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Hey guys, brand new to the site. Taking in tons of information so far. I am a first time owner of a '63 vette. I've been going through the car making my punch list of things that need to be fixed.
Some gauges, tranny, brakes and so on. The original owner decided to smooth side it in the 70s. I want to put the emblems back on. The gas lid has been replaced at some point, so it looks new. Who sells the better replacement emblems out there? Thanks.
From: "You may all go to Hell- and I will go to Texas- Davy Crockett
St. Jude Donor '12
Originally Posted by Critter1
Not true. The 62 style thin side fender flag emblems were never installed on any 63 Corvette. The fatter 3827158 was used on all 63-65's.
The error has been in the parts books since 1962.
Wow.. learn something new every day. I would have sworn that I have seen the thin style on 63s, although I had an 'expert' tell me my car was incorrect because it had the thick style and was in the first 10% of production. That makes me feel better.
Wow.. learn something new every day. I would have sworn that I have seen the thin style on 63s, although I had an 'expert' tell me my car was incorrect because it had the thick style and was in the first 10% of production. That makes me feel better.
Decades ago, many in the Corvette world believed that the thin emblem would be correct for early 63 cars but that part was never shown in the 63 factory assembly manual.
More decades ago, I looked at the unrestored #20 coupe. A pilot line car. It still had one of it's correct 3827158 side flag emblems.
Even more decades ago, I owned #170, an unrestored 63 coupe. It too had it's original thick 3827158 flag emblems.
If you look in an old parts book, the 3792000 (?) thin emblem is shown for passenger cars and Corvette. A little further down in that group, the correct 3827158 emblem is shown for Corvette only. From that day forward, people assumed that the error meant early Corvette used the thin emblem too.
Assuming that the front end fiberglass is original, there should be filled-in holes that are detectable from the underside of the fender. Just re-drill them from the inside out.
If the glass has been replaced, there are dimensions in the assembly manual (AIM) that will locate the new holes. Good luck following those, though, as they're dimensioned in body position, using the original 5 inch grid shown on GM body drawings. They are difficult to interpret; I used them successfully once, but only 'cause I'm an old GM body designer and knew how they worked...
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Hey guys, brand new to the site. Taking in tons of information so far. I am a first time owner of a '63 vette. I've been going through the car making my punch list of things that need to be fixed.
Some gauges, tranny, brakes and so on. The original owner decided to smooth side it in the 70s. I want to put the emblems back on. The gas lid has been replaced at some point, so it looks new. Who sells the better replacement emblems out there? Thanks.
I have a very nice original early type fuel door if interested.
If the glass has been replaced, there are dimensions in the assembly manual (AIM) that will locate the new holes. Good luck following those, though, as they're dimensioned in body position, using the original 5 inch grid shown on GM body drawings. They are difficult to interpret; I used them successfully once, but only 'cause I'm an old GM body designer and knew how they worked...
Off topic, but if you're a GM body designer, you'll like this.
It has to do with the position of the fuel injection emblems and side flag emblem on early 63's. On early cars, the FI emblem is about 1/8", or more, higher and closer to the side flag emblem than it was on later cars. Using the dimensions in the AIM, if measure along the surface instead of off of a datum for the vertical measurement, the results place the FI emblem in the wrong location.
Later, someone noticed the issue and the templet was redrawn correctly.
I think we have at least one or two early FI car owners here that have original cars with FI emblems in the "too high" location and I've documented several over the years.
Last edited by Critter1; May 11, 2017 at 08:01 PM.
There has been more than one raging controversy on the NCRS TDB about the thick vs thin emblems. I don't indulge in those as it's almost like a certain water pump debate and nobody's stance is going to change IMO.
Hey guys, brand new to the site. Taking in tons of information so far. I am a first time owner of a '63 vette. I've been going through the car making my punch list of things that need to be fixed.
Some gauges, tranny, brakes and so on. The original owner decided to smooth side it in the 70s. I want to put the emblems back on. The gas lid has been replaced at some point, so it looks new. Who sells the better replacement emblems out there? Thanks.
Trim parts makes the best product.
Another installation tidbit is that the passenger side emblem is a little further forward than the driver side. Close to an inch as I remember. This is because of the limited access from the inside due to the heater box fan motor. If you can't see the old mounting holes from the inside, let me know. My emblems are not installed yet and I can make you a marking template.
tc
Last edited by project63; May 11, 2017 at 07:37 PM.
Another installation tidbit is that the passenger side emblem is a little further forward than the driver side. Close to an inch as I remember. This is because of the limited access from the inside due to the heater box fan motor. If you can't see the old mounting holes from the inside, let me know. My emblems are not installed yet and I can make you a marking template.
tc
I started a long discussion on 63 and 64 side flag and FI emblem location over at the NCRS board several years ago. It got very interesting
It gets even more interesting for 64 emblem location.
Another installation tidbit is that the passenger side emblem is a little further forward than the driver side. Close to an inch as I remember. This is because of the limited access from the inside due to the heater box fan motor. If you can't see the old mounting holes from the inside, let me know. My emblems are not installed yet and I can make you a marking template.
tc
Interesting. I just measured the holes on my early coupe (1318) and the holes are only different by 1/8", if that. Original front end. You are referring to the side flags, correct?
Originally Posted by Critter1
I started a long discussion on 63 and 64 side flag and FI emblem location over at the NCRS board several years ago. It got very interesting
It gets even more interesting for 64 emblem location.
Off topic, but if you're a GM body designer, you'll like this.
It has to do with the position of the fuel injection emblems and side flag emblem on early 63's. On early cars, the FI emblem is about 1/8", or more, higher and closer to the side flag emblem than it was on later cars. Using the dimensions in the AIM, if measure along the surface instead of off of a datum for the vertical measurement, the results place the FI emblem in the wrong location.
Later, someone noticed the issue and the templet was redrawn correctly.
I think we have at least one or two early FI car owners here that have original cars with FI emblems in the "too high" location and I've documented several over the years.
Mike, the emblem holes would have been drilled using a specially designed drill-fixture to locate them. That fixture was located to the body using several pads that rested on known surfaces of the fender, then it was clamped in place. There was typically some adjustment required initially to get it right, but an eighth of an inch would have been extreme. They probably designed the fixture wrong and then corrected it after pilot. I designed lot of those when I was 17.
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