1970 Sway bar link bracket finish

[Tom L.]

The TIM states that the bracket that bolts to the trailing arm for the rear sway bar is "olive drab". Would someone be so kind as to post a photo of an original? I'm trying to duplicate the color, but have seen quite a bit of variation in restored pieces. As always, thank you.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1970 Sway bar link bracket finish

Tom-----

The brackets in question that I have seen seem to have been painted semi-gloss black. However, it's possible that some were finished the way you described. The part number for the bracket, GM #3871329, was the same for the entire 65-74 period but it is possible that alternate finishes were allowed and predominated during some period of time.

The "olive drab" finish that may have been used is a finish that I have a little familiarity with. I believe the finish is called "black zinc". The color varies from a dark olive to black (and, the semi-gloss black painted ones that I referred to above might actually be the "black zinc" when they come out at the black end of the spectrum). This finish was actually fairly rarely used on Corvettes and, quite frankly, I don't understand why it was ever specified. One place where this finish is most commonly seen on Corvettes is the filler cap used for 300 hp small block Corvettes in the 66-68 period. The GM #3881834 cap was finished in black zinc. These caps were also used on many 1966-68 passenger cars. So, if you can find one of these, you'll have an example of the "olive drab" or "black zinc" finish. Most of these that I've seen have a definite "olive drab" "tint", even though they are sometimes nearly black.

[Tom L.]

Thanks again Joe *NM*