Engine pad opinion

[Roy B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

I bought it any way and it don't matter to me , just curious ! Besides few care or know about any 55 because so few are left . And the big advantage of owning a 55 is that it's not a C2.

[Loren S.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Can you pull the head, and see if the broach marks run past the pad surface? Inquiring minds want to know!

[Roy B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Can you pull the head, and see if the broach marks run past the pad surface? Inquiring minds want to know!

No it's complete and done and I dont care

[Garry B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

The second "4" and the second "I" ae cock-eyed -- also, the second "I" is a lot lower than the rest of the stamp. I think it's a restamp. I'm not even close to an expert though.

I am not saying whether this is or isn't original, but the stamp is exactly done the same way '56 models were done. The sixth and seven digit were stamped individually because the gang only holds five digits. For that reason they are almost always misaligned with the first five of the block production numbers. See my two examples below of "56 pads. The edges of the pad are too sharp for my liking though.




Garry

[Joe R.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

No it's complete and done and I dont care

Good Boy Roy! You bought it because it was a real 55 and you needed a spare.

Good Decision!

JR

[Roy B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Carry that's what I see all the time.

[Chuck G.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

54 and 55 have the engine stamped with the ENGINE serial number, not the car VIN derivitive.

That 7 digit number stamp is whacked 3 times. The first 5 numbers are stamped in a gang stamp, and should be aligned.

The next 2 numbers are stamped individually. That's why you see the last 2 numbers askew in the stamp.

If they were perfectly straight, i.e., stamped all together in a gang stamp, that would be a DEAD give-away that it's a restamp.

SO.....alignment doesn't matter in this case.

Chuck

[Garry B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Thanks Chuck. You said it much better than I did. That's why I used pictures to try to tell my story.
Garry
18531

[Roy B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Chuck thanks nice to know you feel it's original

[Tom M.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Ian - here is a 54 pad that was posted on this TDB and most thought it was original. Some letters were held in a gang and stamped and some were done individually. I know by the time they got to 1960 all characters were held in a gang so were straight. Not sure when the transition happened though.

Mark

THAT THE FIRST TIME I HAVE SEEN A 54 PAD
THANKS

[James G.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Here are a couple of original pads Roy.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

ROY
Not nice to screw with the new guys. See my earlier posts on pad stampings. You got to love the one size fits all stamp pad judging. Not all Corvettes were exact Cookie cutter look alike. Each one was unique. Jim thanks for the pictures.
KEN

[Garry B.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing Roy's having some fun. I'm going to guess that this is a new restamp by a pro, but the pad is not aged enough, looks too pristine, like it would when it just came off the assembly line 54 years ago? The edges to the pad look pretty sharp, too, I thought they rounded and/or got nicked up some with age.

Loren, I agree with the sharp edged pad. There should also be some pitting on the surface of the pad. I can zoom in on pictures (Mac OS X) about 100x which I did on this pad, and no signs of small pits, scratches, or any other imperfections. Definitely a professional job, but like a bottle of wine it needs some careful aging.
Garry
18531

[Greg G.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Good pic of the '54 pad. I am doing some work on a '54 now and the pad looks simular, but I have a question. The judging manual says " Six cylinder 235 c.ci. engine had diagonal Machine markings". I don't see them in the picture. Are they there or is the statment about diagonal marks not correct?

[Loren S.]

Re: Engine pad opinion

Here are some pictures I saved of some pads from a restamper that advertised a while back on Ebay. His workmanship looks great, and he even ran his broach marks past the pad. But note that the edges of the pads are sharp, and the absence of age/pitting on the pads: