A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts - NCRS Discussion Boards

A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts

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  • Matthew L.
    Very Frequent User
    • August 29, 2010
    • 187

    A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts

    Can anyone tell me if the A.O smith bodies are identical to there St Louis built counterparts in quality and specifications? Is there there any way to tell the difference? For example doors??? I understand early in the AO production Gm was having problems with there quality but as time went on into the 65-67 years I understood that there was a competition between the two manufactures to who made a better product. As a result some quality products were made before the stop of production of AO smith bodies at the end of 1967. Can anyone shed any light on this???
  • Tom H.
    Extremely Frequent Poster
    • December 1, 1993
    • 3440

    #2
    Re: A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts

    John Z can probably elaborate on this but I believe there are some easily spotted differences in the doors, espeicially maybe the rivets and the way they were assembled. I do not recall the differences, but remember reading something here about them.

    As far as the rest of the body goes, I'm sure differences exist, but i do not know the details.

    Just found John's old article on the subject. here it is.

    Sorry, the page you were looking for was not found.
    Last edited by Tom H.; October 24, 2010, 10:41 AM.
    Tom Hendricks
    Proud Member NCRS #23758
    NCM Founding Member # 1143
    Corvette Department Manager and
    Specialist for 27 years at BUDS Chevrolet.

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    • James G.
      Extremely Frequent Poster
      • May 31, 1976
      • 1556

      #3
      Re: A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts

      Originally posted by Tom Hendricks (23758)
      John Z can probably elaborate on this but I believe there are some easily spotted differences in the doors, espeicially maybe the rivets and the way they were assembled. I do not recall the differences, but remember reading something here about them.

      As far as the rest of the body goes, I'm sure differences exist, but i do not know the details.

      Just found John's old article on the subject. here it is.

      http://beepdf.com/doc/24203/
      Thanks for the lead Tom. It helps when trying to describe the difference.
      Over 80 Corvettes of fun ! Love Rochester Fuel Injection 57-65 cars. Love CORVETTE RACE CARS
      Co-Founder REGISTRY OF CORVETTE RACE CARS.COM

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      • Gene M.
        Extremely Frequent Poster
        • April 1, 1985
        • 4232

        #4
        Re: A.O Smith Vs. St Louis parts

        As to A.O. Smith and St Louis parts I know the mid year coupe doors will not interchange. The fit is way off both top to bottom and side to side. Also the front fenders have a different shape that most judges don't know about. You notice it best viewed from the front. The A.O Smith are straighter while the St Louis bow out. If you know what you are looking for the differences stand out like a sore thumb when the body parts are mix and matched.

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