C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

[Larry S.]

Please help out a 'newbie'--I just joined, so overlook my ignorance. First, how do you take apart a 1967 gas door lid for painting body color? I need to replace the plastic part. Second, I have factory side pipes that are deafening. I did look in the archives, and all I found was to maybe stick scouring pads in the pipes. Short of going to under-the-car mufflers, is there anything new that may help? Thanks.

[John H.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Larry -

The only plastic part on a '67 gas door is the spring-loaded acetal/nylon plunger for the latch, and only the upper surface of the door with the flags (which are very tedious to mask) is painted.

Sidepipes are LOUD by definition, and the factory pipes are quieter (?) than any of the aftermarket replacements.

[Larry S.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Thanks, John. I guess my post was unclear. I need to replace the crossed flags with the reproduction part. Since that part seems to be offered separately, how do I install it in the lid? Since I can't figure out how to disassemble the lid, I can't determine if I need to re-paint something after I replace the outer piece with the crossed-flags piece. Clear as mud?

[Stephen L.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

There are no plastic flags on a 67 fuel door. Possibly you have an incorrect door. The door is a casting and painted body color except for the edge chrome. The flags are part of the casting and are painted.

[Larry S.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

I think I've got it (have really got to stop drinking). So, the top part of the lid that is painted body color is metal, and you have to tape off the crossed flags to paint that part--correct? Since the repro part doesn't include the chrome surround, how do you disassemble it? Thanks.

[John H.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

I've never seen a '67 fuel door (original or reproduction) that wasn't spin-riveted together (main chrome-plated surround casting with the top primed, and zinc/cad-plated baseplate with the latch). The bright bezel that's attached to the body opening is a separate part. You have to tape off the flags and the chrome surround and paint the top surface.

[Larry S.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

John, I got it on eBay; someone had three for sale. It doesn't have the chrome surround. Probably another piece of junk. Thank you for all your help.

[Joe L.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

larry-----

In PRODUCTION, these 1967 fuel doors were "pre-painted" from the manufacturing source. An unpainted 67 door was offered for a VERY short while in SERVICE. Then, it was replaced by the 66 fuel door, which requires no paint, for SERVICE and this part became the long-standing SERVICE part for 67 Corvettes. I strongly suspect that the need to "paint to match" and the effort associated therewith is the reason that the un-painted 67 fuel door survived for such a short time in SERVICE.

The pre-painted door assemblies used in PRODUCTION were NEVER available in SERVICE. The un-painted SERVICE door, GM #3901956, was released for SERVICE in September, 1966. It was discontinued and replaced by the 66 door in December, 1966. That's got to be a record for "short survival" of a SERVICE part.

[Chris Patrick]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Here is what a '67 door looks like.

[Joe R.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Hi Larry:

What you probably bought on ebay is the replacement metal insert (with the crossed flag emblem) from Trim Parts. The Trim Parts insert comes with six small self-tapping screws and instructions. The instructions tell you to drill out the six rivets that hold on the backing plate so that you can remove the old metal insert. To reassemble the lid, you drill holes in the centers of the old rivet posts and use the screws to reassemble the lid.

If the insert you bought is missing the screws and instructions, email me your mailing address and I will send you a spare set that I have on hand.

If your existing emblem insert is in good condition and only needs paint, you can repaint it without disassembling the lid. This presents a very tedious masking task, but it has been done successfully by several members of this discussion board.

[Joe R.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Hi John:

You mention spin riveting for the 67 lid, but I was under the impression that the spin riveting process started in 1968. I recall discussing this topic with Ed McComas, who in turn had discussed spin riveting with you. As I recall, you had some involvement with the tooling for spin riveting.

I have a large collection of original C2 lids because I have been developing a process to restore them with reconstructed original-style rivets. I have studied the rivets on these lids and it looks to me like they were formed with a conventional rivet-setting tool, per the example photo attached to this posting and duplicated at the following URL:


I realize that this is just a single rivet, but I have numerous examples of original C2 rivets and none of them appear to have been spin riveted. To me it looks like a stationary forming tool was pressed straight down on the pot metal stud. Some rivets look pretty well formed like the one in the photo, while others look like they were hit with a blunt tool that left a poorly formed rim.

Interestingly, I recently purchased a NOS service replacement 66 lid that I believe was manufactured around 1980. The rivets on that lid were clearly formed with some sort of spinning tool, as evidenced by the concentric rings and the circular scuff marks on the adjacent area of the backing plate. Following is a photo of one of thise rivets.


So, my question is whether you think the 67 production lids were spin riveted, or whether this practice may have started for 1968 production. The original C2 lids that I have certainly do not look like they were spin riveted.

[John H.]

Re: C2 fuel door and LOUD side pipes

Joe -

That design (hollow die-cast post upset after the parts were stacked) was certainly done both ways (direct upset and spun during upset), depending on the supplier's preference and the tooling he had at the time; the bean-counters loved it, and Manufacturing and Service hated it.

[Gerard F.]

Remember this one John

Chrysler Touch-up paint for the emblem red (411-Colorado Red)

Jerry Fuccillo
#42179

[John H.]

Re: Remember this one John

Jerry -

Of course! How could I forget!