Just got to this piece. Still lucking out, I'm pretty sure it is the original one for my W30. Does anyone have a pic of a NOS one, or know what the correct color is for the upper part?

 

Ttt

 

The one off my 70 Supreme is a bit darker than that, but it's 44 years old and has been rattling around in the tool box for at least 20 of those years so the darker color may just be a lot of oil and dirt.

 

Go to Oldsobsolete.com They have a 1968-1970 NOS Thermo Vacuum switch for sale. You can look at two pictures there. My NOS one ( at the engine builder place ) is just like the one at Oldsobsolete has. Type in part # 403398 on product search there.

 

Thanks for the info.

Watch out for Zurg!!!

Joe

 

It was probably installed and then painted with the whole engine.

 

All the ones I have seen and used
look just like yours. Aluminum and brass.

On a side note, I have enjoyed watching
your thread and seeing the car coming together.
Excellent job!

 

Does the date code on the TVS sit well with your car's build date?

Does your W-30 have A/C?

The metals on your TVS look correct for an original unit (brass base, zinc-ish upper). On most engines (non-W30) it would be painted, as it was installed before the engine was painted. But they were to mask the vacuum ports, so I would expect to see thin to no coverage towards the top.

The only W-30s to receive TVS were those with A/C, which was only available on automatic cars. Because the aluminum W-30 intake manifold was not painted (and may not have even been installed when the rest of the engine was painted), a TVS on a W-30 should be natural, no paint.

Actually, according to the factory drawings, your TVS wasn't even installed on the engine until the final CAR assembly line. See, there was only one code for automatic W-30 engines in 1970 (TT) regardless of whether it was going in an A/C car or not. So the TT engine as built did not have TVS. It was up to the "engine dress" department at final assembly to remove the plug and install the TVS before dropping it into the car. So again, no paint on the TVS is correct.

 

Wow Blackgold, thanks for the information. My W30 is a A/T A/C car. The trim code is 01D and broadcast card date is Jan 27, 1970. There was no paint anywhere on the switch before I started cleaning it, and I don't think it had ever been off the manifold.

I went to the website referenced above to get a view of a NOS one, and tried to duplicate the color. First carefully masked off the base, then painted the upper section in a medium Olive color primer. I let that dry, then painted over that from 18 inches away (almost like fogging it) with a light Gold metallic paint. See pic below of finished result - does it look correct to you?

 

Costpenn, all the original TVSs seemed to have the "H" in the middle of the date code (I don't know what it signifies), so 12-69, or December 1969, makes perfect sense for your car's build date.

I'm not digging what you did with the paint. NOS parts aren't always the same as original. They are often more accurately described as NORS, emphasis on the word Replacement.

From the original TVSs I've seen, the bottom is natural brass, and the top is whatever that grayish metal is. It might be a pot (powdered) metal. These two natural metal surfaces are even visible on the TVSs I've seen which have engine paint on them, as the factory wasn't exactly trying to get good coverage on the TVS. But again, I think the whole assembly should be left natural when installed on an aluminum intake.

 

I know this is an old post, but Brian is very knowledgeable on original TVS & TCS solenoids.

Are the ports on original TVS solenoids always in a staggered vertical position? I have seen some original TVS solenoids with all three ports in a straight line.

Were original TVS solenoids made each configuration, maybe depending on the model year?