general ike

Hello all, l hoping for some help and expertise and another set of eyes.. I am looking at some pics of a 1969 L46 convertible 4 speed engine bay and I am looking to see what is not original and correct.

Fist off is the missing Smog pump, serpentine belts and I beleive the manifold is also not correct.. Other then that I don't see anything else.
What do you all see.

I have also thrown in a pic of the tranny ID. What does everyone see with regards to it?

Greatly appreciated!! Ike














Ike

vettebuyer6369

Pretty sure intake manifold should be painted cast iron.

Is the VIN early enough for that coffee can?

ignatz

You appear to be missing the chrome spark plug shields and the brackets. The shields would be attached by wing nuts to the brackets. I can't tell that the intake manifold is correct but the temp sending unit on my car was in the head on the LHS near #1, so I think you are correct about the intake. This is from memory as my car is way different now but that is the way I remember it. That shield had a hole in it for the temp sensor. You might want to check that you have the correct heads.

. The gold "anodize' on the wiper door vacuum can looks to be painted on.

And of course you are missing the AIR plumbing to the exhaust manifold, which themselves seem wrong as I don't see where the plumbing would attach.

I don't think you mean to say serpentine belts, the belts should be conventional ones. The alternator belt looks to be reversed but that's not clear.

There is a book with black and white pictures of all this stuff called (I think) Vette Vues. And the assembly manual would be another valuable resource for you

vettebuyer6369

Before I bought my ‘69 I bought the Dobbins black and white picture book and the NCRS JG for reference. Had to own the Bizzoco book as well.

This is the intake:

general ike

Vettebuyer6369, thanks for the assistance, I believe so, it was built early in December of 1968. With regards to the manifold should it have , what appears to be a unplugged sensor in front and to the left of the thermostat housing? I don't remember seeing that before.

Thanks Ike

ThumpingLotus7

Obviously Replaced:
Master Cylinder (lid isn't clear enough to see)
Wiper Door Vacuum Cannister finish
Alternator belt
Alternator fan & pulley
Radiator cap
Radiator (I see aluminum in some of these photos)
Thermostat housing (shoudn't be chrome)

Probably Replaced
Alternator (I don't see the heat sink)
Caps on the AC compressor (I think should be goldish)

Missing blackout on drip rail (where the hood seals by the windshield)

vettebuyer6369

The one in your picture is a sending unit for temperature.

ed427vette

In addition to what has been stated above:
The radiator is not original. The car has been repainted and the area in front of the cowl should be painted black.
Trans stamp looks good.

Easy Mike

10674 works for December, 1968.

62corvette

Intake manifold bolts are allen wrench style. Should be hex head.

general ike

Boy you all have good eyes!!!! Yes I guess I meant a solid belt, a serpentine belt would be a one continuous belt I guess.

Lots more than I thought but I guess after 50 years a lot of things get replaced and redone without a concern for originality.

I think I see plugs on the exhaust manifolds so they may be correct but it’s hard to tell from the pics. New paint for sure and missing the black out on the drip rails. The paint in the wiper can is obvious as well.

What do you see on radiator that makes it incorrect other than the odd shaped cap and the lack of paint? I always have trouble figuring out which cars got copper vs aluminum tanks?

With regards to books, I have a few of them but I have trouble seeing these things for some reason and black and white pics in some of them definitely don’t help me I am afraid.

Thanks again!! What a valuable resource you all are. Greatly appreciated!!! Ike

Tiger Joe

you can see the radiator is nice shiny aluminum,. even if it was a factory aluminum rad, its still painted black.

7T1vette

FWIW, you have a very original "looking" engine compartment...with what appears to be an L46 engine. Is the engine stamp appropriate for the L46 (GD or HX)? If not, you could have an L-48 which is now an L46 clone (engine code HY).

Several of the changes made (radiator, intake manifold, alternator) are "do good" changes that only matter to those interested in NCRS awards. Otherwise, you should be pleased that your engine bay is as 'original' as it appears. MOST '69 C3's are a LOT less original than your car.

ignatz

Now that we've all contributed, what is this about? Is this your car or one that you are looking to buy? Seems like the latter! You'd best make sure the block and heads match if you really want an L46.

Tiger Joe

about once a month ike posts a car he is interested in buying, but never buys. this has gone on for awhile now

general ike

With regards to the radiator, when I got my 72 it was pretty dirty so I power wash it. Most of the paint on the radiator peeled off. I believe it is original but it’s nice a shiny like this one. So I am mot sure the fact its unpainted is enough t to know if its a replacement.unless you have better and closer pics. I don't think the paint stuck well to the aluminum after all these years.

Sadly Tiger Joe is partially correct. I post these as I find them, some I am looking to purchase others I am looking to learn from.

The knowledge here is incredible and it amazes me what you all pick up. I have gotten better but still not up to par. I missed a few on this car.

I figure the the more I post the better I get and maybe educate a few others on the way for what to look for when you want originality.

This is is a really nice car all be it with more changes then I thought in the engine bay. The issue I am having with this one is that the dealer is too busy to get me some basic pics like the engine pad, trim tag tranny info etc. and my rule of thumb is I won’t travel to see a car unless I have the basics. So for now I am stuck.


I am looking for a fairly original car with some strict criteria and requirements, I have a post in the WTB section. I have had some trouble finding one that was either mostly correct, close by or In my price range. Apparently 50 years takes a tool on originality. Since I already have a 1972 coupe I am quite particular in what I am looking for.

So the search continues!!!!! I got a real interesting one to post next. Just have to find the pic.

Thanks again all Ike

vettebuyer6369

Ike, this forum is for conversation, research and enjoyment.

You don’t have to explain to anyone why you haven’t bought a car or if you decide to never buy a car. That’s your business.

Keep asking questions; we will keep answering them.

ed427vette

Ike,
You could be correct and the radiator may be original.

i did the "its not black so it must be replaced" quick conclusion.

But upon looking closer, it does indeed have the correct looking square cutout near each end on top. That usually the first giveaway. But it could be original. I'm not as knowledgable about small blocks and not sure which cars had overflow tanks and which didnt. So I will defer to those who know better on that one but that can also determine which radiator is correct.

Overall this engine compartment is not terrible. Not many cars have it all correct under hood anyway.

Also I think the lower trim on the front windshield should be body color. Not sure if someone mentioned that or not.

Good luck in your search.

general ike

Vettebuyer Thank you but I did not mind explaining my situation it's the least I can do when so many people take their time to contribute to my post.

It has actually been frustrating. I fell into my 1972 as a newbie but it set a pretty high bar to now match. I have been on alot of different forums for different things but the C3 forum is one of the best with some great talent that is willing to share their knowledge.

In saying that Ed I too keep having to go to my books but I still have not gotten a good grip of aluminum vs copper and overflow tanks or not. Here is my 1972 and as you can see the paint has all come off the radiator top.



Sorry a little blurry, I guess I need to detail and paint that!! Can you explain a little further by what you mean by "But upon looking closer, it does indeed have the correct looking square cutout near each end on top. That usually the first giveaway." I am not sure I see these cutouts, does my radiator have them? Thanks Ike

Tiger Joe

Ike,

no disrespect meant here in my post., but have you thought about increasing your budget to find a car? In looking at the cars you have posted, while some arent great, others have been pretty nice. it seems you are looking for a level of correctness of a car that i think you might only find in a car that someone has spent time preparing for judging.