Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

[Bill W.]

I am cleaning the years of grease off my 31,000 mile 65 BB. It seems to be opposite what the judging manual is asking for . The non power steering Idler arm & mtg bracket are black . The relay rod is forging blue grey with no signs of paint on the rod or the sleeve . The tie rod sleeves are to rusty to tell & the tie rod ends and clamps have no rust and no signs of paint with 266C & 263 B cast into them . The Idler is cast 3779185 . The steering box and pitman arm had about 75% of the black left on it .I am told this should all be black . At what point were these painted black ? And are we sure they were all painted black ? I know not all steering boxes were black . I have tried very hard to put things back to the way it was built and not have a cookie cutter car . I am interested in what everyone else thinks . I hope Tony answers .

[Bill W.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

Ok the solvent dried this morning and it looks like there is paint on the ends of the relay rod . Still no signs of paint on the shield or the tie rod ends. I am posting a couple of pictures I will post better ones when IDSC_1704.jpgDSC_1706.jpgDSC_1716.jpgDSC_1713.jpg get it cleaner.

[Edward J.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

Bill, John H. post in the similar threads below pretty much spells out the black out on steering components. I trust this, being that John was around the factory , not many the people left that remember some of the factory details.

[Bill W.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

I just finished taking the relay rod apart and cleaning it . No sign of black paint . Heavy blue gray from forging or heat treating . The blue grey looks black when dry but blue when wet .DSC_1731.jpgDSC_1730.jpgDSC_1725.jpgDSC_1726.jpg

[Bill W.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

Ok I have come to the conclusion that any of the old tar based black out on my steering came off with the grease as it was being cleaned. I am sure that this has happened due to the lack of rust on most of these parts . were the tie rod ends screwed in all the way to protect the threads are were the threads painted to ?

[John H.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

Ok I have come to the conclusion that any of the old tar based black out on my steering came off with the grease as it was being cleaned. I am sure that this has happened due to the lack of rust on most of these parts . were the tie rod ends screwed in all the way to protect the threads are were the threads painted to ?

Bill -

The steering linkage was manufactured and assembled at Chevrolet-Buffalo; the tie rod sleeves and ends were assembled to the relay rod in a bench fixture that let the operator set the approximate length of each tie rod with an equal number of exposed threads on each end. After adding the pitman arm and idler arm and plastic or cardboard tubes to mask the tie rod end tapers and threads, the assembly was hung on an overhead conveyor from two hooks by the big hole in the pitman arm and the top hole in the idler arm, and went through a spray booth where it was sprayed with a gooey, sticky black chassis paint that never really dried. After painting, the assembly was removed from the conveyor, the tie rods were folded inward, and it went into a steel gondola for shipment to St. Louis. St. Louis added the grease fittings and installed the assembly on the Frame Line.

[Bill W.]

Re: Idler arm, tie rod & relay rod finish .

Thanks John thats what I needed to know .