1961 master and wheel cylinders

[Joe D.]

I just received my master cylinder and wheel cylinders back from being resleeved. They have a natural finish on them. Should I paint them black? Thanks, Joe

[John M.]

Re: 1961 master and wheel cylinders

Joe,
The wheel cyls are not seen, so do what you want with them. I sprayed mine with a matte clear to keep them from rusting. The Master Cyl should be able to be painted black without a loss of points. Both of the originals that I have were painted with a heavy-bodied coating that was very brittle. Both appeared to be dip-painted due to the large buildup in the recesses of the MC. This would indicate to me that they were painted before they were installed on the car, as neither Car showed any signs of the paint on the brass block or the brake lines. The JG says that the MC MAY appear painted with a black preservative.

Regards, John McGraw

[Dennis A.]

Re: 1961 master and wheel cylinders

Joe,

The information I have is that the Master Cylinder was unpainted and can have overspray from the engine compartment blackout. (also unpainted are the Brake line front clips, lines & retainer pin, brass blocks (including clips)and vertical brake line(with some overspray). I have seen some Master Cyliners painted black,but do not know how they were judged.

For the Wheel Cyliners, I left mind unpainted. I agree they would be hard to be seen, so do what you feel is best for the long term.

[John M.]

Re: 1961 master and wheel cylinders

Joe, The MC would not have been attached to the body until final body drop, so engine compartment blackout paint would not likely have been on the MC. The MC was left hanging by the brake line and the body was dropped over it and then it was attached. It may have recieved some paint from the chassis blackout, which was a glossy,low grade, aspalt based paint. The paint that was on my original MC's, was a much harder and more durable paint than chassis paint,and the brass block was not painted, so my assumption was that the MC was painted before mounting on the chassis since I would find it hard to belive that the chassis blackout people did any kind of masking. Given the wording in the JG, I would think that both the painted and unpainted finish would be acceptable.

Regards, John McGraw