1961 Expansion Tank Strap ?

[M W.]

Hi all,
This is a two part question and thanks in advance for your help.

1. In the judging guide there is mention that the expansion tank hold down strap has a vendors " A " stamped on it. Well I remembered mine did, but forgot it's on the underside of the strap. Will the judges take the bolt out and look on the underside or should I start searching for one with the " A " displayed on the outerside.

2. The judging guide also states in the early months of using the expansion tank the 60 year models only used a " 6 and a letter to desiginate the month of use " my question is I have seen some original cars built in 1960 use the the full "60 plus a letter " should I start looking for one with a single digit or keep what I have ?
To all the experts here as usual thanks again and God Bless.
Cheers,
M. Craig Willetts
NCRS# 36551
1961 2x4 245HP
vin# 4719

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1961 Expansion Tank Strap ?

Craig:

I believe a mirror will facilitate reading of the A if on the underside of the strap.

I haven't seen that many original 1960 e-tanks, but the ones I have seen tend to favor the single 6 to designate 1960. However I would wait for more opinions & observations before replacing one that had a 60. I recall that my 1960 (8,160 VIN) had a 6 designation. Dennis

[M W.]

Re: 1961 Expansion Tank Strap ?

Dennis,
Even with a mirror, the judges will still need to remove the bolt as well as basically remove the strap in order to read the " A ". I guess that's what you mean. Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Craig

[Mike E.]

Re: 1961 Expansion Tank Strap ?

Craig--
My experience is that the original straps had the A on the outer surface where it was easy to read, while GM replacements had the A stamped on the underside where you may see a slight raised area on the top of the strap because of the stamping on the bottom. I wasn't as involved in the most recent 61-62 judging manual as I was in the two previous, where I chaired the team--but my recollection is that the basis for the statement in the manual is as above.
Mike Ernst

[Chuck L.]

Re: 1961 Expansion Tank Strap ?

Craig, for what it's worth, my 62 strap, which is original, has the "A" stamped on the short strap about 1" back from where it bolts to the engine strap.It is clearly on the outside and visible. Chuck Lyman

[Loren L.]

My "extra" 1960 top tank is stamped "60B" *NM*