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I'm in the process of rebuilding my front suspension. I've stripped everything off and plan on rebuilding using a full kit that I got from Zip. The underside seems to only have had required maintenance over the years, so much of it is original and my goal is to keep the car close to stock/original.
Looking for opinions/suggestions on what to do with the frame and suspension parts as I put it back together.
Part of me just wants to clean up the 50 years of gunk, bolt on new parts and go, or I can take this opportunity to clean up the surface rust, paint the frame, strip and repaint the control arms, springs, sway bar. None of this will make the car drive any better. Does it add much value to take the time to put the "correct" finish on these parts if I'm never going to show it or go for NCRS....
Last edited by 69XR7; Oct 14, 2022 at 05:17 PM.
Reason: Adding images
The frame was sandblasted, I've sandblasted, primer and painted the small parts. Bair's redid my rear, driveshaft, steering box, halfshafts, trailing arms and upper and lower control arms so they are refinished.
painted inside with Eastwood Internal Frame coating and the outside with Eastwood 2K Chassis Black.
Since it's apart, I felt as I needed to refinish everything I could touch.
The LS5 (upped the compression to 10-1) was rebuilt and the L46 (lowering the compression to 10-1) is at ECAM now.
BTW, this is on my 72 LS5 and 70 L46 at the same time.
POR15 the parts and frame. You can spray it or roll it on without having to separate the body from the frame. Its really up to you... I have used aluminum foil to wrap whatever parts does not get sprayed.
You’ve already done the hardest part. A few hours of simple green wire brushing and 80 grit sandpaper will get your frame ready for any appropriate satin black paint of your choice and have the added benefit of making reassembly a more pleasant experience. A day of elbow grease and a few rattle cans will give you many years of viewing pleasure. Beyond that, the NCRS “look” only requires a couple extra rattle can colors like cast-blast grey and Delco shock grey.
BTW, no offense to the NCRS crowd, I realize the judging manual requires many more details and plating finishes and fasteners to be correct but 90% of those little details are completely lost on most enthusiast’s eyes. I personally prefer the factory look even though sometimes not factory correct.
Personally I would just clean everything with a nylon brush and some water and gentle degreaser and just remove all the filth and whatever paints left I would just touch up with some paint obviously the part that you can remove you can clean up much better and paint much better. As far as the frame everything else goes in inside where the coil spring is spray with black put a nice new spring in that’s powder coated and I think it’ll look great only touchup what needs to be touched up is my opinion before you tear into it .
here is my same journey https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-method-2.html
I would agree, except degrease everything really well. then lightly wetsand with like a 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Then prime (using black primer), then spray using a semi-gloss paint. Doesn't have to be expensive paint. Like another guy showed, Rustoleum semi gloss or satin will be fine (probably with a hardener). Those parts weren't 'glossy' from the factory. But if you want to go gloss, eventually the gloss will die back anyway. Otherwise, there is a GM chassis black you could buy if you wanted to go that way (which might be a good idea).
There's really no reason to use a POR 15 paint on them ...not like you'll be driving it in inclemite weather much.
The Eastwoods chassis black (and extreme chassis black) looks, good, covers very well, sprays nice, stands up good. With some creative masking (tin foil as mentioned and press-n-seal plastic wrap) you can do a pretty decent job.\
Remove any loose paint/rust/scale. smooth out any paint/bare transitions, scuff everything with some medium scotchbrite type pads, wash-n-wipe or paint thinner wipe and it'll turn out great (mask the crap out of everything in the entire garage, the over-spray goes places you can't even imagine)
M
POR 15 looks like crap on these cars.....the stuff is too shiney, and it does not flow well. And to make it worse, you put it over severely pitted parts......IMO, not acceptable.
I paid to have all the steel parts blasted and powdercoated on my 77 with the correct sheen, and the car looks amazing. For me, all the components of the car should be as nice as the body......and when you do it this way, the car looks exceptional, and most importantly, I know that I did the best restoration that could be done. After 18,000 miles on my 77, I put it up on jacks in the winter, clean any road debris off the powdercoated components, and then WAX all of it.....and it looks as good as the day I finished the restoration. It DOES make a difference if you appreciate this sort of thing. I am doing the same on my 69 Convertible.....soon there will be pictures on my thread. IMO....you should do the best you can to remove all the rust, and then use either powdercoating, with the correct satin sheen, or do the same with epoxy primers and topcoats......it IS a better car because of it. Other peoples standards don't count with me.......its NOT just a frame.....its one of the many components of a proper rebuild, equal to, and as important as the paint and interior of the car.
The Eastwoods chassis black (and extreme chassis black) looks, good, covers very well, sprays nice, stands up good. With some creative masking (tin foil as mentioned and press-n-seal plastic wrap) you can do a pretty decent job.\
Remove any loose paint/rust/scale. smooth out any paint/bare transitions, scuff everything with some medium scotchbrite type pads, wash-n-wipe or paint thinner wipe and it'll turn out great (mask the crap out of everything in the entire garage, the over-spray goes places you can't even imagine)
M
i couldn’t find the professional semi rustoleum anymore..and agree the chassis black is a good match, good product.
the one below works good too..but I don’t remember where i got it!
Last edited by interpon; Oct 14, 2022 at 09:49 PM.
Thanks for the great advice. I'll get in there with some simple green and scotch brite, clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. After reading this and a few other threads, it seems like I need to use a few different paints.
Is this about right to get "factory" look?
Frame - satin or chassis black - mine looks very flat
Control Arms, spindle, sway bar, sway bar mounts, center link, power steering cylinder - semi gloss black
Springs, tie rods, tie rod sleeves, pitman arm, idler arm, dust shields - cast blast or semi clear for the new parts
If you're going through all the effort, do it right!
Bead blast all parts after degreasing (The only way to get the 100% clean)
Clean with After Blast
Powder Coat (Primer optional)
Spray on paint does not stand the test of time or even the reassembly process. You can touch up the frame with a can, as there is no other option in your case. You will be much happier with the results. Been there, done that.
Thanks for the great advice. I'll get in there with some simple green and scotch brite, clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. After reading this and a few other threads, it seems like I need to use a few different paints.
Is this about right to get "factory" look?
Frame - satin or chassis black - mine looks very flat
Control Arms, spindle, sway bar, sway bar mounts, center link, power steering cylinder - semi gloss black
Springs, tie rods, tie rod sleeves, pitman arm, idler arm, dust shields - cast blast or semi clear for the new parts
Not sure if this helps or not
Stolen mercilessly from Alan71 archive of pictures
M
Got my first batch of parts back from media blasting today. I would like to confirm my plan for prepping and painting.
I was told to wash everything is mild soap and water to remove any blasting residue and remaining grease - I was thinking about giving everything a quick dip and brush in Simple Green, rinse with water and dry.
As for paint - looking at the picture in the thread from Alan71 archive
- Dust shields & caliper brackets - Satin Clear
- Spindles, steering arms, lower control arm mounting blocks - Cast Blast Gray
- Upper spindle bolt - satin clear?
- lower spindle bolts - black anodized?
- power steering bracket - semi gloss black
- sway bar brackets - satin black
This thread is very helpful. So, I have all of the paints listed above and I just started with a winter project to re-do some of my 76' rear end. I am not looking at any NCRS shows but want to go as OEM as possible for my restore and repair. Yet, like most in this thread, I want the car to look clean and refreshed.
Item 1: Strut Rods. What color? Spray clear or use black or cast blast? Several threads say they came from factory as natural steel or raw steel. The pics show a dark natural color and are not rusty. The close-up of the end, after some wire brush to test the surface, takes off a thin layer of surface dust/grease.
Item 2: The shock mount bolts and camber bolts after degreasing, come out pretty good. Shock mount is a natural silver/steel. The camber bolts were just greasy and show a bit of staining. The original color of the camber bolts I assume is natural. What color for the camber bolts? Black? I am taking off the bracket assembly and will paint it black. No sanding or brushing yet. Tape is the reminder for upper or lower. A bit of wire brush on the end to see what is original coloer Camber bolts cleaned and brushed. Shock mount cleaned and brushed.
Those strut rods look natural, or cleaned and clear coated? Or Cast Blast? The shocks in the last two pics are gray. I think gray was the OEM color so were those spray-painted gray?
According the the Prince book Strut rods were natural, may have a blueish tint. Some rods are painted semi-gloss black or are partially painted during the black out processes
Lower shock mounts are are natural, again might have black overspray
All the shocks seem to have been painted that gray color
Anything left natural should have a coat of flat or semi gloss clear to keep them from rusting over
M
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Frame & Suspension detailing
