[v8liveson]

Hi all,

I just picked up a frame that is supposedly off a 1965 Chevelle 4-door. I found the stamped numbers on the back DS frame rail... The date decodes to March 1, 1965, night shift, and the part number is 3864501, with a circle after it (presumably the AO Smith circle, according to Chevelle stuff). However, I cannot find this part number anywhere on the internet. According to Chevelle stuff, the part number for 64-66 frames should be 3878327, not 3864501.

Anyone ever heard of alternate part numbers on these early frames? The numbers are clear as a bell, just a little surface rust, so I'm fairly confident I am reading them correctly. I even googled close iterations of the number, in case I was off 1 digit, but nothing. The partial vin stamp confirms it's a 1965 car, built in Kansas, with the 6-digit partial vin after that. There is no bell crank mount, so it was an automatic car. The rear frame braces are absent, so I am presuming it was a L6 or SB car.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[DUTCH MAX HEADWORK]

Through the GM parts Wiki, 3878327 replaces 3864505. That's all I come up with.

3864501 gets no hits on the wiki.

Put your part number in the query string and hit search. You can go down the rabbit hole and see if anything makes sense. Click on any dark blue link to see where it leads you.

GMPartsWiki -

Search results for query

www.gmpartswiki.com

 

[jeffschevelle]

No mystery! 3864501 is the correct original part number for the 65 open / short frame (the one for all body styles except convertibles, wagons, elcamino's and Z16's). It is in the AIM, Section 2, Page 1.

The parts books never listed the 64 or 65 open / short frames for service replacement. If you needed a new frame you had to get a boxed convertible frame (p/n 3864505). That way they didn't have to stock as many versions of frames in parts inventory. Click the parts book link below. Note where it says you need to replace the trans cross member too, with the the shorter convertible/elc part, if you use the listed frames on anything other than a convertible.

GMPartsWiki - Parts and Accessories Catalog P&A 34 October 1965

gmpartswiki.com

 

[v8liveson]

Thank you for clearing this up, I'm glad it checks out. With all the info on this forum, and the web in general, I couldn't believe I was the first person to ask about this part number! I do have the 1967 AIM but not the 1965. Apparently google doesn't know all! Not yet, anyways...

Hopefully the info in this thread helps the next person(s) who is trying to decode their 65 frame.