67 gt500 concours suspension paint

[Jeb67]

Hello all as I travel this road of restoring my car I'm having difficulty getting the correct paint colors of my suspension and brake components.  I have read and attempted to view several restoration videos and articles the process seems to only be more clouded with each one I watch and read. I have #210 built 12/10/66. I would deeply appreciate help and more clarity if possible.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Standard Mustang details

https://anghelrestorations.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/65-to-73-Suspension-Guide-v3.4_opt.pdf

[J_Speegle]

Correct paint colors?  Since you wrote that you are restoring the car you should be aware of that very little of the suspension had paint on it originally. Lots of bare steel and heat treated/quenched steel made up the vast majority of the parts. Many had bright freshly machined or ground areas for special purposes.

Lower (fixed from originally posting upper   A arms were painted but only the inner (as mounted) approx 2/3rds of the assembled arm.

[Bob Gaines]

Correct paint colors?  Since you wrote that you are restoring the car you should be aware of that very little of the suspension had paint on it originally. Lots of bare steel and heat treated/quenched steel made up the vast majority of the parts. Many had bright freshly machined or ground areas for special purposes.

Upper A arms were painted but only the inner (as mounted) approx 2/3rds of the assembled arm.

Just to clarify a typo - I know Jeff meant the lower arm that was partially painted as described . The 67 upper was bare steel 67-70

[Jeb67]

Thank you and yes I understand that there were painted and unpainted components, that is what I'm asking about. Such as my understanding is the dust shield behind the front rotors and rear drums were bare metal on hubcap cars but on kelsey hayes mags they were painted black, is this true? As well as different steering components were painted ,or in color, bare metal?

[J_Speegle]

Firstly - Thanks Bob . Yes, and I corrected the post

Jeb67 - No the dust shields were painted the same on all 67 San Jose built Mustangs. Nothing special there for a Shelby to be.

Sure you can find other related threads on finishes, how to get the look correct and with pictures in other threads here and on the ConcoursMustang site if you use the search feature

Basically (surely I will miss something  Most parts were originally coated to reduce the chance of rusting in transit to the car assembly plants or if routed to the service replacement line for storage purposes. Each of the parts below could be discussed in more detail or have an individual thread to cover the close and complete details. Some of those are already present or could be expanded. Choose not to follow each of those rabbit trails now.

Tie rods - Mix of threaded and machined areas on a heat treated part. Cap would not be darkened but like fresh steel 

Tie Rod Adjuster Sleeves - Bare steel with attaching bolts and nuts.

Center link & pittman arm - Heat treated steel with machined surfaces and treaded sections

Idler arm - Mix of bare heat treated steel, machined surfaces and plated parts. If you look up idler arms you should be able to find a thread that focuses on these and more details

Upper A arms - Stamped sheet steel. Heat treated - darkened inner shaft and caps - Ball joint is a mix of heat treated steel, machined surfaces, plated parts riveted (with a waffle patter) to the A arm.

Coil Spring Saddle - Bare steel with visible welds. Natural rubber bushing. Remember no rubber pad, no small holes in the mounting surface to hold a rubber pad to the saddle

Lower A arms - Stamped sheet steel with visible bluing at spot welds. Ball joint is a mix of heat treated steel, machined surfaces, plated parts riveted (with a waffle patter) to the A arm. Once fully assembled the part is dipped in semi-gloss black (the end that attaches to the unibody) to around where the strut rod bolt holes are located

Sway Bar Currently believed to be painted semi-gloss black with identification stripes/marks

Spindles - Bare heat treated steel with fresh bright machined surfaces and grinder spot for hardness test. With identification markings   

Caliper Mounts - Cast iron with machined surfaces

Calipers - Natural/bare cast iron with fresh machined surfaces and plated out half. Correct lines and fittings for production period at Ford

Strut rods - Bare heat treated steel

Front Coil Springs - Dark heat treated steel with identification stripes and possible over and under measurement stripe. Natural rubber insulator on the top (once mounted) coil

Rear springs - Bare heat treated steel leaves with natural bare rubber bushings. Clamps are bare natural steel

Shocks - Front & Rear - Adjustable (three settings) shocks made by Gabriel painted semi-gloss black main bodies but no paint on threaded sections on rears. Haven't found any with painted inner washers (for the rears) yet like 66's. Rear washers appear to be phosphate and oil. With identification markings

Power steering control valve - Cast iron main body with machined surfaces. Steel plate and natural aluminum adjustment cover with date. On attaching end, bare steel body with visible weld bluing around weld.  Natural rubber ball stud cover with plated steel cover/seal retainer and bolts/screws. Natural zert fitting plug


Finishes can be somewhat different on the heat treated oil quenched parts before machining due to how dirty the quench oil was at the time the parts were cast and cooled

Also stamped steel parts will look like new steel with slightly brighter areas (edges and bends) from the stretching and bending the metal during the forming process


That is it for now. Hope it helps and at least gets you started down the right path

[Bob Gaines]

Helping my friend Jeff - Calipers - Natural/bare cast iron with fresh machined surfaces inner half and plated or silver painted outer half.

[Jeb67]

Thank you Jeff and Bob as well as all others.

[Jeb67]

Correct paint colors?  Since you wrote that you are restoring the car you should be aware of that very little of the suspension had paint on it originally. Lots of bare steel and heat treated/quenched steel made up the vast majority of the parts. Many had bright freshly machined or ground areas for special purposes.

Lower (fixed from originally posting upper   A arms were painted but only the inner (as mounted) approx 2/3rds of the assembled arm.

Jeff you quote heat treated/quenched steel, how do you replicate that look? Once you bead blast parts what are you using to get this look?
Jeff

[J_Speegle]

Jeff you quote heat treated/quenched steel, how do you replicate that look? Once you bead blast parts what are you using to get this look?
Jeff

Many will use products like Insta-black or gun bluing repair fluid (there are many) to darken the metal you want colored. What the base metal looks like at the start, how you apply the fluid (dip, on with a rag or brush, or using steel wool)   and how you finish the look (burnish, steel wool, and so on) determines the final look. Takes some experimenting on your part but once you have what works for you its easy to do and can be repaired quickly and in place if there is a need to in the future.You'll likely have to do the first test part over a number of times till it looks just like a fresh new part.

 
Remember to return the fresh machined surfaces and test spots to the finished part also

The same liquids can also be used to replicate the blueing of the steel when it was welded. This comes in handy when finishing things like the steel motor mount brackets or PS rams for example

Here is a 12 year old thread on CMF that may help explain some of the process. Hope it helps

https://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=5890.msg33184#msg33184

[shelbymann1970]

Thanks Jeff on your detailed component comment and also Bob for his comments.