67 Front Sway Bar Paint

[Steve M.]

Do the judges want to see some black paint on the front sway bar? How many points if it's not there? Thanks

[Brian M.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

I'd expect to see some overspray of blackout but wouldn't make a deduct for none.

[Stephen L.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Brian,
It is my understanding that blackout painting was done on the body just after color painting and well before final trim out of the body and prior to mating with the chassis near the end of assembly.

If that's the case then how can blackout paint be on the front sway bar which is part of the chassis??

[John H.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Brian,
It is my understanding that blackout painting was done on the body just after color painting and well before final trim out of the body and prior to mating with the chassis near the end of assembly.

If that's the case then how can blackout paint be on the front sway bar which is part of the chassis??

Steve -

He's talking about chassis blackout, which was done just prior to Body Drop; by '67, it was pretty much confined only to the sides of the mufflers, with some degree of overspray on the sides of the spare tire tub. I wouldn't expect to see any on the front stabilizer bar.

[Brian M.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

I thought that the back of the bar was hit with engine comp. blackout?

Steve -

He's talking about chassis blackout, which was done just prior to Body Drop; by '67, it was pretty much confined only to the sides of the mufflers, with some degree of overspray on the sides of the spare tire tub. I wouldn't expect to see any on the front stabilizer bar.

[Michael H.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

I thought that the back of the bar was hit with engine comp. blackout?

The engine compt blackout was done long before the body was on the frame. In fact, it was done almost immediately after the body was painted.

The chassis blackout process was supposed to include the front sway bar. It was never completely coated but did receive a coat on the top side. Often, runs and drips are seen at the bottom of the bar.

The well known untouched 7000 mile red 67 435 HP bullet hole car had a LOT of chassis black on the top half of the bar.

If I remember correctly, there may be some pictures in the Noland Adams book that show drips/runs of chassis black on the bottom side of the bar.

[William L.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Steve; In Noland Adams Book on page 387 there is a picture of a 1967 frame and clearly shows the front sway bar with NO paint on it.
On page 324 there is picture of 1966 frame that clearly shows a front sway bar WITH paint & runs.
When I cleaned up my 67 front sway bar I found on evidence of paint so I left my front sway bar natural. But I do keep these pages marked for reference.
Bill

[Steve M.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

William, That picture is what was throwing me off. I couldn't see any paint in that picture either. Just to clearify, did you say you found no paint? Is there some other way that through the production process some cars may have gotten hit with some paint but not all? Is there a chance that when the line workers were messing with the steering linkage they would sometimes grab the sway bar with the grungy gloves on and make it look like some paint got on them?

[William L.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Steve; My 67 chassis has never been restored and I am comfortable in saying that the say bar has never been painted or had paint runs or drips
Maybe John Hinkley has an explanation of why 67's sway bar show's no paint runs or drips??
A judge should not deduct any points for not having any paint on it. The 67 JM says "The bar is natural forged finish which MAY show evidence of the blackout material applied."
Bill

[Steve M.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Thanks Bill!

[Michael H.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Steve; My 67 chassis has never been restored and I am comfortable in saying that the say bar has never been painted or had paint runs or drips
Bill

If your looking for evidence of chassis black on the stab bar of a 40 year old car, it's HIGHLY unlikely that you would have found any. It's not possible to determine that any 67 stab bar was NOT coated with chassis black.
Also, because the bar in the pic of a 67 in the Adams book doesn't show drips/runs, we can't conclude that it is NOT coated on the top. (which is where the coating was to begin with) If a worker happened to spray more chassis black than normal, it would run around the sides and possibly drip off the bottom, just like it did on bars in other pictures of new cars.

No one can say that every 67 had a coated bar but at the same time, it's really not logical to say that NO 67 had a coated bar.

That coating was not at all durable and a few years in the weather would remove every trace of it. The only cars that may still have it are those low mileage cars from a friendly climate, or that have been in storage all their lives.

I don't know where that famous 7000 mile 67 bullet hole car is today but if anyone knows or has access to it, I would definitely suggest having a look at it. There's a lot to learn there. (or, at least there was)

I'm not saying a point should be deducted one way or the other but I am saying keep an open mind on this. Do a little more research.

[Chris E.]

Re: 67 Front Sway Bar Paint

Steve, for what it's worth, on two rounds of Chapter judging, the only ding I took on my stabilizer bar was because I powdercoated it. 1 point deduct. Dale did my chassis and mechanical in Iowa too.

No comments about having or not having black paint.