[Ragtop Man]

Heard different things... not all information is reliable.

Anyone have experience (or issues) with the replacement SS versions? Steel plates that were original to the car got rusted out from sitting in a plastic bucket in the trunk (WTF???)

If it matters, I just had my pump (apparently a '67 coded replacement) rebuilt with the cast impeller.

Thanks!

[pngoat]

I installed SS plates from Ames 10 years ago. No issues. Recently I had to replace the water pump because it was leaking. The plates looked just as good as the day they were installed 10 years ago. PY also has SS plates. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by pngoat

I installed SS plates from Ames 10 years ago. No issues. Recently I had to replace the water pump because it was leaking. The plates looked just as good as the day they were installed 10 years ago. PY also has SS plates. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Been using them for 15 years. Very nice peice IMO.

[GT182]

Ngoat and Goatwgn, at least tell him what you had to do with the SS plates to get the correct gap for the impeller. Don't tell someone you have them and they work without telling what you had to do.

RT, the SS rear plate is not the same as the the original. Personally I wouldn't use the SS rear plate at all. It's not correct in it's contour. Find a set of original divider plates. I have a set here, and others have them too for sale. They might have some rust on them but they'll work if not rusted thru.

Better yet check here..... http://www.inlinetube.com/New%20Prod...%20Pontiac.htm. Not too far from the top of the page.

INL12846 1963-68 Pontiac (All V8) Water Pump Divider Plates 2pc $39.00
This set is correct... just like the originals.

[goatwgn]

Just reread the original post. Didnt notice before it was for a '67. Although my car is a '66, I am using a '73 Engine, and when I installed the SS plate, I didnt have any issues at all, with impeller clearance, fit, or cooling. May have been the "luck of the draw" but they worked fine. Never tried the plates for the older water pumps, can't speak from experience on those.

[goatwgn]

That being said, I never had any problem with any rust on the original style plates in my old 326, even when it had almost 300,000 miles on it when I pullled it 26 years ago. The coolant was always changed every two years. If you keep your coolant changed you will have no problems with the original plates. I ordered the SS (single style) plate for the 455 back before they had these forums, and at the time I thought it to be a good idea.

[GT182]

Ok and to be clear, I've been told the 69 and up 11 bolt single SS plates are good... it's the 8 bolt SS plates that are crap. And I did see he was referring to a 67 8 bolt pump. The one thing about the cast impellers is they need to be like the originals and not shaved. Shaved impellers are the problem causing coolant cavatation messing up the flow of the coolant.