This is a NOS frame that I picked up in 2006.  American frames aren't that well known outside of the Midwest and it wasn't that expensive even though they are great frames.  As with the American Comp-Lite, this frame has really great welds on it that look like fish scales.  There are other frames that have such welding on them, but American did them better than the others.  I'm not certain of the model year for this one.  It's likely 1992 model, but could just as easily be a '93, hard to tell for sure.  There isn't a lot of information out there on these bikes.  There are some differences between the this bike and Comp-Lite, note the different down tube gusset since this model has top-routed cables.  The name of this bike comes from it's 16" chainstays.  The usual length of chainstays is between 16.6 and 16.75 inches, so this bike is a great climber but I've heard it can be a little squirrelly on the fast descents.

I have a few parts for this bike, an NOS American olive colored stem, NOS Deore XT threaded headset and NOS Suntour XC-Pro front derailleur and cranks.  I'm looking for the rights parts for it, so it's going to be a while before this one is together.  This frame has only a tiny nick here and there and a letter is peeling but has never even had a wheel clamped in the dropouts.  It's a beauty.

I have some of the parts for it, although only the fork is pictured for now.  It's a Bontrager Comp fork in excellent condition.  The legs are near perfect and the crown is NOS.  I'll be getting more parts pictured as I get to it.