The black and white photos in this series are actual racing
photos of this car in various Canadian Grand Prix races, such as at
Mosport Park and Harewood Raceway. The car was special ordered in
Canada specifically for racing. The original paperwork consists of
the order itself and the actual sales invoice at the time of
delivery. The original order states: “Rush-Competition car, see D.
Young, Re: Direct Order.” It was ordered and delivered at Gorries
Chevrolet in Toronto Canada. Gorries Chevrolet was a high
performance dealership on the same lines as the high
performance dealerships of the U.S. For example, Gorries also later
had a 427 Camaro that they marketed and sold as the “Black
Panther”.
This Corvette was found and brought to the U.S. by Curt Worden of
Florida. It wasn’t until after Curt bought the Corvette that it
was discovered to be a M22 Corvette. Until just a few years
ago, it had been believed that there were no production records of a
M22 transmission in a 1965 Corvette. Basically it wasn’t until
late in the 1965 model year, that the M22 even became available.
There have been factory documents all along that establish the
existence of 1965 M22’s. But, apparently since it was a late
addition to the 65 production model, the M22 wasn’t included in
the publicized listings of RPO options for 1965.
This Corvette still retained its original M22 transmission along
with thirty years of grease and grime. Curt carefully photo
documented this before it was even removed from the car. The actual
original documents of this Corvette’s order invoice, as well as
the sales invoice were found by Curt at Gorries Chevrolet and were
most productive in solving the puzzle of M22’s in 1965 Corvettes.
For further information refer to Alvin Colvin’s book Chevrolet by
the numbers 1965-69 as there is a special appendix in the end of the
book about this car. Additionally the Corvette Restorer magazine’s
Spring 99 issue also has some good information and documentation on
the 1965 Corvette M22 production.
The chassis of this Corvette was restored by Curt and displayed
in the 1995 Bloomington special collection. In addition, Curt
completed the significant amount of work needed to put the body back
to original factory shape using NOS body panels. The balance of
paint, prep and trim was completed by Nabers Brother’s in Houston
Texas.
The invoice lists this car with the following options: L78 396
425 HP engine, J50 brakes, M22 4-speed, N03 36.5 gallon big tank,
F40 heavy duty racing suspension, K66 transistor ignition, G81
positraction, Non-Radio car, and the color as AA Tuxedo black with
black interior. Due to the configuration of this 65 Corvette with
the M22 and N03 big tank, plus other high performance options, etc;
some experts have described this Corvette as the rarest 65 on the
planet.
