1960 Top Tank Radiators

[Loren L.]

For those who "think" that these radiators were "unpainted" - you may wish to look at the paint pattern of EBay item #464447205.
I would note that existing photos of the Camoradi and Cunningham cars taken at Sebring DIFFER from the E-Bay radiator in that the Sebring 1960
photos do NOT show the top tank portion painted.
I am aware of the blueprint change that adds a reference about paint - and I would submit to you that that blueprint change only relects a "catchup" by Engineering - ie, they were always painted, but the blueprint never said so.
The only photos I have ever seen of unpainted top tank radiators in 1960 were of parts buck engines.

[Jim D.]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

E-Bay item number 464447205 doesn't exist. Do you have the correct one?

[Jim D.]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

Here's a obviously never been painted original top tank dated 59L. E-Bay item # 8071584667.

[Loren L.]

4644472025 - my bad *NM*

[Joseph T.]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

Loren

years ago..I looked at a white w/blue stripe 1960 Corvette for sale at a repair shop in the belleville, Illinois area. I passed on the car for $12,500. Of course I did not realize what I was looking at..at the time.

Maybe you know who ended up buying that car... it would be interesting to know where it is.

When I looked at it.. it was fresh out of a barn..where the mice had gotten to it..but the fuel unit was still there along with the tank top radiator. As my memory serves me..it seems like that tank top was not painted.

I remember being told that the engine had Mondelo heads and that it had been campaigned by one of the Brocks.

Does this car ring a bell?

Joe

[Jim D.]

Re: 4644472025 - my bad

He says the car is a March 60 build, not the radiator. It is missing its I.D. tag so we'll never know. I bought a radiator that was painted exactly like that one. It was dated 62C and was a service replacement which I'd bet this one is too. I bought it for the brackets. I think Tom DeWitt has researched the heck out of this and I'll have to agree with him that the originals were unpainted and the service replacements were black.

[Loren L.]

To start, a 62C is CLEARLY a service

replacement; I'm reasonably sure that when I refer to the Cunningham/
Camoradi cars and the pictures that they were NOT replacement radiators; the first give-away in the photos is that these top tanks did NOT have plastic "look-through" holes in the top until Chev's StLouis RPE, Mr. Passon, told Ed Cole that this was a change in the pipeline. Passon told me that they spent the morning looking for plastic plugs at hardware stores and then drilled the holes - Camoradi did not bother.

[Loren L.]

Joe, please contact Dave Dawdy

at dgdawdy@ezl.com as soon as possbile - just to talk about the Where,
When and How - Dave's had this car a long time and carried the remnants of the nose (white with a blue stripe) to the racer's reunion in Carlisle, hoping to jog someone's memory - you MAY be the answer, or at least a clue........

[Loren L.]

When Tom did my radiator, I had a local

aluminum wizard remove and unlined top tank (early) and send it to Tom with installation instructions. I may be the "researcj" that you refer to.

[Joseph T.]

Re: correction

I said one of the Brocks..I meant one of the Yates..like Brock Yates or Mack Yates!

Maybe ..I will stop and see Dave on my way up to Bloomington. I checked back with the shop owner during that time frame and I think he said an NCRS member bought the car.

Thanks Loren.

The car I looked at was really cool..I just was much less informed at the time.

[David Dawdy]

Re: 60 Belleville Area Car

Loren & Joe - Thanks for thinking of me! I have not been able to run that shop down, last message from Joe was that it may have been in granite City.

As Loren knows, I have an old top tank from 1960, #2374 that appears to have been painted in the car, i.e., areas under the cross supports, side supports were unpainted leading me to believe the the radiators were originally unpainted.

[David Dawdy]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

Mack Yates last C1 Corvette racer was a 59 model. He went to a Ford Cobra about the time be became involved in Yates Ford. I called him several years ago to ask if my 60 could have been owned by him, it was not.

Tim Ritter, a Belleville buyer/seller sold a blue 1959 'B' production racer that had been raced by a Belleville attorney that was pulled from storage. This was about 1985, it supposedly went to Florida.

[Joseph T.]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

Dave..must be the same car I saw back then.

I also now remember there used to be a car show in Belleville at the Bank of Belleville parking lot..around the first or second week of June..each year. I wonder if they still have it.

It was a fun show..and there was usually a guy there with an old Model T or something like that..and he would balance a nickel on the engine as it ran..to show how smooth it was.

It was great cheap family entertainment!

Regards,

Joe

[Dennis A.]

Re: 1960 Top Tank Radiators

I have it down that early 1961 top tank radiators and 1960 date codes were unpainted, mid-to-late 61's were painted gloss black....