Correct finish on fuel line Y block

[John C.]

I bought a new fuel pump to carb fuel line set for a 66 425HP engine from Paragon. The Y block is zinc plated and the package is labeled as this was the original finish. All the ones I can remember seeing are just brass. What is the correct finish for the Y block?

John

[Joe L.]

Re: Correct finish on fuel line Y block

I bought a new fuel pump to carb fuel line set for a 66 425HP engine from Paragon. The Y block is zinc plated and the package is labeled as this was the original finish. All the ones I can remember seeing are just brass. What is the correct finish for the Y block?

John

John-----


I don't recall any of these distribution blocks being zinc plated, either, but I suppose it's possible that some were. 1966 L-72 used the same block as 1967-68 L-88 and 1970-72 LT-1 (but, not the same as 1969 L-88). It was GM #3866153. I would expect the same block was also used for 1966-68 Chevelles, Camaros, and passenger cars with L-78 and L-72, but I don't know that, for sure. I can say that the block on the original-owner 1968 Chevelle L-78 I once owned was brass finish.

Curiously, I can find no indication that the 3866153 block was ever available in SERVICE.

What does the 1966 NCRS Judging Guide say about it?

[John C.]

Re: Correct finish on fuel line Y block

Joe

The JG says it should be brass.

It's strange because when a bought a new fuel line set for my 68 tripower from a different vendor 5 years ago it also had zinc plated T blocks. At the time I just thought it was a mistake and reused the brass ones I had. Now I get the same thing again and the package says as "original". At least who ever manufactured these blocks thinks it is. I'll just reuse the brass.

John

[Joe L.]

Re: Correct finish on fuel line Y block

Joe

The JG says it should be brass.

It's strange because when a bought a new fuel line set for my 68 tripower from a different vendor 5 years ago it also had zinc plated T blocks. At the time I just thought it was a mistake and reused the brass ones I had. Now I get the same thing again and the package says as "original". At least who ever manufactured these blocks thinks it is. I'll just reuse the brass.

John

John-----


As I say, it's possible that some of these blocks did have a zinc finish. I have seen some brass substrate material fittings that were zinc finished, I've just never seen one of these "Y" blocks that was. But, that doesn't mean none were ever used.

In this case, it seems quite unlikely to me that GM specified either a natural brass finish OR a zinc finish. If that were the case, I don't see why any manufacturer would have provided a zinc finish when they could just skip this step and save the cost. Of course, the specifications for the part could have changed at some point.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Correct finish on fuel line Y block

...In this case, it seems quite unlikely to me that GM specified either a natural brass finish OR a zinc finish. If that were the case, I don't see why any manufacturer would have provided a zinc finish when they could just skip this step and save the cost. Of course, the specifications for the part could have changed at some point.

The only reason I can see for zinc plating on the Y-block is for aesthetics, i.e. to avoid the contrast of the "gold" brass finish at a junction of several "silver" tin plated tubes right on top of the engine. If it really happened at any time, it would have been on very early applications before someone realized the folly of spending money to get that part plated.

John, an inaccurate part from a vendor is not unusual.

His objective is to sell a part and bank the margin. If he gets his supplier lined out making an inaccurate part configuration, and poorly informed restorers are buying them, there is a lot of inertia to getting the part corrected...next to impossible I would say. Now, if he's not selling many (or none) of them, change is possible. There are only a couple of vendors I might believe in a conflict with NCRS literature, but only until I could get conclusive evidence.

BTW, if your original Y-block is buggered, stripping the zinc plating is a relatively easy process. Some original brass juction blocks (don't know about this one) have a line of stamped logos on the body...before I substituted a repro anyway, I would make sure it was as close to identical to an original as I could get.