was the single spin rear end. Apparently they claimed it was intended to make them corner better. My guess is that it was really done to keep the "celebrity" or "VIP" owners from killing themselves. That wouldn't have been very good publicity! Another interesting thing about the Z-16 is the rear anti sway bar. Wasn't it 1968 before they appeared on the Chevelle again?Really sad to hear about the one that got "wrecked" a week before the show! Could you please elaborate more on that? Was the car a total loss? Hopefully not!
Why did they put an open rear in theses Z16 cars. What were they Thinking? All these go fast options with a non posi rear. Damm
i believe GM gave 1 of these cars to Dan Blocker
Dan Blocker did own one . Chevrolet was the prime advertiser on Bonanza and so they arranged for him to get one,
He sold it around 1968 and the car is still on the road ,
Yes Dan Blockers Z16 Chevelle was the only convertible Z16 Chevelle and it did get sold I think I seen it on TV one time and I believe it was in Georgia but it was the one and only see 16 convertible cuz Dan Blocker wanted a comfortable Z16 Chevelle convertible was Dan Blockers one and only convertible thank you
John Biolchini And I would imagine Dan Blocker had a very difficult time sitting in the drivers seat (due to his huge size). Probably hardy drove it I would guess.
John Biolchini Not sure if that is correct that Dan Blocker had a convertible. His car was in Georgia at one time & a guy was restoring it but that was years ago. There was supposedly 1 convertible made & it went to a GM executive I was told.
@@johnbiolchini8352 - Dan Blockers Chevelle was yellow with a black vinyl top and white interior.
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to think what a big deal this optioned car was at time of delivery and first drive home and
conversations with neighbors..between the horsepower and when us made muscle cars and new car models in general were a big deal and recognized around town...
I owned a 65 impala ss convertible-
my friend had red . on red 65 ss impala hard top with a much more rare hp 327 package that many don't know about... another owed 65 white ss Conv. impala , another owed 67 chevelle conv. another owed 67 ss chevelle hardtop
many..many sets of tires between all of us....
many have no idea of the size of 396 and up heads and general dynamic of big block in your face hp
Thanks for sharing