69 Gas Caps revisited - original Cap?

[hubleyman]

Rick,

Just so I get it right, do you mean it is a 12B 1969 Camaro body built in calendar year 1969 (versus 1968)?

Charlie

[cook_dw]

10E of 69  NOR  Original as far as I know since it was the one on the car from 1978..  It was getting dark and I couldn't get to the back of the Z..

[hubleyman]

Thanks for providing the additional info Gang.  This will be a work in progress...

I updated the list and embellished it a little.  Maybe it will show a trend after we gather enough data?

[KurtS]

12B is always in 1968. 11A was the last week in 69.

And thanks for tabulating the data. I was hoping someone would.

[69Z28-RS]

All the round caps seem to have paper gaskets...  mine does....

[69 Zee]

All the round caps seem to have paper gaskets...  mine does....

X2, paper here !

[m22mike]

All the round caps seem to have paper gaskets...  mine does....

I have restored dozens of the round caps, and some that I purchased have had a rubber gasket. 100% sure these were later service replacements. Also on the round caps there are at least 3 differant designs of the back gold plated poppet housings. Some of the later design  poppet housings on the rear have 3 inverted dimples near the vent hole, this is because the poppet in side of these are made from solid brass and the dimples allow for a air path. The previous design used a stamped steel poppet with two partial relief holes on there edge to allow for air to enter or escape.

Mike

[z28z11]

Later production Stant cap. Pretty darn close to my eared (original?) caps, but the logo change on the tab is a giveaway. I bought this for my 12A L78, as it has a non-Stant replacement cap on it (evidently for decades by the look of it, car was purchased in '95 and cap has not been touched since that time).

Regards,
Steve

P.S. Rubber gasket, as are both of my eared originals, 01C and 03D.

[FortLangleyBC]

My 04C 1969 has ears (with the tabs aligned) & a rubber gasket - believed to be original.

[hubleyman]

Updated the list with a few more bits of info.

Also corrected my car data on the chart...  Went to the attic to look at my original gas tanks and discovered I accidentally took the round gas cap off my 02B and put it on my 10A car.  Old tanks all look the same in a dark attic.

[FortLangleyBC]

Hi Charlie - I forgot to mention my car is a Norwood build😀

[6667ss138]

At first I thought my gas cap with the ears was the original for my 07A X77 car. I remember reading where it was not correct and so I purchased a round one. I'll first show pictures of the one that was on my car originally. You think this one could be the original after all?  Thanks!

[6667ss138]

Round cap that I purchased later.

[Hans L]

'69 Van Nuy's Z.  04B.   Ears with what appears to be GM or SM stamp.  No idea if it's original.

To add to the database table - mine has the Rubber Seal with ears.   I'll post pictures this evening.

[hubleyman]

OK Gang, here’s an observation that I haven’t seen mentioned in these gas cap discussions yet (or maybe I just missed this detail).

My ’69 Camaro AIM (UPC 8 – page B6) shows gas cap part number 3843698.  In the notes is states “10-10-68, WAS 3914863 CAP ASSY”.  With a fair amount of googling research, I see an overall consistent pattern for these numbers (but not with 100% accuracy), as follows:

3843698 / typically ROUND cap / RAISED LETTERS / ANTI-SURGE on top and VENTED on the bottom.

3914863 / typically EARED cap / RECESSED LETTERS / VENTED on top and ANTI-SURGE on the bottom (discontinued from parts books 7-71).

So the question is, was the EARED cap the first production line version, and then replaced with the ROUND version sometime after the revision noted in the AIM?  If so, then is it possibly: EARS for early cars, ROUND for later built cars, and a mixture for the in between models while they used up various inventories? 

If we could validate that theory, and narrow down the time frames, I’m guessing we could have a lot of gas cap trading opportunities on hand….

Charlie