How do I tell is this is NOS?

[Larry S.]

A 1966 gas door lid. It has black in the upper left of the flag, chrome is excellent, catch on the back is regulated by a slot-head screw, 3 of the rivets are pretty crappy looking, dimple in the back is 7/16" across. The back is not rusted, but it does have some graying in places. (I tried to post pics, but it said they need to be re-sized. Never had that problem before.)

[Scott S.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

A 1966 gas door lid. It has black in the upper left of the flag, chrome is excellent, catch on the back is regulated by a slot-head screw, 3 of the rivets are pretty crappy looking, dimple in the back is 7/16" across. The back is not rusted, but it does have some graying in places. (I tried to post pics, but it said they need to be re-sized. Never had that problem before.)

Larry,

On the back side of the fuel door, in the flat area near the hinge, there should be a part number and other markings cast into the metal. If one of the markings is "CMD", with the letters so close to each other that the "C" looks like a mirror image of the "D", this "CMD" logo would indicate a reproduction.

If I remember correctly from previous discussions in the archives, "CMD" was Custom Mold Dynamics, which was later bought out by Trim Parts, who makes these fuel doors today. Absence of the "CMD" logo may require further investigation.

[Joe L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

A 1966 gas door lid. It has black in the upper left of the flag, chrome is excellent, catch on the back is regulated by a slot-head screw, 3 of the rivets are pretty crappy looking, dimple in the back is 7/16" across. The back is not rusted, but it does have some graying in places. (I tried to post pics, but it said they need to be re-sized. Never had that problem before.)

Larry-----


The 1966 fuel door assembly was available from GM for many years and was used to SERVICE all other C2 model years.

[Bob B.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry,

I just wanted to comment that NOS for New Old Stock does not mean that it is a correct original item. It just means that it is an "old" part that is still "new" because it stayed in some dealer's "stock" and was never sold. So, an NOS item may be a correct original item or it may be nothing more than a service replacement part that is not at all like the original, but is still correct to call both NOS. Every other item on eBay is "NOS," but that doesn't mean it's correct.

Good Luck!

Bob

[Joe L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry,

Every other item on eBay is "NOS," but that doesn't mean it's correct.

Good Luck!

Bob

Bob------


Yes, on eBay there are even a lot of USED PARTS that the seller describes as "NOS".

[David L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry,

I have an original 1966 gas door lid stored somewhere in my garage as well as a NOS 1966 gas door currently on my 1966 that I purchased about 1980 from my local Chevrolet dealer. When I get a chance I can post some photos of each.

Dave

[Ronald L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

There were two versions of the 66 lid, white flag and black flag in the upper corner.

The "more correct" parts are also distinguished by a single line part number in that hinge area described by Scott.

And to be correct for your 66 also means following the JG as far as when the transition from white flag to black flag occurred and then again when the transition from black flag to white flag occurred. However if what I saw on flee bay is any indication, well I have the original for my own April 20,000 VIN and its has a white upper corner of the flag.

The other thing is the price - the real ones go for a lot more than what's showning on the flee bay today.

[Pat F.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry, I had the same problem with photo size yesterday. In the past never had a problem. Anyone out there with some advice.

[Carl B.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

381440 41 30181-H Black checker top of flag on my 66

[David L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry,

My NOS 1966 gas cap lid (1980 vintage but is now 31 years old) on my 1966 is WHITE in the upper left corner of the flag. The casting numbers on the back side are "38144041" and "3081" (photos below).
Back in the 1980's the 1966 gas cap lid was also the service lid for all 1963-1967 Corvettes.

Right now I can not find my original 1966 gas cap lid but I do remember that the upper left corner of the flag was BLACK. When I find it I will post a few photos.

Dave

[Larry S.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Thanks, everone, for your very useful posts. I think mine is a "real" NOS piece. All of the markings add up and are in the correct place, plus it has just enough dirt and "patina" on it to be the real thing. But if someone would post pics of the real thing, I can maybe be absolutely sure.

[Harry L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

What does the H stand for located at the end of the numbers/ DUTCH

[Jim D.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

Larry,

I just wanted to comment that NOS for New Old Stock does not mean that it is a correct original item. It just means that it is an "old" part that is still "new" because it stayed in some dealer's "stock" and was never sold. So, an NOS item may be a correct original item or it may be nothing more than a service replacement part that is not at all like the original, but is still correct to call both NOS. Every other item on eBay is "NOS," but that doesn't mean it's correct.

Good Luck!

Bob

I agree and would like to add that many NOS parts were/are rejects that weren't good enough quality for a production car. I bought all NOS chrome from GM for my 60 in 1970 and took back every piece because it was JUNK. Casting flash on poor chrome coverage on every piece. To me, NOS means Not Originally Satisfactory.

Jim

[Joe L.]

Re: How do I tell is this is NOS?

I agree and would like to add that many NOS parts were/are rejects that weren't good enough quality for a production car. I bought all NOS chrome from GM for my 60 in 1970 and took back every piece because it was JUNK. Casting flash on poor chrome coverage on every piece. To me, NOS means Not Originally Satisfactory.

Jim

Jim-----

I don't think that GMSPO SERVICE parts are generally any different than PRODUCTION parts provided that they are manufactured about the same time.

However, as time goes on the quality of SERVICE parts may degrade for several reasons. The most important and significant reason is that tooling used to produce the parts deteriorates over time. After a part ceases to be used in PRODUCTION, GM has little or no interest in refurbishing or replacing the tooling---there just isn't enough demand for the parts to justify the expense. A perfect example of this is the situation with the bumpers for your 1960. Bumpers are "crash parts" so a significant number might be sold in SERVICE. Over the course of 10 years, probably quite a few of the bumpers for your 60 were manufactured and each one was a little less quality than the previous. By 1970 the tooling was probably pretty close to being worn out. While these bumpers probably still sold fairly well, it was not well enough to justify refurbishing the tooling. Doing that would probably have cost 250K at that time and that "just wasn't in the cards".

Another reason that SERVICE parts degrade over time is that I believe GM oversight as to the conformance with specs and overall quality diminishes as soon as a part ceases to be used in PRODUCTION. While the part is being used in PRODUCTION the quality of the finished vehicle is critically related to the quality of the parts that make it up. So, there's plenty of incentive for GM to ensure that everything is "up to snuff". Afterwards, this interest somewhat "goes away" and GMSPO alone is left with the responsibility for ensuring parts conformance to specs and overall quality. Having about half a million part numbers under their aegis at any given time doesn't bode for a lot of attention being given to individual parts. Still, they do a pretty good job.