'67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

[Rob A.]

I sent my drive and half-shafts to Quanta for restoration. They came back clean, bare, shiny steel with natural finish yokes They look great, but I'm not sure this is the correct, original finsh for big blocks. I believe The judging manual calls for shot-peened finish on both the drive and half-shafts. Assuming they are not correct, what is the best way to achieve the correct finish?

[Joe L.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Rob-----

Personally, I don't think that the driveshaft had a shot-peened finish. I think that it was just plain extruded tube. This sort of finish is not "duplicatable". What you got from Quanta is likley about as close as you're going to get without "re-tubing" the driveshaft.

Big block half shafts were shot-peened. If you want to achieve this finish all you have to do is to have the shafts shot-peened with very small size shot.

[Rob A.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Joe...

Most of the half-shafts that I have seen restored appear to be painted with cast blast or other media. Do you know where I can find a picture of what an original shot-peened half-shaft looks like? I have several restoration books but can't find one. I would like to be able to show it to whoever redoes them so they know what results I am looking for. {I assume a shot-peened finish looks like bare, dull steel). What kind of shop does shot-peening?

[Craig S.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Rob - go to a machine shop that has a machine to shot blast blocks to remove rust. It will give you the finish. Also, the tubes did have a seam weld, so the driveshaft at least would exhibit the longitudinal seam. Did Quanta's prep leave the tubes with a brushed or polished look? Just curious...Craig

[Rob A.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Quanta left them very shiny, almost polished. I used very fine sandpiper to take some of the shine off, then sprayed them with "satin clear" Krylon. The driveshaft looks like original now, which I do have pictures of, and I'm happy with it. The half shafts, however, look like the drive shaft, which I guess is not correct. They look great and I'm not sure how different they would look shot-peened. That's why I'd like to see a picture of a shot-peened halfshaft so I can decide if it's worth refinishing them.

[Patrick H.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Rob,

You may want to double-check with the 67 Team Leader as to which finish they prefer and/or expect to see. I'd hate to have you go through the trouble of shot peening, only to have them expected to be shiny.

I've had many parts shot peened. To be honest, the surface looks a lot like a light colored Cast Blast, but that's just my thought.

Patrick

[Joe L.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Patrick----

You're correct; the shot-peened surface does look a little like a cast blast painted surface.

As far as the half shaft finish goes, I don't know what the judging standards call for for big block half shafts. However, I can say this: I have a pair of NOS big block half shafts [none for sale] and the finish is definitely the shot-peened, dull gray finish that looks a little like cast blast paint.

[Craig S.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Joe - is the shot peening uniform over the entire length of the shaft? I assume the blue welds are gone, and the longitudinal seam weld is not visible. Just curious, for preparation of my 66 L72 shafts....Craig

[Joe L.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Craig-----

Your description is the way it is---the shot peening appears uniform, the bluing at the welds is not present and the seam is not apparent.

[Craig S.]

Re: '67 CORRECT FINISH/DRIVE&HALF SHAFTS

Thx Joe!