69 control arm shaft finish

[Michael L.]

I have been looking through the archives about A-arm shaft finish. If I decide that my shafts were painted, how much overspray (if any) needs to be on the bushings? Would the bushings and all the shaft hardware have to be coated completely? If I go natural, I may need to replace my shafts due to pitting. Are the repops identical or should I go with used?

Mike

[Greg L.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

Mike the 68-69 TIM&JG says that the shafts were semi gloss black so I would go with that. Now I've heard that they may also have been natural so either that statement is wrong or either finish is correct and the JG just doesn't mention it. Either way you should be safe going with what the JG says.

I don't believe there should be any overspray on any part of the control arms or it's components. Others may correct me but I think the bare arms were dip painted and then the ball joints were riveted in and then the bushings were installed with semi gloss shafts or possibly natural finished shafts. The large 2" washers were natural. The retaining bolts and lock washers were black phoshate or possibly black oxide.

FYI I believe that C2 arms were assembled first and then dip painted so everything was black...possibly correct for some early 68s but not correct for a 69.

[Michael L.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

Thanks, Greg. I will go with the semi-gloss.

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

...The large 2" washers were natural. The retaining bolts and lock washers were black phoshate or possibly black oxide...

Restoration is the process of putting something back to it's former condition. Is it impossible to tell what the original finish was on these control arm shafts?...Is this really a discussion about which is the most convenient finish to put on these control arm shafts?

Although the 70-72 JG, and probably the 68-69 JG as well, says that those large washer retainers were natural, I'm skeptical that they really were. Those retainers on my fairly original, nearly rust free 70 had some surface rust, but there also appeared to have once been some kind of finish, the obvious choice would have been phosphate. I also saw NOS samples in the nineties that had a light gray to medium gray phosphate finish on them. What to do now?...Go where the evidence suggests, or dupe the JG? Hmmmm...

Like you say, the sure way to get judging points is to go with what the JG says...but sometimes, there happens along maverick judges who have been around Corvettes a long time themselves, and have a different opinion from the JG on a particular attribute...then what happens? It's a rhetorical question...I think I already know the answer.

[Michael L.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

Chuck,

It is not possible to tell on my shafts what the original color was. The entire frame had been repainted before and EVERYTHING (hoses, bolts, you name it) is black. That being said I admit when I have been unable to tell what was actually on the car (in the case of the frame this has been often), and the JG lists more than one possibility for a finish I have always chosen the easier path. If I don't make some compromises, I'll be putting this car together until I'm old and gray!

Mike

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

As the owner, you get to make the choices.

I suspect that if the control arm shafts were painted, you would find traces of paint on the ends of the shafts under the retainers...this, however, would only be true if the shafts were painted before assembly as Greg said; if the control arms were dipped as an assembly, then it might be bare steel under the retainer but painted otherwise. The fact that they were pitted makes me believe it's possible they started life in the natural state; OEM paint isn't bulletproof, but it would give parts a decade or two head start on corrosion. I expect you haven't actually disassembled the control arms yet...these details may become plain as day on disassembly.

If the control shafts are heavily pitted, I wouldn't bother with filler and paint just to make them look nice. In the case of forged suspension components, this is taking cosmetics too far in my opinion. If they don't look nice enough, I would replace them with used originals of the same configuration...of course, that's a choice I would make for my car if necessary.

[Michael L.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

Chuck,

Thanks for the advice. The arms are disassembled and I see now what you mean about paint under the retainer. Yes, there is traces of black paint under the retainer, leading me to believe that they were painted and then assembled. The pitting is relatively minor but I was thinking of trying to make it look as close to factory as possible, but maybe this is going a little too far. If I decide to replace them can you recommend a place to get some good used ones?

Mike

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

If you can wait that long, Carlisle will be your best bet for finding used original parts for reasonable prices. If you need them quicker, maybe you can find them at a Corvette salvage yard...this may, in fact, be cheaper than the first option above, but you won't get to examine the merchanise before purchasing; I'm not familiar with any to recommend.

[Mike G.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

they were painted on the ascembly so they got just as much paint as the shaft. black semi gloss

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 control arm shaft finish

they were painted on the ascembly so they got just as much paint as the shaft. black semi gloss

Believe or not, some control arm shafts were natural, as inconvenient as this may be for some restorers. Joe Lucia did a long post on this...we can only speculate as to why some were painted, and some were not.

When I first got into this hobby, you would only see painted control arm shafts every now and then; it was an anomaly to be restored and then dealt with. Now, it appears black control arm shafts is the rule rather than the exception. Very interesting...I wonder if this has anything to do with acceptance by the JGs? We guys with natural control arm shafts are just hoping the JGs aren't revised to make "natural" shafts the anomaly.