Manifold ID

[Davenport]

Found this GM manifold...Just wondering what car would have this manifold on it. Thank you.

[30DodgePanel]

65-67 2 barrel 283/327 different models but that should give the range.. Hope that helps

[Davenport]

25 minutes ago, 30DodgePanel said:

65-67 2 barrel 283/327 different models but that should give the range.. Hope that helps

Thank you!

 

[lump]

That manifold also bears a date code. It is on the top side, between the image of two screw heads...although they are really just images in the cast iron. That will tell you exactly what year it was for. 

[profdog]

A question for Davenport;  Having the oil fill cap and tube at the front makes it pre 1968 (I believe).  What about it's appearance tells you it's after 1964?  Is it the 2GV carb?  I'm just trying to learn a little bit more myself!  

[lump]

4 hours ago, profdog said:

A question for Davenport;  Having the oil fill cap and tube at the front makes it pre 1968 (I believe).  What about it's appearance tells you it's after 1964?  Is it the 2GV carb?  I'm just trying to learn a little bit more myself!  

Profdog, If you look closely at the front left side of that intake, you'll notice a small round bolt-boss (shown directly under the oil-fill cap, and right below the front of the open end of the thermostat housing). This was used on 68 and older cars, for the bolt that supported the upper alternator bracket. That boss disappeared in 1969, when the alternator moved to the passenger side of the engine compartment. Otherwise, this intake was used pretty much unchanged from 1964 to 67. Also, it was used by GM as a service replacement unit for many years. 

 

The best way to tell its year is to find the date code. On most cast iron Chevy intakes, it is on top of the rear of the manifold, between the carburetor flange and the distributor hole. I can't see the numbers on Davenport's intake. I wrote a book on Chevy V8 casting numbers for CARS & PARTS magazine some years ago which explains a lot of this. I've posted a photo of an image from the book showing a V8 intake with casting number "I-5-8," (that first character is a capital "i", not a one), which translates to Sept 5, 1968. Which is correct for this 1969 big block Chevy intake. 

Edited May 2, 2017 by lump (see edit history)

[Davenport]

The date code on the back is K 18 5 

What does  that date it as?

[Larry Schramm]

23 minutes ago, Davenport said:

The date code on the back is K 18 5 

What does  that date it as?

 

I would guess that it was built on November 18, 1965

[F&J]

Just now, Larry Schramm said:

 

I would guess that it was built on November 18, 1965

Then it would be a "1966 model year" intake.  Being 2GC, it's not really sought after, but worth more than scrapping it.....If the carb is not rusted solid at the lower throttle plate, it can be rebuilt with the inexpensive kit, such as from Rockauto website and others

[Larry Schramm]

10 minutes ago, F&J said:

Then it would be a "1966 model year" intake.  Being 2GC, it's not really sought after, but worth more than scrapping it.....If the carb is not rusted solid at the lower throttle plate, it can be rebuilt with the inexpensive kit, such as from Rockauto website and others

 

Agree

[lump]

4 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

I would guess that it was built on November 18, 1965

Correct! And now we know it was likely installed on a car at the factory, instead of being a "service replacement" intake, sold over the counter for years later...well into the 1970's. 

[Larry Schramm]

7 hours ago, lump said:

Correct! And now we know it was likely installed on a car at the factory, instead of being a "service replacement" intake, sold over the counter for years later...well into the 1970's. 

 

Probably correct, but it is possible that the manifold was built then and shipped to GM parts for service replacement.  Statistically not probable but possible. 

[lump]

10 hours ago, Larry Schramm said:

 

Probably correct, but it is possible that the manifold was built then and shipped to GM parts for service replacement.  Statistically not probable but possible. 

If we know anything about GM's assembly-line-made cast-iron parts, we know that ANYTHING is possible.

 

But generally speaking, when you have a part which was cast very early in the production model year, it is highly unlikely that it would be shipped away to store on a shelf, especially when that same exact part was used in the model year before, and the model year after. And still speaking generally, items like cast iron intake manifolds for 2 barrel carbs were not stocked by dealerships. Rather, a unit could be pulled from the foundry warehouse and shipped whenever a dealer might order it, due to uncommon service replacement demand. And I think if you speak with retired professionals who worked in Chevy dealership parts dept's, I think you'll find that 2V cast iron intakes were indeed very rarely in demand as warranty replacements. 

 

Regardless of all this, car show judges and master restorers consider any intake or other dated engine component which has a date indicating it was produced in the production model year (for the car it belongs with) to be a "numbers-matching correct" part. (Generally speaking, they like to see a production date from one to three months prior to the vehicle body assembly date on the Fisher Body Trim Tag.)  The only parts which are widely considered to be "service replacement parts" are the ones which were produced in years after that part was being used on everyday assembly line work. For example, Holley carburetor list #3310 was the big high performance four barrel which was installed at a GM assembly line only on the 1965 Chevelle RPO Z-16 with special high performance 396 big block engine. Yet for whatever reason, GM chose that very uncommon carburetor to use as a service replacement for a huge number of special high performance Chevy muscle cars, well into the 1970's. So if you see an old original looking Holley carb at a swap meet, notice that it has a GM part number on the airhorn along with Holley list #3310, you MIGHT have found a valuable carburetor (although there is not too high a demand, since Z-16 Chevelles were never common, even in 1965). But it is much more likely that, if you check the production date on that airhorn, you'll find it was produced well AFTER 1965 model year production was over. People who bought a replacement Holley carb over the counter at a Chevy dealership in say, 1971, would often be given a 3310 list number. 

 

[Larry Schramm]

The parts would not have been sent to the dealer unless it was ordered by the dealer. 

 

The individual division (Chevrolet/Pontiac/Olds/Buick/Cadillac/GMC Truck) Service parts would have been the recipient of the part that was shipped to the division parts distribution warehouse in 1966.  For this part it would have been Chevrolet in 1966.  If a dealer ordered the part it would have been then shipped to the dealer.  

 

If I remember correctly, all of the individual car division parts distribution centers were consolidated into one new division call General Motors Parts Division in 1968.  That division would handle all of the replacement parts for the dealers and for the retail customers and that continues to this day.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[lump]

Like I said, with assembly line products, anything is possible. But with an intake produced in November of a model year in which that intake was currently being used, the odds of it being a "service replacement item" are beyond slim, and approaching "none." I think that if you check with judges, master restorers, professional restorers, etc, you will find that to be the consensus of their opinions. Without question, it would certainly be accepted by every show car judge as being correct for a vehicle of that vintage, and not considered to be a "service replacement unit." And when you think about it, nothing else matters anyway.