Correct part finish

[Verne_Frantz]

That may be 3mac1, but one location built all the engines. Do you think someone said, "let's paint this differently because it's going to Canada"?

I admit, I have some eyesight problems these days, but I sure can't see any black on that Z-28's inspection cover, not when I look at how the black on the starter lasted.
The oil pan was bare steel also before it was painted orange.

Verne

[3macs1]

[ QUOTE ]
That may be 3mac1, but one location built all the engines. Do you think someone said, "let's paint this differently because it's going to Canada"?

I admit, I have some eyesight problems these days, but I sure can't see any black on that Z-28's inspection cover, not when I look at how the black on the starter lasted.
The oil pan was bare steel also before it was painted orange.

Verne

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Verne:
May be it is just the picture glare but I see black just up from the right bottom cover bolt.Regardless still owning both canadian and american produced cars of the same year and model YEP they did a lot different on either side of the border.
Give you one example our canadian GM documented impala ss427 has it's original engine stamped TO1113T from the plant you refer to.You won't find that in any of your books and if you were buying the car would probally say it is a CE block that I stamped but right in the GM docs same number. Why??? did that same plant stamp a canadian block differently. Because it was coming to canada.Maybe no bell housing was fitted on the export engines they produced so they got painted with out them I have no idea.. Just like she didnot have smog and she has option codes which no one can tell me what they are like Z49 refered to as special canadian package.I have had my chevelle since 76 another canadian car and her original cover is on the wall and it is black no signs of orange and her clutch fork is bare steel.
I am only telling what I see. I didnot blast any of these housings and many were put away 25 years ago. 9 housings 7 bare two with orange paint and more in the attic which i will check what are the odds. Never say never with GM especially GM canada.

[nuch_ss396]

Joseph,

I'm wondering about this.......

I have a Corvette article that featured the BBC engine
assembly process at Tonawnnda. Painting was also covered.
This is a much debated topic on the NCRS technical forum.
Verne probably also saw this on that site some time ago.

I have a photo showing the BBC's coming down the paint
line and the bell housings are clearly installed. Unfortunately,
the photo is in B&W so it's almost impossible to tell for
sure. Why you have several '621 bell housings w/o paint is
a mystery to me. I do know that the painting process was very
subjective, depending on the person actually painting. This
is clearly evident from the different levels of overspray
found on original cars.

I have a '621 bell housing that came off an original L/71
'69 Vette and it has orange overspray all around the perimeter
of the housing ( where it mates against the block ).
I bought it from the original owner because of this
original paint scheme. BTW, it also has its original
yellow crayon inspection mark over the orange paint.

I wonder if painting was bypassed on certain days due to
personnel availability or production pressures. Some
engines I have seen sure look like they were never painted.

BTW, I have an invitation from GM to visit their historical
archives for research purposes. Engine painting was one of
the topics I had planned to look into. Time is my problem.


Steve

[3macs1]

Hi Steve:
I honestly don't know unless they were cleaned prior to me buying them which I cannot see that taking place back then.One had $20.00 on it so that will tell you something.I am going to dig out the original out of my chevelle that one I know has never been touched it was removed when the car was just about new and replaced with a lakewood shield.

[Kurt S]

[ QUOTE ]
Give you one example our canadian GM documented impala ss427 has it's original engine stamped TO1113T from the plant you refer to.You won't find that in any of your books and if you were buying the car would probally say it is a CE block that I stamped but right in the GM docs same number. Why??? did that same plant stamp a canadian block differently. Because it was coming to canada.........Just like she didnot have smog

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll connect those 2 concepts. In Camaros, they didn't use a unique assembly code for non-smog export cars. Big cars are a higher volume and may have used a unique code for export (no holes in the exhaust manifolds).

[Verne_Frantz]

The topic is interesting enough while just considering US built cars, but when you add in exported engines, it certainly adds more questions. As far as different suffix codes used for Canadian bound engines, that's perfectly normal to expect them, since the equipment itself was different. Perhaps at some point during the assembly process at Tonawanda, engines going to Canada were directed to a "side line" where they were dressed and racked differently.
One way to answer the question would be to look at the Oshawa plant AIM to see if there are assembly instructions for the bell housing and clutch cover. If those parts were already on the engines when they left Tonawanda, there would be no mention of them in the AIM.

Verne

[3macs1]

Hi Verne:
Funny part is she is the only one that I have ever seen with a code like this and I have touched many a big block over the years and still have a few.All the others would be stamped the same as the US codes. She is also the only car I have had from the St.theresa plant rest were Oshawa.
I used to guess it was because she didnot have snog and has a chrome dress up package I call it on the engine but that being said my chevelle had no smog and had the chrome covers etc and she had a standard three letter ID code.
God knows