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Hi D,
Yes, they're the originals.
They were cleaned.
The pitted surface on the tubes removed. (They weren't too deep.)
The 'heat zone' of the original weld on the tube and flange restored.
Protected with Pre-Lube 6.
Regards,
Alan
Guys.. instead of using washing soda, use sodium bi-carbonate (soda ash from a pool store)... and then put some sodium hydroxide (lye) in there as a cleaning solution. The bi-carbonate flows more current because its a finer mix. The hydroxide works as a cleaning solution and helps break down the grease.
The low mileage 63 swc we did a few years ago is pictured below. Just like Alan, we re-tubed the shafts. The only issue is if you do this they will rust. So you have two choices, paint them with a cast color or grease them up and leave a fine film of grease on them (this is what we did). While there has been a huge discussion about what is correct, GM splash coated the shafts with black undercoat... it didn't keep all the shafts from rusting (we have pictures of the original on this car). But if you are NCRS'ing the car then a bare coat would probably go further than one coated with undercoating.. that would be up to the judges. Personally, I think 1/2 the shafts should have the undercoating and the other half would have been bare.. And this is based solely on original samples we have here and the year of the car.
Also, you can tell in the picture below that the tubes have been replaced on this suspension... why... because the welds are more protrusive than the originals.
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You can see the original undercoating on these shafts after they were lightly cleaned.
Hi VV,
Restoring parts is often a good decision for several reasons:
As you mention... it keeps the COST down.
The original 'hard' parts and fasteners on the car are often superior to the parts and fasteners than can now be purchased.
You're sure of the fit of the original parts.
There is a certain PLEASURE and SATISFACTION in the restoration process.
I found that I can clean things very well using various combinations of engine degreaser, full strength Simple Green, Evapo-Rust, plastic paint scrapers of various shapes and sizes, hand held wire brushes, and wire wheels on a drill motor and bench grinder. What agents and sequence needs to be used depends on the particular part or the area of the car you're working on.
Remember that many parts will begin to rust immediately once they're clean, so you need to be prepared to coat them in some way.
There are clear products that can prevent rust, various paints, and plating.
So, give 'restoration' a try....you just might enjoy it and it's likely your wallet will too.
Regards,
Alan
Alan,
How did you get the 1/2 shaft to look like it has a new steel tube? I like.
buy the largest bead Blast cabinet you can,
saves hours on manual labor, and time.
blast, paint, done. in 10 minutes.
many various grits of media available.
All,
Another option im exploring is a DIY Garage, they charge $15 an hour to do WHATEVER YOU WANT. They have sand blasters and powder coat included in that $15 an hour - I am going to check it out this weekend when I go to use their hydraulic press to press out the bushings on my upper and lower control arms!
You did forget MOST IMPORTANT part on your electrolysis setup -
Make sure you do it on the dining room table -
Happy Motoring,
Frank
HA! I will definitely not be doing anything chemical on that table, I just finished that build 3 months ago and it took me another 3 months to build the thing..
I went with white vinegar (aka acetic acid) from Costco.
Immerged the parts in it, closed the lid, left the box in the sun for 3-5 days.
Worked a treat on steel parts, avoid cast aluminum...
On the interior steel parts, it had the benefit of removing the paint as well.
and it took me another 3 months to build the thing..
