suspension and steering colors

Items such as steering arms and linkage are a natural heat treated look (very dark steel) Tie rods also have brighter machined surfaces you will need to reproduce.

This would include, center link, pittman arm, idler arm and mounting bracket, tie rod ends and adjusting link

Strut rods as well as leaves of the rear springs (not eh clamps) are also dark heat treated.

Front upper and lower A arms are natural stamped steel with plated boot retainers and the inner attachment points were dipped in semi-gloss black paint (may have caused runs or filled the lower jack taps) to approx 2/3rd the total length

Rear leaf spring clamps, strut rod stops and rear spring plates are all natural bare steel (oiled) so the metal looks like new bare steel with the metal where the bends were made slightly brighter/smoother from the forming

Spindles often appear to be coated or painted from the oil quenching process. In general that are slightly IMHO darker than bare steel but not as dark as the hardened steering components

For Concours classes you can try and paint these items or use a mix of paint and coatings to reproduce the look of original parts,

Hope this helps

I'm helping out a friend on a 66 Shelby (March 66 Ford build) and would like to know what the finish is on the Pitman arm and idler arm. They have been chemically stripped and are marked XRR-25479 and XRR-25490 with a faint Ford oval logo. I also have a December build Shelby stored along side the house that needs the same info (although that may be worked on next year).

Also, what is the recomended replacement bushing for the Idler arm?

Jim

Jim,

I'll let others comment on the finish, as for the other stuff....

My 66 GT350, 6S1757, is also a (late) March build. If the logo is a round "Ford" these may be replacements offered by Branda (and probably others) since the mid-80's, don't know if that is a concern. My original idler and pitman arms have rectangular FoMoCo logos. The location of the part number and logo is also different on the replacements. On my original idler arm the part number is on the bottom while the logo is on the top side, both at the front. I've seen oval FoMoCo logos on original 65 GT350 idler arms but not "Ford".

The original bushing is the same for the standard Mustang with (oddly) power steering, C3DZ-3356-A. If these are drivers I would recommend roller bearing kits otherwise aftermarket (Moog, etc.)should be fine since NOS are tough to find.

Dave

Now you got me concerned. It is my understanding that the car has been in their family for about 35 years. Here's a more detailed description of the markings of the two items.

Pitman arm: top near hole for center link "K6": bottom from center link hole "KRR- (space) 25479, logo (something with four script bumps in an oval), (the rest is all caps but 90 deg ccw), NVD, something (a casting flaw?), B 1 B.

Idler arm: top near bracket "M", about halfway up the shaft a small "A": bottom from post for center link, "XRR-25490, (dash) logo (something "OR" ? something), (dash) A 1 A (dash) "1" (90 deg ccw), NVD (upsidedown).

Jim

In my humble opinion, these two are later replacements arms

as the NVD is present on both. The NVD stands for a specific

casting process (Nickel Vapor Deposition) and must be shown by some Government rules.

Some original arms have a FoMoCo within an oval and others

within a block and all repo's I have seen has Ford within an oval.

Original FoMoCo markings are on top when mounted and fairly close

to the front while the repo's Ford is at te bottom when mounted

and close to the middle.

/Bo

Thanks Bo. I'll inform the owner.

Jim

Jim,

I agree with Bo. I have two original idler arms, the one from my car and one I bought as a spare years ago from a 66 GT350 in the early 300's. Both are identical with a block FoMoCo logo on the top front (as mounted) and the XRR part number on the bottom front. I also have a replacement purchased from Branda in the 90's that I'm using on the car with a roller bearing kit at the moment. It is like the arm you describe.

One thing I'm not clear on is if the replacement arms with the oval Ford logo are Ford service replacements or repops.

Dave

Bo and Dave,

Thanks for the input. Let me add something to the mix. I just got off the phone with the owner about the two arms. He said that the car has been in the family since late 1968 and nothing was done to the car since then. When the restoration process started a few years back, he did find out that the car had been in a wreck, "sandwiched" using his body man's words, so it possible that those parts (and others) were replaced prior to 1968. In other words, the NVD processed arms date from 1968. Is it possible these NVD parts were used on 1968 and later Shelbys?

I still need a couple of bits of info. What is the finish? Is the Ford power steering bushing (C3DZ-3356-A or aftermarket) a valid replacement for this idler type arm?

Currently the car is a shell waiting for paint.

Jim

Edited by - jwc66k on 07/08/2010 11:33:45

I don't know the Ford spec on the finish, but have used a 15s dip in phosphate, followed by a soaking in oil. I then use coarse steel wool and rub out the parts, which does a nice job in replicating the original finish. Here's some pics of a steering box I restored using this process:

http://65kresto.blogspot.com/2009/10/10309.html

WOW!, Charles that really came out nice. Now I know how to do it. Thanks.

Gary

Was that a hot phosphoric solution or cold?

Jim

It was hot (180F) manganese phosphate solution.

That's all I want to know. I've been doing hot phosphating of Mustang hardware for 17 years.

Jim

The trick is to leave it in there for a short amount of time, the 15-30s is all I do on those cast parts.

i'm not quite sure how one preps

the metal parts before this phospahte dipping?

do you just take the piece all apart

so that the inside of the part is dipped also?

thanks

iowa

I glass bead in my cabinet at about 60 psi.

Yes, usually parts are disassembled for cleaning/stripping.

how do you protect any inner machined surfaces?

I use several different methods to "protect" areas I don't want to be bead blasted: masking tape or duct tape; RTV cement; a rubber grommet. Glass beads do not remove soft materials easy so that's the trick.

Jim