1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

[Dan P.]

Were the gas tank filler neck grommet,vent hose, clamp and screw painted JM says over-sprayed

[Mike M.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

I haven't painted any of the noted components on any of our c-1's. I do believe the rubber bumpers that prevent the lid from contacting the body were on the body at paint time. mike

[Chris S.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

Dan - The grommet may show signs over overspray
The vent hose and clamp was covered - it was installed prior to paint

[Dan P.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

Chris . When you say the vent hose and clamp were covered . Do you mean the covered them before painting or the were covered with Paint . Thanks for your help.

[Chris S.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

covered with paint - sorry I was not clear
the grommet may have some overspray - the neck grommet

[Bob B.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

Dan,

My rule is to restore your car to as it was when it came from the factory and unless you got it entirely stripped, you should be able to tell.

The fill neck, vent grommet and hose, and the rubber stops were on during paint. Sometimes the big grommet was not on the fill and sometimes it was.

If the big grommet was not on, they used some sort of cover on the end of the fill that may have covered it to below where the big grommet was to go, but you should still see overspray in the area behind the hole when the grommet was not on during paint (third pic).

When the big grommet was on, they may have used a gas cap because the grommet and part of the fill neck are painted (first pic). There is no way to paint the area under the gas lid with the grommet on and have the grommet simply be "oversprayed" unless there is a lot of bare glass around it. As the pics of the maroon fill area of this unrestored car show, the bare glass is only what was under the grommet and shows that the grommet was on during paint.

Regardless of the big grommet, when the car was painted, the gas lid was up, they sprayed inside of that area and underside of the lid, and shut the lid to continue painting. Because the paint was wet, the rubber bumpers were glued to the bottom of the lid and left "scars" the first time the lid was lifted after the paint was dry (second pic).

I'd always go with what you find on your car because this is the true goal of someone who wants to replicate what the factory did and the purpose of NCRS.

Bob

[John W.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

Nice pictures Bob. Really shows how consistent the assembly process was not. In the first picture the grommet and the filler pipe were in place. In the third picture they were not. Was the tank installed before body drop or after, or did it vary from time to time?

These pictures look like they are probably '58 or '59, was the assembly more consistent in later models? You would assume as production continued they would find the most efficient way to assemble and stick with that sequence.

[Bob B.]

Re: 1957 gas tank filler grommet and vent hose

John,

That is a great question! I had never thought about whether the tank was in or not. The tank was obviously in if the fill was there with the big grommet. But when the grommet wasn't on, the vent hose was obviously still on, so it makes sense that the other end of the vent hose went to the tank. I'd guess that the tank was there either way. I can't see them trying to install the tank in a freshly painted car.

But what would be nice would be would be to see what the fill pipe looks like on a car that does not have the grommet painted, which is hard to examine unless someone takes off the grommet. It seems unlikely, even if the fill pipe was there and masked, that part of the fill pipe would not have overspray just as you see in the area behind the hole in the third pic. Maybe someone who has a car like in Pic 3 can tell us if their fill pipe had overspray.

The pics are from two 1960s, so no consistency that late.

See you in SC!

Bob