What is the correct finish for a 69 alternator fan, silver cad plating or semi-gloss black paint?

silver cad

I had this conversation with JOHN PIRKLE last week. I was looking for support for my Black Painted Fan theory on several "Survivor" 70 Z-28's with 837 Alternators. Mr PIRKLE's opinion was that the fans MOSTLY and should be Clear(White)Zinc. Cadmium looks similar but due to the expense and cyanide ingredient was no longer being used for this type of plating at G.M.
I still maintain that my 70 Z-28 and other pictures Ive seen show a BLACK fan, but in the interest of judging and the majority rules, I would submit to ZINC plating.....Chuck S

I was asking because my original #37 amp alternator has a black painted fan and pulley. Not sure if it came this way or if someone changed it.

The NOS fan is STILL AVAILABLE from the General, and cheap to boot!

Keep that in mind when thinking about reconditioning the old one. :cool:

-Mark.

i have a GM one, and it looks almost galvanized

The NOS fan is STILL AVAILABLE from the General, and cheap to boot! I just bought a new Delco plated fan from Rick's but after I got it I realized it is slightly different than the original. One of the blades on my original fan is much wider than the rest. On the new fan, there is one blade that is slightly wider than the rest but not nearly as wide as the original one. No big deal to me but there is a difference.

Yes, this is another case of the "service replacement" differing somewhat in form from the production line piece. If it meets the specs, and fits, it can be a "service replacement". They look and function great but a sharp eye could spot the difference.

Considering you can't get the exact correct finish anyway, maybe the GM part is a pretty good deal. Good things to know. smile.gif

-Mark.

Here is some good information I want to share on this subject. A friend of mine runs the engineering department at the Delco plant here in Indiana. He talked to a person who was the Product Staff Engineer for alternators during the late 60's. He said "The only units with painted fans were those used for Marine applications. Passenger cars were 99% zinc plated, with only a very few with cadmium plating."

Does someone have the GM part# for the Alternator Fan on the 69 Z28?

1970831 is the correct part number