I am freshening up the chassis on my '56. Should the rear U bolts be painted frame black or not? Thanks.
Garry
Garry
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I believe unpainted... *NM*
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Re: C1 U bolts Painted?
It's my understanding that GM recieved these U-bolts (as well as a lot of other parts) from their suppliers unpainted, which is the way they were installed during production. The chassis blackout process, which occurred shortly afterward, was meant to cover these unpainted pieces and avoid corrosion. This paint was applied very inconsistantly and therefore some areas on the parts were inadvertantly left unpainted. Other under-the-chassis parts (ie: exhaust pipes and mufflers) were painted at this time but the preservative-type paint is normally burnt off due to the heat.
All you GM types....please correct me if I'm wrong!Comment
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Re: C1 U bolts Painted?
Brad/Dennis,
Were they plated or plain steel.?????Comment
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Re: C1 U bolts Painted?
Dave -
Dale Pearman's research for our 2002 Bloomington Gold Restoration Workshop session on C1 Chassis Assembly indicated that the U-bolts were plain steel, later (mostly) covered with chassis blackout paint in that operation just prior to body drop.Comment
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Re: C1 U bolts Painted?
So John, based on this they should be mostly covered from the top and sides, but the bottom (tip of u-bolt and part of nut facing towards the ground) may be unpainted correct?
Garry #18531Comment
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I'll stick with...
...plain steel, unpainted. If they received some errant overspray from some process I'm not convinced happened, so be it... Nobody in their right mind paints a threaded part prior to assembly. And, I doubt GM was looking for ways to expend additional frogskins on painting parts that didn't need it.Comment
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Re: I'll stick with...
Dennis, are you saying plain steel on the entire U-bolt and fastener assembly at the time of body drop? I am not sure that anyone is saying that the u-bolt was painted prior to assembly, but if it was hit with an overspray from the top down prior to body drop wouldn't it have a significant amount of paint on the entire assembly? If you say that this process didn't happen, then I would certainly agree that they would be plain steel. My real question is what is presummed to be correct for judging? Thanks guys.
GarryComment
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Re: I'll stick with...
The C1 chassis blackout process occurred at the end of the Chassis Line, just before body drop, with the chassis right-side-up, with the sprayers standing on both sides of the line; I'd expect to see some chassis blackout paint on the top of the axle and U-bolts, but none on the bottom. This was not a concours process - they just sprayed where it didn't take a lot of effort or precision, and most of the cheap chassis blackout paint was gone within a few thousand miles anyway, especially if the car was driven in the rain.Comment
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Re: I'll stick with...
John, then you would also expect to see overspray "from the top" on all of the inspection markings both front and rear as well correct?
GarryComment
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Re: I'll stick with...
Yes, I would - just about everything in sight from the front U-joint rearward got sprayed to one degree or another, and is well-documented in archival plant photos; coverage varied widely, however. For points, go with what the JG describes.Comment
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