Z16 Red, Black top Restoration Progress, March 31, 2006

 

www.Z16Chevelle.com

A little over a year after beginning (and several months of inactivity), using my spare time, this Z16 is all but finished. Only a few small details remain.

 

Right: Very nearly complete, wiper arms need to be installed and a final polish is required.

Above: It’s complete underhood. All finishes were duplicated from THIS car as it had never been repainted under the hood. High gloss: firewall, radiator, air cleaner. Medium gloss: inner fenders and radiator support (this was the factory dip prime).

Above: Hood latch and hinges were zinc phosphatized (Parkerized) by the author duplicating the exact method and finish on this car from the factory.

 

Left: Underside of hood is of medium gloss as was the factory’s as a result of their dip prime. Only the three cavities shown received hood insulation on Kansas City Z16s. One bolt has yet to be installed on the hood latch strike at the extreme top of the photo.

Above: RC-15 radiator cap is a one-year-only style. This one is mint used and appears NOS. There are currently two reproductions: one poor and one very good. The good repro is still distinguishable from original.

 

 

Left: Horn relay and radio capacitors are the originals to this Z16 and were replated in zinc by the author. The voltage regulator is NOS. The ground wire attached to the bottom screw of the triangle of zinc plated screws at the top of the photo is rotated and “stretched” exactly as Chevrolet did it to this car in ‘65. All wire harnesses in this car are the originals painstakingly restored.

Above: Washer bottle has a proper “Kleer-View” label. The reproduction available of this label has incorrect fonts and wording. While it is not easily detectable, the author  chose to reproduce an original exactly as shown above. The contents are green. While no absolute proof has been found, Jerry Huffman and Bill Dahms - two long time Chevrolet dealership owners - believe green to be the proper solvent color. The bottle bracket (not clearly seen in this photo) is zinc plated carbon steel. Some reproductions are incorrect stainless steel.

 

Left: Underside at left rear. The red overspray on the trunk pan was duplicated from that quite evident on the car upon disassembly and cleaning.

 

Below:  The Jacking Instruction decal was made by the author by scanning an original and many hours of retouching. The reproduction decals readily available do not have the proper font style or size. It was glued on as original.

Below: Inside of trunk looking forward and up at the underside of the package tray. Note the bare metal appearance here with red overspray on both the panel and the trunk hinge torsion rods. Also of interest are the stereo rear deck speakers and their housings.

Above and Right: Interior is stunning with the white upholstery. Rear seat back and cushion are mint originals from another car as are door panels—all could pass for NOS. Front buckets have been recovered. Seat belts are all NOS Hamill. The originals to this car were not dated on the labels.

Right: This view is of the right front of the roof at the top of the ‘A’ pillar looking rearward. Of interest is the Mylar lock strip in the gutter helping hold the vinyl top in place. Those seen here are NOS and are rarely seen applied to restored cars. The vinyl top itself is the proper Madrid grain without padding.