1969 coil springs

[scott dixon]

i have sand blasted my springs down to the raw metal. am i supposed to leave them like this, or is their a coating that goes on them. some of the ones i have seen have a green color to them. i want them to be correct as this car is going to be judged when it is finished. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Robert C.]

Re: 1969 coil springs

Scott, the front coil springs should be natural steel, no finish. You could spray a little dull-clear on them. There are " broadcast code" green tags originally attached to the springs.These tags are not judged as some are to far up into the tower to be seen. Some springs have a blueish cast from the scale that forms from the hot steel when made.


Texas Chapter NCRS

[Terry M.]

Re: 1969 coil springs *TL*

Ou contrair, the spring tags that Bob refers to can usually be judged. Occasionally they are too far up to be judged real well, but they can be seen.

The surface left by sandblasting is not a "natural" surface. The finish and texture of a natural surface depends on the method used to form the part. Parts that are formed by using heat, such as springs and forged parts, usually have a dark blue to gray scale that covers them. Some parts are subsequently abrasive blasted as a means of strengthening them, but most external automotive parts are not so treated.

The NCRS Judging manual for 1968-69 has a section that describes the correct finish for natural pieces and also describes the method of forming so that you can tell what it should look like.

Terry

[scott dixon]

Re: 1969 coil springs

i have sand blasted mine, so right now they are a real clean gray color. if i clear coat them and put my reproduction green tag back on, will i be okay with the judges? or do i need to do some kind of special process?

[Terry M.]

Re: 1969 coil springs *TL*

Sadly, you will not be OK with most judges in most judging situations with sandblasted finish on coil springs. Under some judging conditions it is very difficult to see the springs and their tags. That is what Bob was referring to in his earlier post. At some meets the undercarriage of the car is not well judges, but if you intend to campaign your car at an NCRS Regional, National or at that town in central Illinois the last weekend in June, they will get judged.

I am not aware of any coating that will duplicate the "as hot rolled" finish of coil springs, but an artist such as Bob Cook could probably duplicate the natural hot rolled finish. The real issue is how long any coating, even a dull clear coat, will last when it is flexed as the spring does in normal operation. I have seen clear coats flaking off the spring - this really does not judge well.

If you are concerned about the few points deduction for the finish of the spring (and it is only a few points) then your only recourse is to buy new springs. The bad news there is that, to my knowledge, all the replacement coil springs for shark cars leave the car sitting too high.

Sorry I don't have better news. The bottom line here is that a sandblasted finish is never natural for any component that you can see on the car. Some abrasive materials, such as walnut shells, will duplicate some original finishes, but air pressure and distance must be carefully controlled.

Terry

[Mark Stavropoulos]

Re: 1969 coil springs

On my '70 I had the spings chemically stripped at Reddi Strip. I then dipped them in "Quick Black", a coating that gives thenm a darkened, more natural look. I then sprayed them with Cosmoline to try to slow down the surface corrosion. I think they look pretty good, though I have not had it judged.

Mark

[Robert C.]

Re: 1969 coil springs

The front springs are only TWO points each for originality, and TWO for condition. The "FINISH" of the spring is only 20% of that! Those green tags would be only a small % of the whole. See how hard it is to judge! As usual with a bunch of different items, These parts don't have enough points to be able to award or deduct accurately for any unusual situation.


Texas Chapter NCRS

[Juliet P.]

How do you protect / restore the tags?

While we're on the subject of springs... mine have the original paper tags still on them. How should I protect these? Just not drive the car or what? Do they make covers like beanie baby tag covers for them or something that you can easily take off when having the car judged? Or are there repro ones which are indistinguishable from originals? If so, what's the source? ~Juliet


Visit & Join the 1970 Corvette Registry!

[Joe L.]

Re: How do you protect / restore the tags?

Juliet-----

I'm afraid that there are no protective covers similar to "beanie baby" covers which are currently available for spring tags. Usually, "beanie babies" are fairly easy to get at. Hence, covers for and the act of covering them is fairly easy and highly practical for those so-disposed. However, spring part number/broadcast code tags are another matter entirely. Often, very difficult to get at and subject to the constant flexing of the spring as it carries out its mission in life. Not driving the car, at all, is one way to help preserve spring tags, but that's a rather drastic measure as it takes a lot of the fun out of owning the car. However, it does save wear-and-tear on the spring tags as well as a LOT of other components.

Fortunately, there are reproduction spring tags available for most Corvette applications which are very accurate reproductions of the originals. These can be used to replace worn/faded/deteriorated spring tags, although this is usually done at the time of front suspension rebuild. With a deft hand, though, one could replace these tags weekly and, thus, constantly sport new-looking spring tags.

Now, when I say that these spring tags are accurate reproductions I suppose that may open a can of worms. I'm sure that under microscopic examination these tags might not "cut the mustard". Also, spectrophotometric analysis of the tags might reveal that the ink formulations and material characteristics are totally non-original, instantly devaluing the tags and the rendering the brazen infidel displaying them as deserving of nothing more than a "Certificate of Participation" in any judging event. This is a risk one has to take, though.

All that being said, you can get the reproduction spring tags from Paragon and most of the other major catalog vendors. Tags for your 1970, which as I recall is a 350/300 engine with A/C, should have an "HT" broadcast code and are Paragon number PD-8279K. They sell for $3.00 per pair. Also, don't even bother to look for NOS examples of these tags; GM only sold them complete with the springs and these springs have been discontinued for a LONG time.