This is probably more **** than I'd like to admit, but were the AC and PS brackets on the motor when it was originally painted? 3 out of the 4 water pump bolts came out when I removed those brackets. Or perhaps they should be stud bolts? The water pump gets painted with the motor, right? Joe

 

i did it all sepaerate and used an aluminum water pump...
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Nobody knows? Is there a NCRS forum? They would know. Thanks, Joe

 

I think the answer to your question is no, the PS and AC brackets were not on at painting. Water pump, harmonic damper, intake manifold, valve covers (if painted), oil pan, timing chain cover, and manual shift bell housing were installed prior to paint. Stamp pad was not painted. NCRS site is ncrs.org. They do have a forum which isn't as good as this one. Order a Technical Manual and Judging Guide. It will answer your question and many more.

 

Look under General corvette in this forum. They have a "factory correct" forum that has been a help to me and my 70 L46 Vert.

Also, I joined NCRS and what a great bunch of people. They can answer most questions over the phone.

Good Luck.

Bill

 

According to Corvette by the numbers
Raw casting
block machining
block starts down line up side down
galley plugs
cam shaft
crank shaft
flywheel and pressure
cam and crank sprockets
piston hook up
front engine cover and seal
harmonic bal
oil pump shaft & pump
windage tray bolts
oil pan
clutch housing
engine turned up right
TDC
cam lifters
cylinder heads
rockers ***** and hardware
intake
valves adjusted
rocker covers
misc brackets and switches................
build date and suffix
water tested
oil cavity test
PAINTED
Thats for FLINT, Tonawanda had plugs distributor and exhaust manifolds on before paint
hope that helps you

 

From working on these cars when they were brand new off the truck in the mid 70's I also remember that the oil filter was installed prior to painting: the oil filters on the new cars were painted (oversprayed) engine color. As ketterer noted above, some cars had oversprayed exhaust manifolds and some came with clean manifolds - that is correct, and I specifically remember seeing the new Vettes with paint overspray on the manifolds. I don't recall seeing painted spark plugs, though, but it wouldn't surprise me that they installed the plugs instead of masking off the plug holes. AC and PS brackets were not on the engine when it was painted, since these brackets were option-dependent - all accessory brackets were clean from any engine paint or overspray. In fact, we saw a lot of steel accessory brackets that had no paint at all on them: they were rusty right from the factory; one of the bracket vendors must have omitted the painting operations... Generally, people tend to over-restore the engine compartments in the Vettes: These cars (mid-70s) did not look very good under the hood when they were new: paint and detailing was pretty crappy, and GM wasted no time getting these cars off the assembly line. I see "restored" C3s that look significantly better than anything GM ever produced...

 

Thanks for your help. Between here, the factory correct forum and ncrs.org's archives I found it varies from year to year but mine should be unpainted, and the waterpump bolts removed and replaced to accomodate the brackets. I also found some pictures in my AIM that helped. Joe