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The local Chevy dealership here in town sold 2 Black Panthers back in the day.I too have heard about the one car with the 396.He apparently takes it to cruise nights once on a awhile.I believe it originally came with a 327 and he put in the 396.The one from Sault Ste Marie was for sale in Hemmings a few months ago.He wanted $250000 for it.

I am running Brad Penn 20W-50.I was originally running Castrol Syntec 5W-50.My engine is a 396/375hp.The engine is done all stock including exhaust manifolds.It is just running a lumpier camshaft.

Will running a thicker viscosity oil increase engine temperatures?

I posted pictures of the template you need.The subject heading is 68 RS wheel well mouldings and is in the Restoration forum.

Got my info today.Dealer code is 45 in zone 30.The name of the dealership is Tom Benson Chev Co Inc. in San Antonio Texas.Good news is that the dealership is still in business!

On my 68 BB what colour should the cast iron P/S pulley be?Natural, semi-gloss or gloss like the pump?

Sorry.The low mile chevelle I am referring to is from the "correct engine paint suggestions" subject.

Did 68 big blocks also have the different style of bolts?Were french locks used in 68?Also if you had AIR injection did they use the french locks?The picture of the low mile Chevelle with AIR does not have french locks.

It sounds like the circuit breaker is coming off and on.If that is the case then you have to find out where the short is on that circuit.

I posted pictures on this forum of the GM instruction sheet where it tells you how  to convert standard front mouldings to RS mouldings.This sheet was included with the mouldings when you purchased them since the RS front mouldings were discontinued.

My vacuum advance came in and it is the right one.It is the AIRTEX 4V1053 and it is stamped B28.Opens at 4"hg and stops at 8"hg.I ordered it from Amazon and had it shipped to me in Canada for $21.64.The part itself was $4.99.There is still lots on Ebay and Amazon and ROCKAUTO.If you order from ROCKAUTO make sure you use 1973 Caprice/Impala 350 2 bbl because if you use 1973 Camaro 350 2bbl it will not come up.

I had the vacuum advance P/N VC181 come in and it is the wrong one.It starts at 7" and ends at 13" so it will not work on my car.It is also stamped B26.I was already to order it from one of the Corvette suppliers and pay 45.00 but decided to check the internet one more time.And I lucked out.AIRTEX manufactures vacuum advances and they have the one I need.The p/n is 4V1053.There are lots on ebay and amazon.Also ROCKAUTO has them but it is not listed under 1973 Camaro 2bbl.Instead use 1973 Caprice 2bbl and it will come up.And beside the listing it shows the Autozone p/n DV1810 as well as GM p/n 88924985 and 1973469 as a cross reference.

Thanks Ed.I will try ordering  that part number from the suppliers that I deal with.

I once again talked to the auto suppliers that are shop deals with(independent auto supplier,UAP/NAPA,Car Quest and Parts Source)and they all said the same thing.All the part numbers listed in the forum are discontinued or obsolete.I even tried the the application :1973 Camaro 350 2 bbl and they said it too was discontinued/obsolete.I also told them to look up Standard Motor Products/Blue Streak and guess what?Discontinued  or obsolete.Now I know you said that Autozone can get them but here in Canada we do not have Autozone stores.That is why I was looking at the vacuum advances from Paragon Corvette.

I switched my vacuum advance from ported to manifold vacuum on my 396/375hp and boy what a difference.My car always ran fine but now it runs even better.I also noticed a drop in engine temperature at idle.Any time my car idled for long periods or I got stuck in traffic I would see the temp gauge slowly go up.I had it running for a 1/2 hour and the hottest it got was 197 degrees.The only problem I have is I cannot find the correct vacuum advance.I am running 12" hg at idle and my advance starts to move at 8"hg and stops at 15"hg.So my idle is a little unstable.All the part numbers listed in the forum for the vacuum advance I need are discontinued.Car Quest told me the part number is good but they are not sure they can get it.Paragon Corvette has an aftermarket vacuum advance with the correct GM part number that I need but they said they do not know if it is the right 4"hg start to 8"hg end that it is supposed to be. I don't want to spend 45.00 and it is the wrong one.Has JohnZ  ever dealt with Paragon Corvette?They have 6 different advances listed with different part numbers.I just want to know if all the advance units are the same vacuum pull but have different numbers stamped.IN NCRS judging I guess they check numbers like that.Someone who has a NCRS corvette is probably more interested in the correct numbers than drivability.