Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

[Jack O.]

Hi everyone,

Did an '69 L68 originally come with the metal heat shields around the spark plugs, bolted to the exhaust manifold? I have an A/C car and they make an already hard job even more difficult.

Thanks,

Jack

[Joe L.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

Hi everyone,

Did an '69 L68 originally come with the metal heat shields around the spark plugs, bolted to the exhaust manifold? I have an A/C car and they make an already hard job even more difficult.

Thanks,

Jack

Jack-------

It did not. The barrel shields disappeared after the 1967 model year. However, they came back in revised form for 73-74.

[Jack O.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

Thanks Joe. I didn't think so. I originally owned this car in 1987 and just git it back. It did not have them. Changing plugs on this thing is a PIA, especially #4, and they make it even harder.

Do you think it cause any issues, e.g. exhaust leak, if I remove one exhaust manifold bolt at a time, loosen/remove only the 1 holding the given barrel and then re-torquing that bolt. Doing each one in that manner.

[Joe L.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

Thanks Joe. I didn't think so. I originally owned this car in 1987 and just git it back. It did not have them. Changing plugs on this thing is a PIA, especially #4, and they make it even harder.

Do you think it cause any issues, e.g. exhaust leak, if I remove one exhaust manifold bolt at a time, loosen/remove only the 1 holding the given barrel and then re-torquing that bolt. Doing each one in that manner.

Jack-------


Removing and replacing one exhaust manifold bolt at a time should cause no problems, whatsoever. There is no gasket on the manifold-to-head interface, so nothing is really lost or disturbed.

I don't understand, though, what you mean by "...only the 1 holding the given barrel...". What "barrel" are you referring to?.

[Jack O.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

I'm referring to the heat shield around the spark plug. Each one being held by a single exhaust manifold bolt.

[Joe L.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

I'm referring to the heat shield around the spark plug. Each one being held by a single exhaust manifold bolt.

Jack-----


1969's did not use the barrel shields. I thought that was what you were asking about in your first question.

[Jack O.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

That's right Joe, I was asking if they were original because my car has them. And since they are not OE for a '69 I want to remove them especially since they make changing the plugs harder. My follow up question was in regard to removing them and the fact I have to remove exhaust manifold bolts to remove them. Sorry for the confusion but thanks again for the help.

Jack

[Joe L.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

That's right Joe, I was asking if they were original because my car has them. And since they are not OE for a '69 I want to remove them especially since they make changing the plugs harder. My follow up question was in regard to removing them and the fact I have to remove exhaust manifold bolts to remove them. Sorry for the confusion but thanks again for the help.

Jack

Jack-------


OK, now I understand. No problem whatsoever removing the bolts to remove the shields.

By the way, 1969 did not use french locks on the exhaust manifold bolts for big blocks. Instead, special thread locking bolts were used on the end runner bolt positions. These bolts will not thread out or in by hand. They have a flanged (washer) head. The bolts for the other two runner positions on each side are conventional hex head bolts, usually with a non-flanged head. However, I understand that some have been found with a flanged head.

[Carl N.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

If you are not going to drive it and only show it, take them off. I would hang on to them for future use. They do help out in plug life on a driver IMO.

[Joe L.]

Re: 'Did 69 L68 Have Spark Plug Wire Heat Shields

If you are not going to drive it and only show it, take them off. I would hang on to them for future use. They do help out in plug life on a driver IMO.

Carl------


Yes, I agree. I think the heat shields do offer a functional benefit. That's probably why after dropping them for 1968-72, GM brought shields back for 73-74. For functionality, I recommend the 73-74 style shields, GM #465840 (which, incidentally, remain available from GM). Since no shields are correct for 1968-72, the 73-74 shields are no more incorrect than the 1965-67 shields.