engine stamp painting

[bluecopo]

was the pad on the front of the motor where it is stamped painted or bare metal thanks

[Charley Lillard]

bare metal

[mockingbird812]

Charley,

Curious as to the factory process that spared the stamp pad from the paint. And as a follow-on, why did they go to this trouble?

Thanks!

[nuch_ss396]

Charley,

After assembly ( and testing ) at the Tonawanda facility,
the engines were painted as they went down a paint line.
Accessories weren't added as of this time, so I would have
to think that the pad got painted. Shields ( vac-forms )
were used on the aluminum intakes to avoid overspray.
Possibly, the engine ID pad was oiled or masked in some way
to avoid paint. I would not think this to be the case though.

Steve

[Tarrytown SS427s]

It seems to me that the way the pad would look as the car left the factory, would be a painted pad with the partial vin stamped right over the paint. I doubt there are any original examples still clean enough to really know though..
Steve

[nuch_ss396]

Steve,

Interesting thought. I'm actually not sure when the
stamping process happened. Obviously, the VIN addition
would happen somewhere close to the actual installation
of the engine in the chassis. The engine assembly code
would probably have happened at Tonawanda.

Steve