This Fake ’65 Z16 396 Could Earn Scammer Up To 8 Years In Prison

Authentic 1965 "Z16" Chevelle SS 396. Image: ChevelleStuff.net

The car hobby is a microcosm of our existence: You can follow the Golden Rule, but the path of life is filled with speed bumps where you need to keep your cool and keep on the lookout for others who only have their own interests in mind. When buying any car, you have to be on guard that all the warts are being properly represented, but what happens when a car’s pedigree is not what it’s purported to be?

This is where the “numbers matching” crowd shows their value to the hobby, as knowledge and ethics trumps greed once again.

This story goes back to April when Bobby Patton of Ohio was selling a Z16 Chevelle on eBay. The eBay ad shows a decent Cypress Green SS 396 that the seller claims was originally black and was appraised by a reputable outfit. Sounds good so far, right? But there were red flags present that did not registering with those caught up in the excitement about finding a long-lost example of one of the most storied Chevelle muscle cars.

The car in question on eBay.

To the uninitiated, a Z16 Chevelle is a 1965 Super Sport with a 396 motor. This car signaled the debut of the 396 in the Chevelle, and the folks who document these cars claim that 201 of them were built, which may or may not include one convertible. While the Corvette’s L78 396 was rated at 425 horsepower, the Chevelle’s L37 was rated at 375 horses due to a different camshaft. All cars (except the rumored convertible) were either red, black, or yellow. They have been a major collectible for years, and seeing one go for $200,000 is not unusual.

Here’s a list of some of the unique parts that differentiate the Z16 from your run-of-the-mill Super Sport:

-unique rear cove trim and badges

-special riveted wheels with “goldline” tires

-full-size Chevy brakes modified to fit the Chevelle

-convertible boxed frame

-narrowed and modified full-size Chevy rear axle (3.31 open – no Positraction)

-160 mph speedometer

-AM/FM multiplex stereo (not Z16-specific)

-mag wheel hub caps (not Z16-specific)

-full-size Chevy steering box modified to fit Chevelle and with quicker ratio

-unique engine casting (not the same as L78 Corvette block – even looks different externally)

-unique plumbing and wiring

-high redline tach (used on both Z16 and L79 327/350 cars)

-most had bumper guards (not Z16-specific)

-many had vinyl roofs (not Z16-specific)

-top of dash clock (required when the tach was included, and not Z16-specific)

-Malibu SS badges on front fenders instead of rear quarters

-Turbo-Jet emblems

-unique diecast air cleaner emblem

Aside of the idea that it is strange (but possible) to paint an extremely rare and desirable car in a non-original color, take a look at this trim tag. In comparison to other cars, it looks so obviously homemade. The VIN in the door jamb is also amateurish. In fact, if you visit z16chevelle.com, you’ll see someone foolishly copied the featured car’s sequence number trim tag!

Look at the tag for a real Z16 and compare it with the car on eBay (right). Images: Team Chevelle

A discussion developed on the Team Chevelle site about this car. The initial comments pointed out that there were too many things wrong with it, such as the wrong trunklid trim and wrong air cleaner. However, wrong parts doesn’t a fake car make. But the seller also claimed the car was built on the second week in April, which was strange because it didn’t jibe with the trim tag’s date of the fourth week in March. The owner of Z16Chevelle.com chimed in, saying, “In addition to those pathetic tags, everything else on that car is wrong too: rear trim, decklid, speedo (they say it is a 160 in the text but in the picture it is clearly a 120 speedo), and every single thing under the hood…The only thing remaining to find out is if they do have a real Z16 block and have just tried to concoct a fake car around it based on the partial VIN # stamped on the block. I have asked for a pic of the deck stamp to see if it is a real motor or not, but I fully expect it to be an Impala suffix or just as bad of a restamp as those pathetic homemade tags are.”

Interestingly, the seller eventually stuck his head into the forum: “Thanks everyone for your kind words. This vehicle was purchased from and titled in Carolina’s [sic] from the previous owner. Purchased by my parents and currenly [sic] it is titled and insured in State of Ohio. We are having the DMV do a title search and verification on the VIN of the vehicle. We are not vehicle experts and depend on reputatible apprasial companys [sic] to verify what we have been told. Apparently either the apprasial [sic] company has misguided us and many many car collectors and lovers at the numerous car shows this vehicle has been to in and around Columbus area are wrong or it is indeed correctly a Z16. Since so many on here seem to be experts, what, if anything can I look for or provide documents to validate it.”

Sounds earnest, right?

Eventually, things imploded to the point where someone suggest, “Roger, you need to do the right thing here. Remove your “Z-16″ advertisement from eBay and re-list the car on eBay as a rather nicely restored ’65 Chevelle which has VIN and trim tags that were home-made in someone’s garage, then see what kind of nibbles you get on the car.” But “Roger” continued to list the car on eBay.

Someone then emailed the appraiser, who claimed the appraisal was based solely on information provided by the seller concerning the car’s authenticity and, then, only for insurance purposes – the car wasn’t even inspected in person!

Early in May, the owner of the Z16Chevelle.com posted, “I was contacted last week by the OH state police, via the Z16 website, with several general questions about Z16s. I asked if this concerned the green car that was on eBay, and he said it did as they were investigating the car now. Apparently someone who saw the auction or the Team Chevelle discussion…must have reported it to the OH authorities. I answered all the officer’s questions. He replied back a few days later that the prior owner of the car had been located and was contacted, and that he’d provided evidence that when he sold the car to the current owners it had 327 emblems on the front fenders, and the car was never claimed to be a Z16 when sold. That would appear to eliminate any benefit of the doubt for the current owner, wouldn’t it?”

So on June 26, 2011, Bobby Patton of Obetz, Ohio was indicted on four felonies. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Patton was charged with one count each of tampering with records, possession of criminal tools, telecommunication fraud and attempted criminal simulation. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison.

About the author

Diego Rosenberg

Diego is an automotive historian with experience working in Detroit as well as the classic car hobby. He is a published automotive writer in print and online and has a network of like-minded aficionados to depend on for information that's not in the public domain.
Read My Articles

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