L-36 ignition shielding brackets

[Douglas L.]

Did a bit of searching on this and found out most of what I was looking for but not everything. According to the TIM & JG the ignition shielding brackets should be orange. On my 68 L-36 car they are black and don't look like they've ever been painted but the entire ignition shielding set-up came in a box when I bought the car. My question is this, were the brackets painted before installation or during the engine painting process?

[Stephen L.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

I don't know what TIMJG issue you are using but on page 129 of my issue (5th edition) it clearly states that the brackets for a BB are semi-gloss black.

[Edward B.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

I don't know what TIMJG issue you are using but on page 129 of my issue (5th edition) it clearly states that the brackets for a BB are semi-gloss black.

Stephen, I don't know what TIM&JG issue YOU'RE using, but for 68-69 the latest is the 4th edition!

And on page 66 under "427 Engines" it states:

Distributor shield supports are painted engine orange.

Ed

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

For years SERVICE support brackets were available painted black. That is likely what Douglas has on his engine. The ones that came on the engine from the engine plants (either Filnt, or as in this case, Tonawanda) were orange for 1968-1972. They were probably orange for some time before and after those years as well. I don't know what happened once the engines turned corporate blue.

BTW: The most recent version of the 1968-1969 TIM&JG (issued 2012) is the fourth edition.

[Alan S.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Hi,
I just checked the 68-69 4th edition too and it says the supports are painted engine orange.
Any chance we're comparing a 68-69 manual and a mid-year manual?
Regards,
Alan

I think I must have been opening the TIM&JG to page 66 while Terry was posting!

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Hi,
I just checked the 68-69 4th edition too and it says the supports are painted engine orange.
Any chance we're comparing a 68-69 manual and a mid-year manual?
Regards,
Alan

I think I must have been opening the TIM&JG to page 66 while Terry was posting!

I cheated -- I didn't look at page 66. I just looked at the back of the front cover for the date & addition. That's why I was quicker.

[Stephen L.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

My bad. I DIDN'T notice that Douglas was discussing a 68-69. I was referencing a 67. Now the next question would be why were the brackets painted black (installed after engine paint) in 67, but the same engine builders suddenly started installing the brackets before engine orange painting in 68? Could it be that the entire ignition assy shielding was installed on the engine at Tonawanda because of the new BB shield design in 68?
In the undated photos the BB and SB orange engines had no plug wires or shielding installed, but did have a distributor...appear to be ready for shipment. In 67 the shielding was installed at St Louis under the U69 option (radio) along with the associated brackets. The plug wires and coil were also installed at St Louis both SB and BB per the AIM.

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

My bad. I DIDN'T notice that Douglas was discussing a 68-69. I was referencing a 67. Now the next question would be why were the brackets painted black (installed after engine paint) in 67, but the same engine builders suddenly started installing the brackets before engine orange painting in 68? Could it be that the entire ignition assy shielding was installed on the engine at Tonawanda because of the new BB shield design in 68?
In the undated photos the BB and SB orange engines had no plug wires or shielding installed, but did have a distributor...appear to be ready for shipment. In 67 the shielding was installed at St Louis under the U69 option (radio) along with the associated brackets. The plug wires and coil were also installed at St Louis both SB and BB per the AIM.

I can not tell you why there was a change, if there was one, from 1967 to 1968. A look at the AIM will tell you if the distributor supports were installed at St Louis (part number in the AIM) or at the engine plant. Of course that alone will not tell you if the supports were in place when the engine was painted. Only looking at enough unmolested Corvettes will do that.

I can tell you for sure that in 1968-1972 the supports and distributor were installed at the engine plants, and the shielding and plug wires were installed at St Louis. The shielding and plug wire installation is found in the U69 section in 1968-1972 just like 1967. Those 1968-1972 Corvettes that were delivered without a radio still had the orange ignition shielding supports in place because they (the supports) also support the spark plug wires -- and the engine builders had no way of knowing whether the particular engine was going into a Corvette without a radio.

The last picture you posted shows engines with manifolds for a single two barrel carburetor. To the best of my knowledge no Corvette ever had such an engine configuration -- thus it is no surprise to me to see no distributor shielding supports on those engines as they were destined for something other than Corvette. I am pretty sure that only Corvete got the shielding supports.

[Stephen L.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Terry, In 67 the wires were supported by brackets welded to the valve covers with a plastic holder slid onto it. That was the first support point for the wires on a radio delete car. The shielding brackets weren't required. If the shield brackets on the 68-72 supported the wires in a radio delete car then that is the difference. Are there also brackets welded to the valve covers near the distributor on a 68 BB or were they deleted?

I know there were no 2 barrel engines in these Corvettes. I was trying to show that the engine just had a distributor installed at the engine factory. The 67 AIM calls out, with part numbers, the brackets for the shielding, wires, and coil, for both SB and BB, indicating to me that they were installed in St Louis.

[Douglas L.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Okay, so they were orange and I'm going to assume they were painted individually and not when the engine paint was applied. I was thinking that maybe the "mask" that was used over the intake manifold when the engine was painted had slots in it for the brackets and they may have been black towards the base but it seems that that isnt the case.

[John H.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

I know there were no 2 barrel engines in these Corvettes. I was trying to show that the engine just had a distributor installed at the engine factory. The 67 AIM calls out, with part numbers, the brackets for the shielding, wires, and coil, for both SB and BB, indicating to me that they were installed in St Louis.

Steve -

That's correct - through 1967, the plug wire/shield supports for both SB and BB were semi-gloss black, installed at St. Louis. The process changed for 1968 and later.

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Steve -

That's correct - through 1967, the plug wire/shield supports for both SB and BB were semi-gloss black, installed at St. Louis. The process changed for 1968 and later.

Thank you Stephan and John. I learned something about mid-years today.

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Okay, so they were orange and I'm going to assume they were painted individually and not when the engine paint was applied. I was thinking that maybe the "mask" that was used over the intake manifold when the engine was painted had slots in it for the brackets and they may have been black towards the base but it seems that that isnt the case.

I don't have my 1968-69 TIM&JG with me here at Joplin, but I will ask some of the participants tomorrow about 1968 fat motor shielding support finish. I think I know how they did it, but I want some confirmation before I stick my neck out here.

[Terry M.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Okay, so they were orange and I'm going to assume they were painted individually and not when the engine paint was applied. I was thinking that maybe the "mask" that was used over the intake manifold when the engine was painted had slots in it for the brackets and they may have been black towards the base but it seems that that isnt the case.

Douglas
I asked several 1968-1972 mechanical judges, and the consensus is the big block ignition shield supports for 1968 were painted orange. One judge offered that if your engine was an early production unit it is possible the 1967 style of supports were still in use -- the others doubted this happened because St Louis would have had to have the parts on hand to support the early method. A lively discussion ensued from there.

There was no final decision as to whether they should be brush painted (as small blocks were with aluminum intake) or spray painted (as iron intakes were). Those holding each position were sure their opinion was correct.

Thanks for the chance at some additional knowledge and a lively discussion. N0w to find someone with a Bow Tie 1968 big block.

[Edward B.]

Re: L-36 ignition shielding brackets

Terry et al, George (1960fi) was selling a late 1968 L36 engine on the other forum for awhile and it appeared to be very original. HERE'S THE LINK.

As you can see, the supports are orange.

Ed