Another C2 Engine Painting Question

[Chuck S.]

It Doesn't ALWAYS Make One Out of You And Me...

Terry, there is an element of assumption whenever the boundries of mankind's knowledge is expanded. If man stuck with what he knew for sure, we would still be throwing rocks at each other and wearing skins.

[Chuck S.]

It Doesn't ALWAYS Make One Out of You And Me...

Terry, there is an element of assumption whenever the boundries of mankind's knowledge is expanded. If man stuck with what he knew for sure, we would still be throwing rocks at each other and wearing skins.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Tonights Trivia question...

Michael, here's a guess...sealant applied to pipe plug used during factory test run, plug removed after test run leaving sealant bead, sealant bead painted with engine, heater hose nipple installed at St. Louis appears to have orange-painted sealant bead. What's the prize...a ten year supply (one tube) of Simichrome Polish?

[Chuck S.]

Re: Tonights Trivia question...

Michael, here's a guess...sealant applied to pipe plug used during factory test run, plug removed after test run leaving sealant bead, sealant bead painted with engine, heater hose nipple installed at St. Louis appears to have orange-painted sealant bead. What's the prize...a ten year supply (one tube) of Simichrome Polish?

[Michael H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Chuck, you have it almost dead on accurate. Yes, a pipe plug was installed in both of these locations before engine color was applied for a few different reasons, one of which was to insure no foreign material entered the cooling system during shipment. The plugs were removed at St. Louis and the nipple installed but for some reason, the sealer bead with the orange paint seemed to stick to the water pump casting a lot better than it did to the plug so the orange painted bead usually remained for years. The orange painted bead is generally about 1/16" wide but I've seen some that were near 1/8". Sure looked weird with zero paint on the nipple! Isn't research fun?

Yer lifetime supply of Simichrome is in the mail.

Michael

[Michael H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Chuck, you have it almost dead on accurate. Yes, a pipe plug was installed in both of these locations before engine color was applied for a few different reasons, one of which was to insure no foreign material entered the cooling system during shipment. The plugs were removed at St. Louis and the nipple installed but for some reason, the sealer bead with the orange paint seemed to stick to the water pump casting a lot better than it did to the plug so the orange painted bead usually remained for years. The orange painted bead is generally about 1/16" wide but I've seen some that were near 1/8". Sure looked weird with zero paint on the nipple! Isn't research fun?

Yer lifetime supply of Simichrome is in the mail.

Michael

[Mike Cobine]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

The sealant stuck better becase the pipe thread plugs were oily. Even when you get pipe and plugs in places like Home Depot today, they often still have abit of oil left on them from the threading operation and as a thread anti-rust measure.

[Mike Cobine]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

The sealant stuck better becase the pipe thread plugs were oily. Even when you get pipe and plugs in places like Home Depot today, they often still have abit of oil left on them from the threading operation and as a thread anti-rust measure.

[Michael H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Good point Mike. That oil would make quite a difference. Also, the fitting threads were smooth compared to the textured cast iron which would have held the goo a lot better.

Ever wonder what GM did with all the plugs that they removed at the assy plant? There would have been well over 200,000 of them just for the 63-67 Corvette and no telling how many for all the other GM lines that used the same system. How many 63 Chevys were made? Wonder if they rotated them back to Flint engine?

[Michael H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Good point Mike. That oil would make quite a difference. Also, the fitting threads were smooth compared to the textured cast iron which would have held the goo a lot better.

Ever wonder what GM did with all the plugs that they removed at the assy plant? There would have been well over 200,000 of them just for the 63-67 Corvette and no telling how many for all the other GM lines that used the same system. How many 63 Chevys were made? Wonder if they rotated them back to Flint engine?

[Chuck S.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Yeah, Mike I missed that part about taking the plug out at St. Louis. Later, I thought that they probably, as you said, just left the plug in place for shipping purposes. I expect the heat of the test run baked and hardened the sealant to the manifold, and as Mike said, the threading oil made the plug easy to remove without disturbing the hardened sealant.

I expect John Hinckley could tell us if St. Louis periodically shipped 55 gallon drums of orange painted pipe plugs BACK to Flint, with all the appropriate accounting happening to move the corporate money to another pocket.

[Chuck S.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Yeah, Mike I missed that part about taking the plug out at St. Louis. Later, I thought that they probably, as you said, just left the plug in place for shipping purposes. I expect the heat of the test run baked and hardened the sealant to the manifold, and as Mike said, the threading oil made the plug easy to remove without disturbing the hardened sealant.

I expect John Hinckley could tell us if St. Louis periodically shipped 55 gallon drums of orange painted pipe plugs BACK to Flint, with all the appropriate accounting happening to move the corporate money to another pocket.

[John H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Most of those shipping plugs in the 60's engines were made of heavy resined cardboard material that was all "wrinkly" around the edges; we yanked them out with duckbill pliers and pitched them in the trash. Flint V-8 used threaded pipe plugs in the intake and water pump nipple holes, which were removed after hot-test and sent back to the engine assembly line for re-use; they continued to circulate internally at Flint Engine.

These days, most high-volume assembly plants save all the various types of plastic sealing/shipping plugs/caps in plastic bags at the operation where they're removed (at 1,000 plugs/caps per day at each operation that removes them) and return them to the part supplier for credit. It's not much per plug, but at about 50,000 plugs/caps per day per plant, it adds up (and more than pays for a UAW hourly employee in each plant to manage the program).

[John H.]

Re: AND THE WINNER IS......

Most of those shipping plugs in the 60's engines were made of heavy resined cardboard material that was all "wrinkly" around the edges; we yanked them out with duckbill pliers and pitched them in the trash. Flint V-8 used threaded pipe plugs in the intake and water pump nipple holes, which were removed after hot-test and sent back to the engine assembly line for re-use; they continued to circulate internally at Flint Engine.

These days, most high-volume assembly plants save all the various types of plastic sealing/shipping plugs/caps in plastic bags at the operation where they're removed (at 1,000 plugs/caps per day at each operation that removes them) and return them to the part supplier for credit. It's not much per plug, but at about 50,000 plugs/caps per day per plant, it adds up (and more than pays for a UAW hourly employee in each plant to manage the program).

[John H.]

Re: Tonights Trivia question...

1965 250hp and 300hp engines (Carter carbs) used that clip on the passenger side to locate the oil fill tube-to-carb hose, and it was part of those engine assemblies as-shipped from Flint Engine; it was indeed painted engine color. Holley-equipped 350hp and 365hp engines didn't use it, as their oil fill tube-to-carb hose went to the driver's side of the carb, where it connected to the metered-orifice brass fitting in the carb main body.