I'm thinking the overheating had something to do with it. I'm wondering if the machine shop should have detected a little bit less force required to remove the damaged piston. I'm sure if the overheating did in fact cause the loose pin, it should have been noticed then.

Likely not, considering the method shops use to change pistons - heat the pin end of the rod (with torch, or induction heating coils) until the pin gets loose enough to push out. Rods that worn obviously cannot be recovered, unless you bush them. If they are standard rods (not "pink" rods), that's probably not cost effective. "Pinks" came both as press fit pins and floaters: the biggest differences involved shot peening - pinks were peened, standards were not.

When I rebuilt my 302 in '75, I had the original rods bronze bushed. The shop that rebuilt them in Nashville cussed me when I picked them up - they noted that they expended many a drill bit attempting to drill the pin oiling holes - shot peening really works -

Regards,
Steve

I checked the rear bracket today - large head screws still in the plate, patina like the fronts, obviously where I left them in '80 when I disassembled the car. No AAc stamping on that bracket, just the GM part number that I could see in the middle of the part. So much for the matching screws theory I had -

Steve

Gary,

Good question - I've seen the same thing. I need to dig up my rear bracket and see if the screws are still in it; at least that would give another clue if they do match. I'll let you know if they do.

Regards,
Steve

Last pics are of screws and overall appearance -

Just wish I had bought multiples of everything I started getting from GM starting in 1980 - that's when I figured out what the X77 on the cowl tag meant, and found out how to get the original documentation. As years went by, I managed to accumulate a lot of NOS parts, but I only had 1 car up until 1992, and then only '69's until 2011 when I added the lonely '68 Z (by selling an LS5 '70 Chevelle).

You live and learn, constant process. That's also why a geez like me likes the site -

Regards,
Steve

Gary,

Two comparisons - first is my original bracket from my '69 Z (on the car since I got it in '73), and the NOS one I bought in the '80's. Stampings are within a couple of millimeters of the same spot - pretty good indication they were by the same manufacturer.

A pleasant surprise - my original (appearing!) license plate screws are still in place. This piece was on the car last in '80 -

Regards,
Steve

Seeing the color shot of the car being painted brought back a lot of memories for me - my dad had a '65 Impala in this same color -  we called it the Purple Panther - eventually traded it for a '68 Impala Custom Coupe in Gold/Black VT. Never forgot the color -

Over the years, I have seen several '65 Impalas restored with this code - I used to flinch when I saw it, but have actually started to appreciate it. Certainly unique -

Steve

If you'd like, I'll dig my R&L NOS mirrors out of storage tomorrow and post pics of them. I bought both of them from GM in the early 80's (I wanna say $17.00 apiece), and they are still where I put them 30 years ago or so. If I remember correctly, they are DMI's, not DMA's.

Regards,
Steve

Will give you $18 a piece for them.

I bet you would, too. Do you think I could ask $300.00 for the $279.00 quarter panels I bought in '85 ? How bought the $86.00 ZL2 hood in '74 ? I bet it would bring at least a $100.00 -

Gee, don't you wish someone would go on and invent a decent time machine - but then, someone else would get wise to the guy who went back and bought all of the crossram kits up, hoarded COPO's, Yenkos and ZL-1's, and won all the lotteries.

Regards,
Steve

A long shot, but did you check out Donald A. Dixon in Arlington, TX ? Shows approx. age 66, would have made him 25 or so in '72 - currently about 150 miles from San Angelo, near Dallas. If he was originally from Texas, he probably never left the state after the service - those Texas Longhorns are mighty proud of Texas, kinda like us Volunteers are of Tennessee. Worth a look -

Regards,
Steve

Gary,

   Took a couple of comparison pics between my Z11 and open element Z wings, but the file size is way big to attach. Definite difference between the two - if I can figure out some way to shrink 'em, I'll send them to you.

Regards,
Steve

Nor rear end, trans or other pertinent info. Looks brand spanking new to me. Strange indeed.

Steve

If you'd like, I'll dig my R&L NOS mirrors out of storage tomorrow and post pics of them. I bought both of them from GM in the early 80's (I wanna say $17.00 apiece), and they are still where I put them 30 years ago or so. If I remember correctly, they are DMI's, not DMA's.

Regards,
Steve

[mine]

  Getting pretty tough to tell on a lot of these things - you need a scorecard to "grade" them. All the correct parts, but the side of the case is awfully shiny, with an apparent lack of turning operation feed lines, plus the "step" where the distributor cap fits down onto the top appears almost nonexistent (which could indicate the case had been turned down, and restamped). In the long run, I think you should assume the worst in almost all cases - there are just too many people trying to cash in on rare parts and high prices.
  I have a bonifide original, unrestored 499 that my best bud scarfed for me in a local meet a couple of years back for next to nothing - that's a great indicator that it indeed was an original - a counterfeit artist or a Camaro/Chevelle enthusiast would have known what it was, and the price would have been out of this world either way. My thought has been to trade it straight for an earlier date to fit my Dec. 68 L78, but the longer it goes, the more hesitant I am to ask someone to trade it for fear I'll get the king-size salami in the trade. I truly believe the only way I can ever accomplish it will be to send it to Jerry to restore, authenticate, and then act as a middle man to broker the deal (so he could verify both). Not having ever approached him about it, I won't assume that he would do it, but at least he could restore a couple more to add to his wallet.

Regards,
Steve
BTW, I tried to trade the 499 to one of the eBay sellers we have been talking about, thinking he had an original, but when he saw the pictures of mine he actually declared mine to be a fake. I got a good laugh about it, plus resolved not to take this guy in any casual consideration as legit. Shame there aren't more honest people than there are -

There is a slight offset difference between the YH and FW 15" rims, but it is very subtle (about 1/2"), and does not affect tire clearance or brake clearance IMO. I have a set of FW's on my Z11 (YJ's are stored, reserved for show duty w/Goodyears if I ever get to that point), and work/sit right with the 205/50/15's Goodrich T/A's I put on it to drive. Like most RS cars, you have to watch tire size in width and diameter to keep from rubbing the actuator covers, but they work fine and look better to me than the 14" YJ rims in filling up the wheel wells.

When you install the derbys and rings, you'd be hard pressed to see a visual difference between the two. Off the car like these are, look at the center sections position compared to the rim on a known set of YH's and you can probably see the difference. As with everything nowdays, some people will try anything to make a buck, including restamping rims.

Regards,
Steve

Pic is likely over 400 kb, the system won't accept it. Bob is 100% correct - you couldn't have posted a better picture to verify the crank. The Z shaft is the only one produced with that kind of identifying notch. Nice flywheel, though - I wish mine was that pristine.

Regards,
Steve

[before]

I agree with Mike S; you should go a little further before you spin it. I sold my '70 LS5 year before last - it had sat without being turned over for 16 years (while I was busy raising kids) with the intake removed (I was de-tuning it back to stock, replaced an aftermarket intake and L78 heads with stockers). I used a Moroso priming tool that I bought years ago, pumped oil pressure up before even attempting to turn the engine over. I squirted Marvel Mystery Oil cut 50-50 with Castrol GTX into each cylinder, left the plugs out, and then hand-turned the crank 90 degrees and primed again until oil showed up through the pushrods. Buttoned up the block, timed it, and started the engine. The only problems I had were several flat lifters, which finally pumped back up, but no cylinder problems, ring problems, or bearing difficulties. Ran like you expect Chevrolet's finest to do - barked the tires trying to pull it out of the garage.
This engine/car was stored in an unheated garage for a total of 19 years, 16 of those partially torn down, respected but not taken care of as much as it deserved, but it still fired up and ran good enough to trailer to a new owner (so the '68 Z could take it's place). I don't think you'll have much trouble with it - looks great to me.

Regards,
Steve