66 fuel door flag

[Brian K.]

Okay, I did a search and nothing concrete came up and I'm not sure I got the correct meaning out of the judging manual. Should the checker flag on the 66 fuel door have white at upper left or black originally? I've seen NOS service replacements with black in the upper left and repops you can get either way, I got a March 3rd car. Thanks for any help, sincerely Brian

[Rob A.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

My June built '66 has a white, upper, left square and is believed to be original to the car.

[Jeff A.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

The fourth edition of the '66 judging manual (p. 47) says "The right flag in the crossed flag emblem is black and white checkering with the white starting in the upper left corner. Some reproductions have black in the upper left corner of the checkering flag."
Hope that helps.
Jeff

[Joe R.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

I have a total of sixteen used 1966 gas lids made by GM. Of these, 11 have a white square on the upper left, and five have a black square.

I am absolutely certain that none of these are reproductions, because the GM lids have key distinguishing features on both the casting and the backing plate. I have been working with C2 gas lids for several years, and I know how to distinguish the GM parts from the various reproductions.

What I don't know for certain is which of the lids I have are original production units and which are GM service replacements. The 1966 lid was available in service for many years.

Most of the service replacements used a different latch screw than the production units, so the presence of that type of screw is a strong hint that the lid was a service replacement. I have seen both the black and white upper square in lids with this screw. I have also seen both the black and white upper square on lids that had the production type screw.

In summary, I can't "prove" that the black upper square was used in production, but I can't "prove" that it wasn't. The evidence suggests that both versions appeared in production. As I recall, the Noland Adams book describes one version as "early" and the other as "late," but considers both to have appeared in production.

[Jeff A.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

MF Dobbins' '63-'67 Fact Book (9th ed, p. 190) shows a black upper left square as original but notes that post production lids had white upper left squares.
Jeff

[Jerry M.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

Brian
The original gas cap on my early March built '66 had a white square in the upper left hand corner. The GM replacement I bought over the counter (p/n 3874528) in the spring of 1976 also had a white square in the upper left hand corner.
Jerry

[John R.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

I'm wondering what the current thinking on this issue is. Last night I found what I believe to be an NOS service replacement part with receipt dated sometime in 1974. It's still in it's GM box. I'll snap some photos when later. Since my dad passed away a few years ago, I can't ask him where he got it, but I know he was all about correct and original. The information I want to add is that the lid has a black upper left square in the flag. Do the replacement parts have the same part number as the factory original parts?

The one on the car has a white upper left square in the flag, it's faded and may be original. I don't know the build date, but according to some of the calculators on the net it seems to be mid April.

[Page C.]

Re: 66 fuel door flag

The newest edition of the 1966 Judging Guide explains the current thinking on the emblem. It has to do with the vin # range of the car. Both seem to be correct depending on the vin range of the car.