My friend's 68 SD 396 that his mom bought new and another friend who had a 68 SS 396 Chevelle both engines had chrome valve covers with the "#1Tonawanda" decal on them from new. I can't see Gord's 60 yr old mother putting decals on her engine, or where you would even get them back then!
There are a lot of discrepencies with regards to the Tonawanda engine decal. According to the Chevelle Restoration Guide pg 15 CLICK HERE the decal was not used from 65-69. Not to say this is true because it is in print and there is a lot of contrary information available on the internet to view. From researching: the decal was not used until 1967. Some cars have it and some don't so I guess it is hit and miss as no definitive information is available.
I have two original sets of BB valve covers in the shop, neither has or ever had a decal. Both engine compartments were original and unmolested. One pair is original paint from a 396 69 Chevrolet pickup and the other pair is from a Canadian built 396 68 Impala.
Below is a picture of a 69 427 original car with 30,332 miles. This is the gold 69 2+2 4 speed car that is in another thread. I spoke with the guy that owned the car from new. He added the 427 decals but says the Tonawanda decal was there.
So which is correct? Decal or no decal. If you like it do it.
I have a couple but I have not decided whether I will use it yet. It seems to be something all the "Restored' cars are sporting whether it was original or not.
-- Edited by 73SC on Friday 4th of November 2011 05:13:12 PM
Does anyone know what decals were applied and how many there were under the hood of the 69 SD 396?
The inner fender has the oil change decal. Not sure if it is left or right for 69 because of conflicting information.
On driver's side inner fender of a '68 Parisienne ...
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Oil change is generally on drivers side regardless of dipstick location. I have seen Big block cars with dipstick on passenger side and oil change info on drivers side. I suspect this was a sub assembly and was the same for all cars regardless of engine.
Thought I'd follow up this old thread with some info on an original big block car (427 2+2) I picked up.
1) The assembly manuals says there should be a 396 or 427 sticker over top of the "#1 Tonawanda" sticker. I've never seen one.
2) The assembly manual says the oil change sticker and hood light should be on the passenger side for a big block. That's where my sticker is (it follows the dipstick).
That said, I've got pictures of what I think is an original 427 car with the sticker and light on the driver's side. But the one I just bought was set up per the manual.