That's correct. Sometime in July I believe they started with the "C". Mine is an 08D and it has the C. It seems like yours should have it being so late. It does look like it could have been peened over for some reason like you said. That 5 looks interesting too. I haven't seen that before.
Here's what mine looks like.

https://live.staticflickr.com/5628/3...5a3a0f33_k.jpg20150121_183238 by Dave H, on Flickr

Yes. This is what I suspected. It is what I believe to have been originally stamped with a C and then peened. Small timeframe that this happened but it jives with what data I have collected. Thank you for reporting back.




Finally had a chance to come back to this:
For the record the stamp is legit. It is to this point the latest that I have that is peened.

That is a keeper in my book, very nice Z!! My Z is from N.C also, Greensboro area. Called the N.C. DMV and talked to a gal. She went out of her way to look in thru the microfilm and put into the system for me. I sent in the $10.00 and received a bunch of title info, including the ''Statement of Origin'' with the Dealers name. You might want to give them a call at 919-715-7000. Good luck!!

Being as clean as this car is, today I decided to delve into the interior a little and see just how nice it really is. Suffice to say I was utterly impressed. Car has original front mats and what appeared to be original carpet so I pulled the seats to get a better look at everything including the seat backs and bottoms. Wow...completely rust free seats with super clean frames that look like they just went into the car last week. And the carpet is original for sure.

The inside floors are meticulous throughout the cabin, and everything is super clean from the seat back and package tray right up to the firewall pad and up under the dash. No evidence of the car ever seeing any moisture or humidity whatsoever. In fact, the floors and inner sheet metal are some of the cleanest originals I have ever seen in person. Now to deodorize things a touch and put it all back. Made for a fun afternoon where everything appears unmolested and wickedly clean in there. The X 7 is written on the rear package tray but a little hard to read with all that glue over top. Stellar car for sure.

https://i.ibb.co/7CQ0wQ6/IMG-7163.jpg
Car up on the lift where I'll go through everything this winter.

https://i.ibb.co/WHBX1jC/IMG-7166.jpg
Front original mats are in decent shape. Driver side is a little brittle.

https://i.ibb.co/Hnnh1nW/IMG-7137.jpg
Original carpets with factory cuts, jute padding and sound deaden-er.

https://i.ibb.co/pRR7YDz/IMG-7122.jpg
Original sill plates with the rivets which are in great shape.

https://i.ibb.co/m8pXfDF/IMG-7127.jpg
Floors are simply spotless in the front and rear. Found this cardboard under it.

https://i.ibb.co/GtcdpY6/IMG-7121.jpg
All original sound deaden-er and jute padding. Bolt's came out like butter too!

https://i.ibb.co/T8M443W/IMG-7133.jpg
Everything up under the dash is super clean and unmolested throughout.

More pics in the next post including the backs of the seats.

https://i.ibb.co/WD8j763/IMG-7151.jpg
Seat backs are super clean with no evidence of any critters ever.

https://i.ibb.co/7XMC0bX/IMG-7152.jpg
And check out those frames. The car could never of seen any humidity ever?

https://i.ibb.co/7J98mD8/IMG-7113.jpg
The bottoms of the buckets are absolutely impeccable. Zero rust or flashing!

https://i.ibb.co/5j3dHt8/IMG-7120.jpg
Head rests are hard to see but are dated 9 17 69 with mint cushions.

https://i.ibb.co/25vy3C7/IMG-7153.jpg
Rear package trays has the X 7 written in crayon as seen here.

https://i.ibb.co/cXyYXm1/IMG-7162.jpg
You really don't see many 50 year old cars looking this clean inside. Zero rust!

https://i.ibb.co/5MkxM1y/IMG-7156.jpg
Back wheel wells are super clean, seams are all good and it still has the shock caps.

I’m not a 69 guy, but I LOVE this car!

Here's a final picture from today's inspections. The door jamb confirming star shape door strikers for a late issue car.

https://i.ibb.co/h8xDjLD/IMG-7167.jpg

wow, really impressive Graeme.

Graeme, You are the right guy to take this car to the next level, if the 3rd owner would not have hit a deer, it would probably still have original paint.
Here is the twin to your car that was also sold at Freddy's in the early 70's, it had 30k original miles all org sheetmetal flat hood & no spoiler.

That's a great picture Jeff...

It would be cool to have that early LB flat hood / non spoiler car and put it next to this late ZL2 optioned car, just to compare with one another. I'm still going through everything and learning the differences between the early vs late cars. There are a few subtle changes in the part numbers between the two.

In going through the car, it's just so original in so many ways. The lower suspension is fantastic and so much of the car remains original to the factory build. I think it would make for an excellent survivor car if not for the one early repaint. In saying that, Tim Leiphart did an excellent job in repainting the car as I have now inspected the car from front to back and love what I see. I'll continue on cleaning and preserving the car over the winter and should have the car dialed in 100% come spring

Thanks again for such a great car Jeff. I'm really impressed with it.

We'll convert you yet Mark. :headbang:

Thanks for that info Mark.

I did some searching to see if there was an early title listed in their DMV but those attempts came back clear with no titles showing in NC. Also did an InstaVIN report which showed some title information from PA that dates back to 1970, but nothing earlier than that. This morning I called the number above and was transferred to a girl in Antique Vehicles for NC DMV.

They only keep records back to the 90's and that may be why earlier searches came up blank. She took the VIN and is going to request a MicroFilm search on the VIN to see if they have any earlier info on the car that may be in their older MF records. If it's there, she can update the file and share any previous info concerning an original title if it was in fact from NC. She told me it may take a while so I'll wait and see if anything comes from that request. I do appreciate the tip Mark, and will report back if I discover the original title, statement of origin or any possible dealer info.

Fingers are crossed. :scholar:

Still going through the underside of the car and planning a course of attack to clean up some of the black paint that a former owner sprayed to fluff the bottom of the car. Not sure what's best to remove the spray paint but looks like he hit some of the front floor boards, trans tunnel, sub frame rails and the rear leafs in an attempt to cover the old road grime. Good part is that he sprayed it directly over top without much or any prep work so I'm hoping that makes it easier to wipe it down with some solvent and leave the original lacquer or factory rust inhibitor underneath? If anyone has any tips on cleaning off spray paint, don't hesitate to chime in as I'd appreciate any tips on how to scale it back to what factory finish remained prior?

In surveying the bottom of the car this week, I discovered that the rear rocker flaps are intact and I'm happy to say that most if not all of the hardware appears original and correct to the car. Now to go about cleaning it up and not restoring or over cleaning anything. First thing I'm planning is to get rid of the crappy exhaust system he installed and pull the fuel tank which needs a little help. I'll then wash down the rear springs to clean them up and clean the lower shock plates and cable brackets. The brake cables and hard lines will need to be cleaned to remove any paint and once I get the floors and sub frame rails washed down to a suitable finish, the cables and hardware can go back on. Not planning to overdo things, just clean off anything he fluffed and try to rid the chassis of any spray paint. Here's a few shots showing the bottom of the car and suspension before I get to work on it.

https://i.ibb.co/Jnb4Lxv/020.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Czxvdwd/IMG-7067.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/0yfN96G/IMG-7103.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/cYbpqF4/IMG-7105.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/0Fv4qss/IMG-7109.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/4M38JhB/IMG-7111.jpg

A few more shots of the suspension and floors before cleaning. Rear shocks will need to be replaced when I get to the back.

https://i.ibb.co/m6f2hKf/IMG-7182.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/rpkdWsF/IMG-7188.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/1rrqVxp/IMG-7183.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Hht7pgL/IMG-7184.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/vHFQ7Wy/IMG-7185.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/BVFJ08h/IMG-7186.jpg

Has some of the orange overspray been cleaned off of the bell housing? I see traces of orange around the bottom, but that's all. Did the 302 get painted after the bell housing was installed or before?

Engine has been out and was painted when freshened about 4-5 years ago. I don't believe the transmission has ever been out and has not been repainted since. There are remnants of orange paint along the lower bolt holes and a little along the upper flange which I suspect is factory paint. I'm sure there was more applied 50 years ago but much of what would have been there...looks to have worn or flaked off over time. I have not cleaned it but cannot say what the previous owner may have done. FWIW it has a 621 bell in it and I'm not sure if that's another thing with late cars, but it's looking like it's been mated with the original transmission for quite some time if not since it left Norwood? Some better pictures of the bell are being added to show how I got it.

https://i.ibb.co/Lvh2X1c/IMG-7195.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/cgxTSzF/IMG-7192.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/zHp6qCC/IMG-7193.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/60LbkF6/IMG-7194.jpg

What up with that RH seat belt thing ?


:confused2:

Don't know and never noticed it until you made mention of it? Must have been a lefty installed it. I'll have a better look at it later to see why it's clocked like that.

It appears the spot welds got broke loose



:frown:

Enamel reducer will take the rattle can paint off and not harm the factory paint below. Found that out the hard way on a 70 LS5 Chevelle I passed on this spring, been kicking myself every since. Beautiful car, good luck NorCam.

Just curious if the car has the 6500-8000 redline tach?

Shot of the speedo showing mileage and one of the 8K tach.

https://i.ibb.co/8PJrzr9/029.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Qms8Nk0/030.jpg

That's how it should be clocked. That's factory. Only a/m floor pans make them symmetric.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5601c6a7_c.jpgIMG_20150913_123639 by Dave H, on Flickr

I agree Dave. It's welded in correct position and matches with the original floors in other cars I just checked. All good here.

https://i.ibb.co/Brb7s1K/IMG-7198.jpg

Sorry Graeme, my bad ! :frown: In the picture it appeared to be in a 10-4 o'clock position not 11-5. Maybe it was the scrapes on the metal below, if that's what I'm seeing ???

I'll be interested to see how the floor pans clean up. Below is my Lemans blue '69. Its all blue/gray color and no black at all.

We have some decent pre-winter temps coming here today so I'm going to add a few miles to the car to burn off the rest of the fuel before I pull the tank and tear out the current exhaust. After I carefully clean the undercarriage and detail the hard lines and cables, it'll get a new Gardner exhaust system with the tank restored in time for spring. Smog system will be going back onto the car and it promises to be an even better car once I've gone through it over the winter.

Here's a shot of it resting before the work gets started. Likely the closest the car will come to hibernating this winter. Stay tuned...

https://i.ibb.co/P4dvqhf/IMG-7190.jpg

Searching for missing parts has been productive the past week. Happy to have found a nice original May distributor that I can rebuild for the car and have an NOS tune up kit coming for it as well. The car is getting a new exhaust system c/w resonators from Gardner, and a host of other parts have started to arrive so I can get to work and dial in the Z. Also caught up with Bill Hodel for a good chat yesterday and will send him the smog pump for servicing before it goes back onto the car.

I'm going to keep this car as factory stock as possible. A shift from the performance based drivetrains I've grown accustomed to over the years. I must be getting old or something? In saying that, I'm trying to take a less is more approach to the horsepower and enjoy what the factory put out. Here's the dating on the distributor that I sourced to replace the one missing from the car. Great patina on an original casting, and soon to be torn down and rebuilt before dressing it with an NOS cap, h/d GM points, and rotor. I'm still searching to see if I can find a nice set of factory ignition wires for it a have some Acniter R43 plugs coming too.

Can anyone suggest somebody who can spin up a distributor put a good curve on it that's perfect for a factory 30/30 cam?


https://i.ibb.co/GFY9mvv/1111480-Core.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/YcS3Ltx/1111480-Stamp.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/6Zm2PFd/1111480-Part.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/BVH4Gx9/1111580-Date.jpg

How about Jerry M? If someone knows how to make a 302 rip, that should be your guy

X2!
Buddy

Hey Graeme, just curious if it has the original gas tank. I picked one up with a bunch of other parts recently from a late '69 dated "5 70". My pro-touring friends throw away lots of nice stuff !

:wink:

Rob,

It has the original dated tank but it has a pretty good dent in the bottom of it and likely isn't worth saving. I do have one other original but too early of a date to use for this car. I was thinking of running a new Spectra tank until I find a suitable original with a later date. If you see a late original out there please keep me in mind or reach out as I'd love to find a better one for this car.

Here's the early one that a friend passed along to me a few years ago.

https://i.ibb.co/vB4MTh2/IMG-7353.jpg

Hey Graeme...did you find the source of the "smell" yet?

This one is yours for the taking if you want it. Planning a visit to North Carolina anytime soon?

The tank is out of a 9D Norwood car. Those are just dirt marks on the bottom that looks like scratches and blue over spray from somebodies 2nd paint job. I can check the inside but there is a locking cap. And who better to ask! What's the easiest way to get it off without damage ?

Sorry to cluttered up your thread. I can delete some of these pics after you have a look. But not the one with Moon in it :burnout:

Attachment 150339


Attachment 150340


Attachment 150341 Attachment 150342

Let me think on the tank and leaving the pics there is fine Rob. I might take you up on that one and truly appreciate the offer. Moon is looking pretty happy there. It's gotten cold here today and snowed a bunch last night so Düss is having a nap here right now. He's like a horse this guy!

https://i.ibb.co/kKgNCrz/IMG-7372.jpg

Hey Mark...

I've checked the car out including the cowl plenums and fan housing. No mice, no nests, no nothing (but I did find one of the original key code knockouts that found it's way under the carpet). There's no evidence of mice anywhere so it might just be the smell of mothballs as I suspected.



I found a color safe chemical call AGI (pronounced Aggy) for treating carpet and fabric that has live enzymes and will neutralize the odor both in the nylon twist as well as airborne. Once I spray the carpet and seat backs I will vacuum it up after a couple hours of dry time and button it all back up again. I'll then put a couple pie plates of coffee grinds out and leave that for a week or so. If there's any smell lingering after that, another trick I was told is to use a suggested dry-cleaning spray on the headliner to take it to the next level. In the mean time, I'll wipe down the vinyl after it's back together and see if that neutralizes everything. I'm trusting this approach will work great.

Good to hear Graeme. If there was something in there in the past, I think you would have found some evidence by now. I bought a 72 Corvette years ago that had only 21,000 miles but had been stored in a "bank barn". As soon as I got in it I could smell that old familiar smell. It was cold that night and I had a 2 hour drive home in it with my wife following me. The car was a vert and the windows started fogging up, so I turned on the heater...bad move! Mouse crap and bits of foam etc. blew right into my face! I ended up pulling 4 grocery bags full of mouse nest material out of that car. Under both seats, under the dash and in the bottoms of both front fenders.

Ok ,no hurry at all. I just saw a dated part with the dump in its future and it was too much to bear :) We had a nice fall day here with temps in the 70s. It was a brutal summer though and Moon is much happier to be outside now. That's a beautiful boy you got there !!!

I took some more pictures after pulling the drivers seat out and seeing how clean the original frames are. Same thing as the other side with really clean floors everywhere. You can see from the seat bottoms and the floors around the sound deaden-er that this car has never seen moisture, condensation or humidity of any significance. Everywhere I have looked is clean, dry and completely rust free.

https://i.ibb.co/wz1Xm88/IMG-7364.jpg
Drivers side seat bottom and frame. Slides are just cherry!

https://i.ibb.co/XSs8jdt/IMG-7365.jpg
Have you ever seen frames that look this clean after 50 years?

https://i.ibb.co/yyYY7Kt/IMG-7367.jpg
Floors are simply impeccable in this car.

https://i.ibb.co/9VbxDmd/IMG-7369.jpg
Original carpets, sound deaden-er and jute padding are clean and dry.

https://i.ibb.co/D7D9NPs/IMG-7368.jpg
Anytime I've taken these sub frame bolts out, they are almost always rusty. Not with this car!

https://i.ibb.co/pXLNMpT/IMG-7366.jpg
A few treasures from under the carpet including an original key code knockout.

That is nasty! :ooo::ooo::ooo:

Thanks Tim & Buddy.

Jerry McNeish will have the distributor by the weekend and will set it up and spin it for me. Should be finished up in time for delivery to MCACN where I'll pick it up. Plan is coming together nicely.