Attention early 1966 427 owners!
Production dates Sept 1965 to December 1965
Question
Does your 427 car have a Small Block Expansion Tank Bracket installed on the passenger inner fender?
Background
What then, could explain this anomaly? To arrive at a plausible explanation, it is necessary to look into Corvette body and body panel assembly methods and the overall context of'66 big block cars within historical mid-year configuration. Consider this - the '66 427 was the first midyear model that did NOT use the fender-mounted coolant tank. The St. Louis plant and the A.O. Smith body plant were ingrained in the procedure of installing the bracket on ALL mid-year Corvettes produced up until this time. When the 427 engine came along, it utilized a new radiator that did not require a separate coolant tank, and thus would have been the first model that no longer required the bracket that had been installed for years on the inner fender skirt.
On page 193 of the Corvette Restoration & Technical Guide, Volume 2, Noland Adams states that clips and brackets were first installed on individual body panel pieces, then the panels were assembled into complete bodies, and finally the bodies were painted inside and out. This was the case at both St. Louis and A.O. Smith. Noland further states on page 32 that the A.O. Smith plant occasionally did a poor job implementing running changes, forcing St. Louis plant personnel to correct some items.
Everett also makes other observations/comments:
s oddity Did a previous owner install a bracket and coolant this a counterfeit big block because it appears that it once had a coolant tank? It is a certainty that any person counterfeiting a big block carwould have touched up the unpainted area and removed the rivets after there been a body panel replacement, which could explain the prior presence of the cooling tank
Production changes / A.I.M. - John Hinckley
Understanding the Assembly Manual and Running Changes
Production dates Sept 1965 to December 1965
Question
Does your 427 car have a Small Block Expansion Tank Bracket installed on the passenger inner fender?
Background
What then, could explain this anomaly? To arrive at a plausible explanation, it is necessary to look into Corvette body and body panel assembly methods and the overall context of'66 big block cars within historical mid-year configuration. Consider this - the '66 427 was the first midyear model that did NOT use the fender-mounted coolant tank. The St. Louis plant and the A.O. Smith body plant were ingrained in the procedure of installing the bracket on ALL mid-year Corvettes produced up until this time. When the 427 engine came along, it utilized a new radiator that did not require a separate coolant tank, and thus would have been the first model that no longer required the bracket that had been installed for years on the inner fender skirt.
On page 193 of the Corvette Restoration & Technical Guide, Volume 2, Noland Adams states that clips and brackets were first installed on individual body panel pieces, then the panels were assembled into complete bodies, and finally the bodies were painted inside and out. This was the case at both St. Louis and A.O. Smith. Noland further states on page 32 that the A.O. Smith plant occasionally did a poor job implementing running changes, forcing St. Louis plant personnel to correct some items.
Everett also makes other observations/comments:
s oddity Did a previous owner install a bracket and coolant this a counterfeit big block because it appears that it once had a coolant tank? It is a certainty that any person counterfeiting a big block carwould have touched up the unpainted area and removed the rivets after there been a body panel replacement, which could explain the prior presence of the cooling tank
Production changes / A.I.M. - John Hinckley
Understanding the Assembly Manual and Running Changes
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