1955 fan shroud

[Joe R.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John,

My thoughts would be that anything later than 342 would have the cutout.

JR

[John S.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

two items on #342 are a lot earlier than other 55s. the cutouts that I seen on 55s appear on very late cars. NCRS does not recognize the cutout on 55s. the date code on the distributor is definitely a correct 55 corvette date code, but 5D7 appears on the 400 number cars. I think before the cutout is accepted near #342 more documentation is needed. #342 appears very original to me, but there are other items on #342 that have been changed out.

[Joe R.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John,

Well, 342 will not be changed to fit the judging manual. The judging manual should be changed so it will fit what GM built back in 1955.
I enjoyed seeing 342 long before seeing the NCRS and it will remain just as it is today. I presented the pictures of this 1955 on this board so others could see a true barn find that has never been tampered with, destroyed or faked in any way.

JR

[John S.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John,

Well, 342 will not be changed to fit the judging manual. The judging manual should be changed so it will fit what GM built back in 1955.
I enjoyed seeing 342 long before seeing the NCRS and it will remain just as it is today. I presented the pictures of this 1955 on this board so others could see a true barn find that has never been tampered with, destroyed or faked in any way.

JR

I agree with you! It is only by locating survivor cars that the judging guide can be updated. I enjoyed and appreciate the pictures you posted and will now be looking at other mid 300 cars to help verify what was discovered on #342. keep in mind that I noticed the cutout because of other changes that were made with the cooling system.

[Ronald R.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

Found a guy that has 526 and has owned it sense 58. I asked him to send pix

[Mark B.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

kind of off topic, but my 57 has an all original 1955 rad in it somehow, running its original core, still works awesome...

[James G.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John,

Well, 342 will not be changed to fit the judging manual. The judging manual should be changed so it will fit what GM built back in 1955.
I enjoyed seeing 342 long before seeing the NCRS and it will remain just as it is today. I presented the pictures of this 1955 on this board so others could see a true barn find that has never been tampered with, destroyed or faked in any way.

JR

I love the history. Any ROY BRATZ fans here? He has vast knowledge oif 1955 Corvettes.

[John S.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

Joe, If you ever get to view #342 I would like to know if #342 has these two brackets that support the lower fan shroud. Viewing this from inside the fan shroud you would see four holes in the lower shroud. if it is a later design only two holes will be in the lower shroud. thank you, John

[Troy P.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John, Ronald,
If you look at the photo discs I sent you containing the Phinney 55 documentation you will see in engine compartment photo 210 that there are 4 holes in the bottom of the shroud but no bolts in them. I see some shroud bolts missing elsewhere too. So perhaps the shroud was removed and reinstalled at some point.

Also no cut out on the top of the shroud for the hose as seen in photo 246.

[John S.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

John, Ronald,
If you look at the photo discs I sent you containing the Phinney 55 documentation you will see in engine compartment photo 210 that there are 4 holes in the bottom of the shroud but no bolts in them. I see some shroud bolts missing elsewhere too. So perhaps the shroud was removed and reinstalled at some point.

Also no cut out on the top of the shroud for the hose as seen in photo 246.

Troy, I have a lot of examples, but I am trying to determine when changes were made and how many cars might have a cutout in the top shroud and have the first design, two piece brackets.

[Troy P.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

That's a good endeavor.

Now if we could only come up with an original 6V battery we could get the facts right on that mystery. I've only seen photos of one claimed example but will not settle for less than one more to confirm it.

[Ronald R.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

There are at least 3 mid to late cars that had the cut out that I have seen.

[Loren L.]

Re: 1955 fan shroud

Strictly a memory bank and not based on 55s - I seem to recall looking at '56s in the first 100 cars and seeing the usage of a '55 shroud without a cutout and the shroud was described as a "carryover" - but I hasten to add that I claim no degree of expertise with '55s.

joe. thanks for the picture. it is still too hard to tell if this car has a cutout. the judging guide states that there was no cutout in 55, but that is incorrect. later cars have the cutout and this car could help in determining when the cutout started.