Undercarriage Advice

[David F.]

I have a 1970 coupe that is a VERY original car. I was lucky enough to have access to a hoist this winter so I was having some work done underneath the car. I dropped the rear differential and shafts to have the seals and u joints replaced. I noticed that the yellow grease marks are still on the yolks but my car is a born and raised Michigan car so it has an abundance of scale. My question is this: Cosmetically where would you guys go with these pieces? Just clean them up and put them back under or blast and paint them and loose the marks. If painting is the consensus, what color are the supposed to be? I'm trying to be smart with all of my decisions here. While everything is out, I am going to clean the frame up as well so it looks a lot nicer. Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
David

[Leif A.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

David,

This is a very slippery slope...but, you asked for opinions and I'm sure you're going to get plenty. IMHO, I would preserve as best as possible any originality while restoring. You have what sounds like a fairly unique (original) 44 year old car but this is, after all, the NCRS (restorers). My only word of caution would be to remind against the dreaded "project creep". You car is up on a lift, the shafts are out so let's restore them and replace the seals. Now, while it's up here might as well freshen up the chassis a bit...one thing very easily leads to another. Certainly not a bad thing on a 44 year old car but just something to keep in the front of your mind as you stare at the underside of your car over this long, cold winter. Enjoy whatever you do and have it down on the ground for springtime driving.

[John S.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

David,

Leif is right in that it can be a slippery slope. I will tell you that on my 65 35k mile car, I just "refurbished" both headlight motors as described in previous discussions. I did this in preparation for a PV in Tucson in March. It took every ounce of my being to just brush off some loose dirt, refurbish and re-install on the car without making the look like new. Trying my best to keep the patina in place. I did however wipe off one of the motors to view the date. I will be posting some pictures and extra advice in the near future. My advice, clean lightly and leave alone.

[David F.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

Thank you for your input! I agree it's a slippery slope which is why I need some sound minds to reel me back in. I am just going to clean and reinstall....no bead blasting and paint.

[Steve G.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

I take a different view. If it were a nice rust free west coast car I would dust things off and leave them alone. But on a crusty Michigan car I'd be inclined to want to stop the rust. In spite of the fact they have the paint markings they left the factory with, they don't look anything like what they did when the car was new. So I seriously doubt you get any more judging points for a badly rusted component that still had paint marks on them then a cleaned up part with the marks reapplied.

The yokes and shafts won't ever fail from rust, they'll just continue to look worse and worse. The frame, however, will continue to rust if left alone, until you can see through it. At one time all those frames you see all rusted to nothing looked just like yours does now.

On a crusty Michigan car, I would media blast or dip anything I took off and refinish. The frame I would blast or clean what I could and apply a rust paint inside and outside as best I could. May not stop it completely, but will certainly extend the life considerably.

[Joe L.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

I have a 1970 coupe that is a VERY original car. I was lucky enough to have access to a hoist this winter so I was having some work done underneath the car. I dropped the rear differential and shafts to have the seals and u joints replaced. I noticed that the yellow grease marks are still on the yolks but my car is a born and raised Michigan car so it has an abundance of scale. My question is this: Cosmetically where would you guys go with these pieces? Just clean them up and put them back under or blast and paint them and loose the marks. If painting is the consensus, what color are the supposed to be? I'm trying to be smart with all of my decisions here. While everything is out, I am going to clean the frame up as well so it looks a lot nicer. Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
David

David-------


If the frame has "abundant scale" that could represent a huge problem in itself. That scale is metal that's no longer there. You need to inspect the frame thoroughly for further damage. That car has had 44 years for the corrosion to proceed inexorably. That's a long time for steel to be converted to iron oxide.

[Philip A.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

David-------


If the frame has "abundant scale" that could represent a huge problem in itself. That scale is metal that's no longer there. You need to inspect the frame thoroughly for further damage. That car has had 44 years for the corrosion to proceed inexorably. That's a long time for steel to be converted to iron oxide.

Folks will certainly have a different opinion on "refurbish" versus "restore" and what is the owners ultimate desire to have. I also appreciate they are only original once and lean that way. However, in any vehicle such as this, the first assessment should be the structural integrity. This may dictate a need for restoration over refurbish.

[Tim G.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

Can you post some pictures of the chassis? I've done lots of chassis cleaning on Northern cars and many times preservation is very possible with some work.

[Terry M.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

Folks will certainly have a different opinion on "refurbish" versus "restore" and what is the owners ultimate desire to have. I also appreciate they are only original once and lean that way. However, in any vehicle such as this, the first assessment should be the structural integrity. This may dictate a need for restoration over refurbish.

Philip has hit the key question which the OP has not addressed. "What does the owner want to do with the car?" Without that information any advice offered is just for discussion.

Tell us:
Do you want to have the car Judged?
Has it been Judged?
Do you know if it could be a Bowtie candidate?
Or do you just want to maximize your ROI?

[David F.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

Terry,

The car has never been judged. I am the fourth owner and it has 55,000 actual miles. I have entertained having it judged but am enjoying tinkering with it for now. If someone saw my car and told me that it should be judged, I would probably entertain it as long as it made sense (ROI part). It has had one repaint in the late 80's but it was done to a very high standard and still looks brand new. The car sat in a heated garage in a collection since the early 90's before I obtained it 3 years ago. I am not extremely familiar as to what it takes to have a car judged but all of the functional components are original to the car and I have had everything "rebuilt" instead of "replaced" when needed. I don't think it would qualify as a Bowtie candidate because I know that the front carpet has been replaced and the car was repainted. I know they are only "original" once, but I think everyones perception of what an original car is is different so I didn't know where the tipping point is. Thanks for you point on this

[David F.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

I think the use of the word "scale" was a poor choice of words on my part. I will be at my buddies shop later this week and will try to get some photos to post of the chassis. In the meantime, here is a picture of the rear differential and shafts after I took them out for a point of reference. IMG_2989.jpg

[Joe L.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

Folks will certainly have a different opinion on "refurbish" versus "restore" and what is the owners ultimate desire to have. I also appreciate they are only original once and lean that way. However, in any vehicle such as this, the first assessment should be the structural integrity. This may dictate a need for restoration over refurbish.

Philip------


Structural integrity trumps all other considerations if a car is to be a driven car.

[Leif A.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

David,

If whatever you're looking at can be preserved...preserve it. If it can't...restore it. Don't preserve anything just for preservation sake. If the rest of the under carriage looks anything like your "pumpkin" and half shafts I think there may be quite a bit of preservation in your future. But, as Joe alluded to...structural integrity trumps all other considerations if a car is to be driven.

[Tom B.]

Re: Undercarriage Advice

If the car has been re painted and carpet replaced I would be inclined to do something with the crusty looking diff to make it look a little better. Buts thats just my opinion.

[Alan S.]