1964 Radiator Cap

[Richard G.]

Re: 1964 Radiator Cap

Richard,
Did you take it apart to have it re-plated?

No it was re-plated assembled. That is the reason the center rivet is the same color as the cap.
I had an idea it wouldn't function correctly and it didn't. But I didn't have much to loose by giving it a try.
At least the water (antifreeze came later) dumped down the drain like it was designed to.
I need to send it off for re-buiding as soon as I figure out who does them.
I believe the Driveline had a advertisement but haven't taken the time to look it up yet.
Rick

[Michael J.]

Re: 1964 Radiator Cap

The line section that includes the cap also has the expansion tank, mounting, overflow and return hoses/clamps. 6 points total originality, 5 points condition. I have taken 4 '64s through regional and national judging. 1 point was deducted for a cap without the circle on one at the last national in Las Vegas. My other caps have the circle, so there were no deductions. There are originals with the circle, but they are also expensive. How much do you want to pay for 1 point? That is always up to you.

[Alan D.]

Re: 1964 Radiator Cap

I have to go along with Joe,
"Features like you mention can easily vary from cap-to-cap. Different sets of tooling which may vary slightly and/or tooling wear over time can easily account for these differences. These basic caps (of course, not all '307's') were being manufactured by the millions and used across all GM car and truck lines. I'm not even sure that all of the embossing on the caps was being done in the same stamping operation (e.g. the cap model may have been stamped separately from the rest of the embossment)."

My original cap is a perfect example of "tooling wear" and would give us a time frame for when the circle started if it was not the multiple tooling sets and also (not mentioned by Joe) possible different suppliers. Pat's cap is from a Jan64 with no circle and mine is a Mar64 with a hint of a circle, a circle you don't see except in a photo. One could claim that circles started around April 64 (due to tool wear) however as Joe mentions "different sets of tooling" were used.

Another minor ? in the JG, so keep the cap and wait for the JG to catch up. Or buy one with circle, save original for later.
For reference here is the back side of mine.