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The 66 JM describes the front wheelwell undercoating as "at the top of the fender panel and about 3 inches below the fender above the rubber flap on the side." I assume this means direct above the tire inside the wheelwell should all be undercoated. It doesn't appear that my late model AO smith car had much if any undercoating directly above the front tires. If anyone could clearify this for I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
In my experience the factory applied undercoating varied significantly from car to car, much like coverage and quality of exterior paint. Some original cars I've seen barely had 'dribbles' of undercoating lumped toward the upper/center of the wheel well. Others have been quite rich with the gooey coating extending almost 270 degrees in arc and well to either side of center.
I suspect this was a variable that changed with the job experience of the particular painter, what QA/QC write-ups had been done of late and so on. In your case, if you have the original to look at and document (many cars were hit, repaired and are without any trace of the original undercoating at restoration time) it would seem quite appropriate to put it back the way you found it. Bear in mind, we suspect the reason for undercoating was NOT to prevent rust, but to stop-gap tire thrown road debris from slapping the underside of glass panels and damaging exterior surface paint. -
Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
In my experience the factory applied undercoating varied significantly from car to car, much like coverage and quality of exterior paint. Some original cars I've seen barely had 'dribbles' of undercoating lumped toward the upper/center of the wheel well. Others have been quite rich with the gooey coating extending almost 270 degrees in arc and well to either side of center.
I suspect this was a variable that changed with the job experience of the particular painter, what QA/QC write-ups had been done of late and so on. In your case, if you have the original to look at and document (many cars were hit, repaired and are without any trace of the original undercoating at restoration time) it would seem quite appropriate to put it back the way you found it. Bear in mind, we suspect the reason for undercoating was NOT to prevent rust, but to stop-gap tire thrown road debris from slapping the underside of glass panels and damaging exterior surface paint.Comment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
And AOS cars tended to have less.Comment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
And AOS cars tended to have less.Comment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
The undercoating was not needed for rust prevention because of the fiberglass fender structure, but I always figured it was there for acoustic reasons. The undercoating would attenuate the noise of debris hitting the fender because it provides some damping to the impact shocks.
DukeComment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
The undercoating was not needed for rust prevention because of the fiberglass fender structure, but I always figured it was there for acoustic reasons. The undercoating would attenuate the noise of debris hitting the fender because it provides some damping to the impact shocks.
DukeComment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
Correct - it was also sprayed in the rear wheel wells of steel-bodied cars (by Fisher Body) and on the upper and rear portion of steel inner fenders and splash shields (by the final assembly Car Divisions) only to dampen the sound of stone/gravel impacts so it didn't sound like a tin outhouse in a hailstorm when you drove down a gravel road. Zero attention was paid to corrosion protection on steel-bodied cars until the 80's, when galvanized (and galvanneal) steel and full-body dip electrocoat prime tanks came into use. Unfortunately, the same lack of attention is evident these days on pre-C4 Corvette frames, which were only painted for showroom appearance, not corrosion protection.Comment
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Re: Wheelwell Undercoating 66
Correct - it was also sprayed in the rear wheel wells of steel-bodied cars (by Fisher Body) and on the upper and rear portion of steel inner fenders and splash shields (by the final assembly Car Divisions) only to dampen the sound of stone/gravel impacts so it didn't sound like a tin outhouse in a hailstorm when you drove down a gravel road. Zero attention was paid to corrosion protection on steel-bodied cars until the 80's, when galvanized (and galvanneal) steel and full-body dip electrocoat prime tanks came into use. Unfortunately, the same lack of attention is evident these days on pre-C4 Corvette frames, which were only painted for showroom appearance, not corrosion protection.Comment
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