Another fake 67 L78

[DaleM]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320627261063

Trim tag shows bench seat and TH400 (not available on 67 L78) and now has "correct # Muncie," and bucket seats. Wrong intake for 67 and claimed to be "correct." :noway:

[Six Actual]

That is one beautiful '67, and it's too bad it was listed as "Correct." That body with black paint appeared to really straight.

Dale,

What do you believe that car be worth had it been listed for what it really was as one time?

[DaleM]

It always scares me when the consigner (apparently) gives bad information to a broker and that broker isn't alert enough to check what the consigner says. The broker (I assume) has their reputation to protect and failure to do due diligence is no excuse. That said, a 13817 sport coupe with some unknown 396 engine maybe $25k-$30k all things being equal. Change of paint color, interior seating and transmission is not a deal breaker on a non-original 67 SS396 as long as it's represented that way. You'll either get a broker with an "...I didn't know it wasn't what I was told..." response or "...take it or leave it..." attitude. The bottom line would be what would the consigner take?

[Lee Stewart]

In the case of the 1967 Chevelle SS L78, how was the VIN handled on the engine block? The dealer stamped it onto the crate engine he installed?

[DaleM]

Not sure I understand. On a factory car, the partial VIN would be stamped on the assembly line.

[Lee Stewart]

Not sure I understand. On a factory car, the partial VIN would be stamped on the assembly line.

As far as I know, there were no factory installed L78s in 67. It wasn't a factory option. It was a dealer installed option. That's why there are so few "real" 67 L78s. 67 was the only year that happened.

[DaleM]

Beg to differ. There were 612 factory installed RPO L78 engines in 67 Chevelles. There may have been dealer swaps of smaller 396s for customers but it was definately a factory option.

[Lee Stewart]

There are many references that say that in 1967 the L78 was dtopped as a factory installed option but was retained as a dealer installed option. Can you cite a reference that explicitly shows that GM was installing L78s in 67?

[DaleM]

The L78 was reintroduced as an option late in the model year. I don't have any bulletins from GM mentioning the reinstatement of the L78 but they were factory installed. Think about it, if it was a dealer installed option what engine would have come in the car from the factory to the dealer? What would the dealer do with the engine that was installed at the factory that had that car's partial VIN stamped on it?

I know some other pretty knowledgable 67 folks, let me see if they have any official mention of the reinstatement of the L78 option in Chevelles.

[BlueSS454]

There are many references that say that in 1967 the L78 was dtopped as a factory installed option but was retained as a dealer installed option. Can you cite a reference that explicitly shows that GM was installing L78s in 67?


There is a documented 67 L78 car in Indiana.

[DaleM]

the L78 option is shown in the Factory Assembly Instruction Manual, used for final assembly on the GM side, has instructions for the L78 engine. The following is also from a very knowledgable 66/67 gentleman.



July 1967 edition of Chevrolet Service News contains an Article entitled: “396 Cu. In., 375 H.P. Engine Tune-Up Specifications”. The introductory paragraph reads as follows (punctuation and brackets as per the original text):

Engine tune-up specifications for the recently released mid-season option, RPO L78 [396 Cu. In. Engine; 375 H.P.] available on the 1967 Chevelle and Camaro, are listed below.