Journal Updates

When disassembling anything on the car, make sure you take lots of photos (or even a video). You might not get around to reassembling the parts for days (or months!), so take it from me, you'll forget where things went, or which washer went on first. Having reference photos can be a life saver, and they come in handy if you're crazy enough to build a website documenting your projects.

From their introduction in 1963 through their final year in 1967, the Kelsey-Hayes alloy wheels went through several subtle design changes as detailed below.

It is generally agreed that no production 1963 Corvettes were shipped from the factory with knock-off wheels. But, some race cars and the first few pilot cars did have the early-style, two-bar knock-off wheels installed.

In 1964, the original Kelsey-Hayes wheels had the manufacturing dates ink-stamped on the wheel’s mating surface. For 1965 and 1966, the wheels had the dates hard-stamped on the backside. Then, in 1967, almost as quickly as they appeared, the knock-offs were gone, thanks to federal regulations. The wheels still looked similar, but the rotating spinner was considered unsafe and eliminated.

1963 – 1964 – Natural aluminum finish between the fins, with a chrome center cone.
1965 – Charcoal Gray Metallic finish between the fins, with a chrome center cone.
1966 – Charcoal Gray Metallic finish between the fins, with a brushed finish center cone.
1967 – Charcoal Gray Metallic Finish between new thinner fins, with a Special “Starburst” Center cap.

Many Corvette owners carry a small screwdriver to help with the removal of the center caps on the knock-off wheel spinners. I've found it difficult to remove these caps without damaging them, so I purchased this Knock-Off Center Cap Removal Tool from Zip Corvette. This tool features a large suction-cup with a t-handle that makes it easy to remove the caps without damaging them.

The whole bird cage on C2 Corvettes was painted in green zinc chromate primer. St Louis bodied cars then had the area under the glove box (where the trim and vin tag are located) blacked out, whereas A.O. Smith bodied cars (of which the Red Rocket is one) had body colour overspray in that area. St Louis cars had under-body reinforcement steel parts painted black while A.O Smith cars were in green zinc chromate. Green zinc chromate primer can also be found on the door inspection panels (behind the door trims) and the core support area behind the headlights.

Zinc chromate's main use is as a coating over iron or aluminium materials. It was used extensively on aircraft by the US military, especially during the 1930s and 1940s. It is also used in a variety of paint coatings for the aerospace and automotive industries. Because of its toxicity, zinc chromate paint has been banned in many countries, including Australia.

In 1963, Corvette exhaust pipes were either 2.0 or 2.5 inches in diameter. 1963-1965 exhaust manifolds could have either 2.0 or 2.5-inch outlet size, with all high-performance small blocks (like the L-79 in the Red Rocket) using the 2.5-inch manifold connected to 2.5-inch exhaust pipes.

After 1965 all small block engines had 2.0 manifolds, although the higher horsepower engines continued to have 2.5-inch pipes, which had a smaller 2.0-inch connection to the manifold.

Big block engines had 2.5-inch manifolds and pipes. 1963-1967 mufflers were standard, or the optional N11 off-road mufflers, with one less baffle inside, giving less restriction and a more aggressive sound.

Regardless of the pipe size or engine horsepower, muffler outlets are always 2.0 inches.

The factory offered an optional side exhaust from 1965-1967 with 2-inch or 2.5-inch inlet pipes with aluminium covers — option code N14.

Magnaflow mufflers employ a straight-through design (with no baffles) that is packed with stainless steel wool. A perforated pipe of the same diameter as the inlet and outlet runs straight through the muffler case unimpeded, and the stainless-steel wool surrounding the perforations soaks up the annoying frequencies like a sponge, turning the kinetic energy into heat, while passing the flow straight through the muffler.

This design does a really good job of absorbing acoustic energy across a wide band of frequencies — especially midrange and upper-midrange frequencies. This type of acoustic dampening takes the edge off the sound while preserving the lower frequencies — the "rumble." From a flow perspective, Magnaflow mufflers are hard to beat (a straight pipe or a bullet muffler would be a good flow analogue) and the Magnaflow sound is preferred by many.