I have been taking great pains to restore my 1980 L-82. I have the engine going back together on an engine stand now and will be ready for paint soon.
I have the NCRS manual for my car and it talks about the damper, water pump, Intake manifold, rocker covers (on L-48) and oil pan being together at the engine assembly plant during painting.
That's good info but it leaves a lot of questions. I have clips for the front 2 spark plug wires on each side that attach to an oil pan bolt. Were they installed before or after painting? Which bolt? I've also read that all 1980 engines had clamps for the auto trans cooling lines attached to an oil pan bolt but I have read much trying to find out about these clamps and cannot find anything mentioned anywhere but in the NCRS manual. My cooling lines were attached to the frame at the front crossmember. Am I missing something or was someone on something the day they put that in the manual.
The manual also says all intake manifolds were painted a dull aluminum. I can find no one who carries such a paint color. Where can I get it in a spray can? Was the water neck installed prior to painting? How about the heator hose connections on the intake and water pump?
Any help with this engine paint job will be appreciated.
Thanks. Strike3

 

Strike3, my experience is with 70-72, but answers to some questions can be reasoned out with a high degree of probability based on earlier year processes. For example, the clips for the sparkplug wires...check the thread in the FCR index entitled "69 Ignition Shielding".

I had thought those clips you refer to were installed at the assembly plant until today. In that thread, Juliet has a picture of the side of her original 70 cylinder case that clearly shows the clip being painted engine color, so I am inclined at this point to believe the clips were installed at the engine plant and painted with the engine. Radio delete cars were rare, and therefore the engines got these clips whether they were used or not.

As to location, I would use the installation of the ignition shielding as a guide for locating the clip, i.e. "best fit". It may be necessary to install the shielding temporarily to locate the clip, then remove the shielding to paint the engine, clip, and retaining cap screw.

If you don't have the Assembly Instruction Manual (AIM) for your 80, I would recommend you get one. The routing of the transmission cooling lines would be done at the assembly plant, and the MX1 option section of the AIM would show the details of the cooling line routing and the clips. If the oil pan CLIP was installed at the assembly plant, the AIM would most likely show the clip as being attached with a cap screw with a square symbol with a diagonal line which divides the square into a white upper half and a dark lower half with the caption "Engine".

Aluminum paint...Years ago I bought a can of aerosol paint that sounds perfect for this application; it is Krylon 1403, Dull Aluminum. I found this at a home improvement store and I thought I might have a use for it some day. If none of your local home improvement stores stock this color, try Eastwoods, Quanta Products, OEM paints, and Zip; they may have an equivalent color. The first three have online catalogs...just use your browser to make a search on the names.

Was the water neck installed...I can't say for SURE on 80s, but I can say with 95 percent probability that they WERE painted with the manifold at the engine plant. They were done that way for decades before, and it is the most efficient way to do this operation. Painting was the last step, so the engine would be completely assembled, and further, the assembly plants didn't want to do anything more to the engine than was absolutely required.

Heater hose nipples... on earlier cars they WERE NOT painted with the engines. Again, the AIM is the best authority...if there is a sheet in the AIM showing the installation of the heater hoses AND the nipples, with part numbers, you can be confident that the nipples were not painted at the engine plant.


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 8:44 PM 8/5/2001]

 

Thanks Chuck! I appreciate the help. I have checked an assembly manual as you sudgested and still find no mention of clips on the oil pan bolts for the auto trans cooling lines. Could the NCRS manual be wrong? I'll also try those places for the aluminum paint on line this weekend.
Again thanks much: Bill Pike

 

An error in an NCRS judging manual??? Perish the thought!!! :eek: :eek:

Actually, Bill, errors are found regularly in NCRS juging manuals, but you have to give the people that write them credit; they have done the best job they can working with cars that are at least twenty years old that have had plenty of opportunity to be "monkeyed with". Even if the subject cars have not been "monkeyed with", the factory allowed little variatons in procedures that didn't make any difference to anybody at the time, but it drives NCRS enthusiasts crazy today. In that case, it doesn't matter which they put down as the "correct" appearance, it will be non-original for some cars.

If you have opportunity to attend an NCRS meet, the best course is to examine very original or "Bowtie" cars to see if the clips actually existed. In general, there is a risk looking at restored cars; owners tend to restore "by the book". Any errors in the judging manual are then incorporated into the restoration for the sake of judging points. You can also check original cars owned by members of your Corvette club, buddies, etc., but be skeptical until you see a concensus forming.


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:15 AM 8/8/2001]


[Modified by Chuck Sangerhausen, 7:16 AM 8/8/2001]

 

Thanks! Of course my engine is bule, not orange, but I get the meaning. I attended the Vett-Fest in Chicago last year and found a NCRS "survivor" entered, I would have given a case of beer to crawl under and around, but they were behind ropes and there was no crossing a rope without being thrown out. I've tryed to attend the local (mostly small) shows but they're few and far between. The nearest Corvette club is about 35 miles away and I haven't managed to link up with anyone from there yet. Any way, thanks for the info. That's what makes this forum so great!
Bill Pike

 

Bill, the nice thing about NCRS events is that there are NO ROPES! Of course, I would recommend you tell the owner what you are interested in, and ask, before you get down on the ground peering up under his car. :lol:

And, this makes sense for an organization that is all about the DETAILS; how can you see any details when you are ten feet away. For the owners, it is bound to cause a lot of anxiety when the uneducated public is getting up close to your beautiful restoration.