Radiator Expansion Tank p/n change mid year 1963

[dgretz]

I see the part number for the radiator expansion tank (61-64) changed in the late May 1963 build from C1VV-8A080 to C3VY-8A080. Does anyone know the difference and will a C3VY fit on a early build 63 equipped with the C1VV?

[frasern]

I have compared '62-'67 tanks, only difference I can see is the coil bracket on the earlier ones. This is the worst place possible for a coil, so unless you seek purity, I would relocate the coil, and use either tank, as they are functionally the same.

[TonyC]

Fraser's right; the only significant change in tanks was the presence of the coil bracket from '61 thru '65, and its absence for the '66/7 version. There may have been some change to the innards in '63, just another of those "tremendous trifles" Lincoln engineers coined...but there is no functional difference between the early and the later 430 tanks. In fact, after all this time, with so many cars having gone or been revived and parts swapped out, rebuilt, etc., the part number at this point is a purely-academic matter.

---Tony

[Dan Szwarc]

The tanks are all functionally interchangeable.

[Ken Stevens]

A pain in the ass, regardless of model number used…

[Dan Szwarc]

I do not disagree with Ken. Removal and installation without leaks can be challenging.

[papawayne]

Glue everything together the day before you do the work, and have a helper hold it while you attach it. Otherwise, drink lots of beer beforehand and you'll be pleased with the results at least until you sober up. Wayne

[TonyC]

Yah, I still remember the freaky stream of coolant shooting out onto my face when I fired up Frankenstein after swapping out lifters last November. I was at first freaking out over what I did wrong; then when I saw where it was shooting from, I hit the two bolts with a torque wrench to max specs, and it has remained dry since. It's not really fun trying to wrestle with one of those tanks; and that, combined with the fact that it only really serves for expansion and not coolant recovery, could very well be why Lincoln (and the rest of the industry for that matter) deleted them by the end of the '60s. Of course, nowadays, with more research, they were able to design them for both those purposes, so vehicles have them again.

---Tony

[Mike]

That tank was mainly a Ford thing. Most other makes did it the normal way with the cap on the rad.

[TonyC]

Maybe mainly but not exclusively; Jaguar and Studebaker used them as well during that time, and I don't doubt other smaller makes also used them. Now, I admit, I've never seen a GM product with one, not until the '90s when they were redesigned for the dual purpose.

---Tony

[Mike]

That's why I didn't say exlusively. I don't know who was first to use it but it seems to be ove of those things that never caught on and was abandoned until gm started doing the remote rad cap thing in the 80s that turned into like you said having it on the overflow/recovery tank.

[TonyC]

Yes, that is plausible and what I think as well. It was seen as a promising idea, but the then-existing technology just wasn't good enough, so it was eventually shelved until somebody thought about revisiting it some 25 to 30 years later.

---Tony