ignition shield bracket colors

[Mark M.]

From what I'm reading it's not clear if all big block c2 c3 ignition shielding brackets on the back of the intake manifold where black on the assembly line. Most all survivor and restored c2's bb (big block) I've seen are black. A few restored c2 big block cars had them orange. But many c3 car owners claim their brackets should be orange. I believe all these brackets sb and bb where installed on the St. Louis line depending if the car had u69 radio option. I don't know if the small block and big block supplier was the same but the c2 small block and service replacements definitely came black or bare. I guess this is an open question on c2 bb and both c3 sb and bb . Survivor and Benchmark cars are probably the best proof of these. Any help on this is much appreciated. Mark

[Leif A.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

According to the 5th edition TIM&JG for the '67, there is no differentiation between SB or BB support brackets...they are ALL painted semi-gloss black. I would guess they were that way for all C2 & C3. No gray area here (pun intended)

[Lawrence M.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

Hi Lief,

First let me say I do not know much about C2's. On C3's I just looked in the 69 AIM in UPC 6 page B6 Sparkplug Wiring, Shields, & Coil the supports you reference are noted as part of engine. On UPC69 page A6 Radio AM/FM Distributor & Coil Shield the support is again noted as part of engine.

[Russ S.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

C3s are all painted orange.

[Mark M.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

After digging out 65 67 69 aim , 64 65 66 67 jg and many reference books, it looks as if there are a number of differences possible. The c2 sb need coil support so they all got black brackets at engine plant . The cast iron intake versions must have orange overspray. The c2 bb brackets are listed by part number in aim books,suggesting they may be only ones installed in St. Louis . The L88 and radio delete bb using the valve cover brackets for wire support. All c3 sb bb appear to have brackets installed at engine plants. What degree of part was orange ??? This is what I came up with after searching for c2 bb bracket color. Good thing there isn't three or more colors possible.

[John H.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

After digging out 65 67 69 aim , 64 65 66 67 jg and many reference books, it looks as if there are a number of differences possible. The c2 sb need coil support so they all got black brackets at engine plant . The cast iron intake versions must have orange overspray.

Mark -

Nope. Midyear small-blocks had the semi-gloss black painted plug wire support brackets installed at St. Louis; none had any orange engine plant paint overspray. The part numbers for the brackets are shown in UPC 6, Sheet B3 (plug wire installation).

[Mark M.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

Spent more time looking in aim books and putting some pages back in order and I see you gentlemen are quite correct. The c2 aims show part numbers for all brackets ,and the 69 shows them all as part of engine assembly. Was the supplier the same for sb and bb and did they all start out black? If so c3 may have some black not totally covered at engine plant. A friend and local restorer has a box full of these he's accumulated after close to 40 years of vette restorations and next week I hope to take a look through it with him. Don't know how much it will satisfy our curiousity but I try to make it more fun doing these cars more accurate than before. Thanks John and everyone for great input. Mark

[Stuart F.]

Re: ignition shield bracket colors

My original 63 SHP brackets actually fit better than the supposed NOS pieces I put on in the late 70's. I recently refurbished them in an attempt to get my top shield to fit better, which it does.

Stu Fox