Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

[David B.]

In working on the upcoming '67 TIM&JG, the question of whether '67 small block fan shrouds were painted or natural has arisen. Our current manual states that big block shrouds were painted, while small block shrouds were not.
Yes, I'm aware this issue has been discussed on this board many times in the past- not necessarily with unanimous results.
I'm interested in input from anyone who has a '67 small block with what they believe to be an unrestored, never removed, never "Bubba" spray bombed fan shroud in it. In particular, if anyone has a painted example I'm interested to hear if the paint coverage is complete or merely covers the top portion of the shroud. Of course, pictures would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Gene M.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

David,
I have two 67 small blocks. One early car other later. Both shrouds are bare fiberglass. A very dark gray/black in color. Appears no paint at all. The glue work is sloppy at best.

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Gene - Thanks for your reply. Assuming any painting was done by an outside supplier, it is difficult to fathom why only big blocks were painted and not small blocks. There was no reason to paint either one from the standpoint of protecting a fiberglass part. If it was a cosmetic decision, presumably all would have been painted.
At least one low mileage car that I've recently become aware of (an 11,000 mile 4 star Bowtie car) appears to have had a painted shroud. Perhaps rather than being a BB vs. SB thing, its merely evidence of inconsistent application by the supplier?

[Neal K.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

David,
I have owned my early(sept 66 production) 67 with L-79 engine since 1969. The fan shroud is unpainted. The fiberglass is very dark gray?black.
Neal

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Neal - Thanks for your reply. There's no question that most '67 small blocks came with an unpainted shroud. I'm not trying to chase down a unicorn here! Just curious if we could document any other "exceptions" such as the one noted above.
FWIW, I've enclosed a picture from the February '67 issue of Road & Track---Yes, I'm aware that the accordian radiator hose and bailing wire is not TFP!! I'll leave it for others to judge, but it looks like possibly there's remnants of paint on the top and sides? Perhaps a light coating that easily rubbed off?Feb. '67 Road & Track.jpg

[Chris E.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

David,
My early 67 (car #183) was bought by our family in '73 with about 20K miles on it. Never hit in the nose. 350 horse 4 speed. The fan shroud was covered almost completely in a black paint. When my car went through Flight judging, the consensus on the field was it should be bare fiberglass, so I took laquer thinner to it and made it so. Now I'm doubting that decision.

Why would someone have pulled JUST the fan shroud, painted it, and reinstalled it? The engine had never been out of the car, and never even had a valve job prior to my restoration.
Chris

[Gene M.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

David, Your car is much earlier than my 67 SB convertible (#440) which is bare fiberglass. In the 66 model year the SB shrouds were black painted to the best of my knowledge. I would consider such an early car as your to be quite correct painted with a black shroud. It is a sin to just change an original feature just to comply to the judging manual. That's why manuals are always in a state of flux. Screw points when it comes to originality...........

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Hi Chris - I remember judging your car and may be to blame for that deduction. Hopefully only a 1 pointer! Perhaps, as Gene suggests, there was a running change that occurred early in the model year.
The only possible explanation I can come up with for the BB/SB difference is that BB shrouds were painted to differentiate them from SB shrouds so as to avoid mistakes on the assembly line---But with the very dark fiberglass that was used it doesn't seem like that would help much.
Having had a few cars judged myself, I understand the frustration of taking a deduct for an item you believe is original and unaltered. Guess that's why I started this thread, since we now have a "window" to make changes. I appreciate everyone's help on this!!

[Scott S.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

In working on the upcoming '67 TIM&JG, the question of whether '67 small block fan shrouds were painted or natural has arisen. Our current manual states that big block shrouds were painted, while small block shrouds were not.

David,

What is the degree of confidence that 1967 big block fan shrouds were originally painted black?

Also, have you considered the addition of fan shroud extension rings for C60 cars? Were the fan shroud extension rings bare fiberglass, or painted black? Would GM have allowed a painted shroud to be matched up to an unpainted extension ring, or vice-versa?

Does no one have a copy of (or access to) the GM drawings for these parts? I realize that every detail called for in the drawings is not always realized in actual production (e.g., no date stamp on actual '67 brake warning switches, though called for in the drawing in Adams, p. 389), but the Engineering drawings would be interesting to see.

[Keith B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Scott on dads 427-390 with AC we have what we believe is the original shroud and extension rings and they are painted black

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Scott - A number of low mile BB examples that were painted have been documented (including a 12,000 mile "barn car" I'm familiar with), so I guess the consensus is fairly strong on that point. Did exceptions occur? As with any mass production part, I'm sure they did. Also, it appears from the examples we have seen that the paint was often a lighter "mist coat" where hairs in the fiberglass can still show through. This paint appears to be relatively easy to remove due to the combination of harsh underhood conditions and even moderately aggressive cleaning, which leads to further confusion as we try to examine cars 45 years later.
Regarding C60, the AIM (Sheet B2.5) calls out seperate part numbers for the fan ring, bolts, u-nuts and washers, so I'd presume these items were added at the St. Louis plant (rather than an outside supplier) and would be unpainted.

[Chris E.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Chris, Your car is much earlier than my 67 SB convertible (#440) which is bare fiberglass. In the 66 model year the SB shrouds were black painted to the best of my knowledge. I would consider such an early car as your to be quite correct painted with a black shroud. It is a sin to just change an original feature just to comply to the judging manual. That's why manuals are always in a state of flux. Screw points when it comes to originality...........

Gene, totally agree with you. Although this is a fairly small issue as far as I'm concerned.

Hi Chris - I remember judging your car and may be to blame for that deduction. Hopefully only a 1 pointer! Perhaps, as Gene suggests, there was a running change that occurred early in the model year.
The only possible explanation I can come up with for the BB/SB difference is that BB shrouds were painted to differentiate them from SB shrouds so as to avoid mistakes on the assembly line---But with the very dark fiberglass that was used it doesn't seem like that would help much.
Having had a few cars judged myself, I understand the frustration of taking a deduct for an item you believe is original and unaltered. Guess that's why I started this thread, since we now have a "window" to make changes. I appreciate everyone's help on this!!

David,
Don't worry about it! Yes, it was only 1 point. And yes, it was 1 point that I picked back up when having the car judged further. Unless of course the manual is changed to show that SB fan shrouds WERE painted black.....then I have to get out the Krylon again..... (smile)

Oh, and Gene brings up a good point. What does the '66 manual say about SB fan shrouds? Painted or bare fiberglass? If they were indeed painted black, then I can add "fan shroud" to the list of '66 parts on my '67. Do we know if the 66 and 67 SB fan shrouds of physically identical?

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Keith - I appreciate your input. This would seem to indicate that shroud painting was done at the St. Louis plant rather than an outside supplier, since the extra AC parts were factory installed.

[David B.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Chris - Thanks for letting me off the hook! Yes, the '66 manual says both SB and BB were painted. Yes, there will be changes to this section of the manual. Keep your Krylon handy!

[Chris E.]

Re: Help Needed- '67 Small Block Fan Shroud

Chris - Thanks for letting me off the hook! Yes, the '66 manual says both SB and BB were painted. Yes, there will be changes to this section of the manual. Keep your Krylon handy!

Dagnabbit......oh well. I'm hoping to pick up a ton of points elsewhere. I can "weather the storm" of one more point lost.