65 ball joints

[Paul J.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Viewing this last photo reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask (and I hope this isn't considered hi-jacking this thread). In the process of recently restoring my '65 A-arms (upper and lower), I decided to sand blast off all of the old paint and rust. I first taped the ball joints off, but I think that with all of the sand flying around under consideration pressure, a small quantity of sand probably entered the ball joints. Since undertaking that task, I have read in the Archives here that any amount of infiltrated sand will quickly destroy the ball joints. Now I wish I hadn't gone that route. I haven't yet re-lubed the joints, and I don't think they have been lubed in over 20 years, But I do know that they are hard to turn now (don't know whether they were hard to turn before as I didn't own the car before and didn't think to check the rotation of the joints before restoration.) Anyway, maybe this is a dumb question, but does anyone here know whether there is a way to "flush" the ball joints, either with grease or some fluid, in such a way as to remove any offending sand debris? Thanks very much.

You know that the boot is not perfect in keeping out dirt and water, right? If the joints are still good, just pump some grease into them.

[Michael H.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Also in the zoomed image you can see the steering box is painted black and the hub dust cover is sitting on top of it. I think the current 1965 JM says the box was natural and that's the way mine is currently setup. Perhaps that changed from 1965 to 1966?

Mike

Michael

I think you find that all steering gears for 63-67 were originally coated in black. The paint process even included the coupler.

I know that for many decades (most of) the Corvette world was convinced that the gear was natural, possibly because it looked fancy with it's paint stripe but it just wasn't that way when new.

I don't know what the latest 65 JG has to say about this.

[Ron G.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Mike H.,

I was under the understanding that the sides and most of the bottom portion of the mufflers on 67's and 68 -72's are sprayed black on the line with the spare tire tub in place which would explain why some Bowtie/Survivior cars are seen with some black paint on the outer portions of the tire tub.

[Mike E.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Michael

I think you find that all steering gears for 63-67 were originally coated in black. The paint process even included the coupler.

I know that for many decades (most of) the Corvette world was convinced that the gear was natural, possibly because it looked fancy with it's paint stripe but it just wasn't that way when new.

I don't know what the latest 65 JG has to say about this.

The current one which is the 5th edition says natural cast or painted semi-gloss black. I think I've read from some of the folks working on the new next edition this might change. It will be a while till the next one is released so I'll just sit tight then.

One interesting thing I noticed from the image of the late C3 you posted and the one from John is the stabilizer link has more threads showing in the later photo. The replacement links are more like later C3's in your photo. There is a very noticeable difference when I compare my original to the reproduction. The original looks more like the one in the image from 1966 which isn't really a big surprise. Sorry Bill about going so far off topic.






Mike

[Michael H.]

Re: 65 ball joints

One interesting thing I noticed from the image of the late C3 you posted and the one from John is the stabilizer link has more threads showing in the later photo. The replacement links are more like later C3's in your photo. There is a very noticeable difference when I compare my original to the reproduction. The original looks more like the one in the image from 1966 which isn't really a big surprise. Sorry Bill about going so far off topic.






Mike

Mike

I think what we're seeing is that the link in the 1966 picture is only loosely assembled while the nut in the late C3 pic is run down and torqued.
The reason for this in the 60's was probably the fact that with the suspension in full rebound position, the link washers, tubes and grommets don't align properly and it's difficult to get the grommets to seat properly. The final tightening of the link was most likely done a little further down the assy line when car was on it's wheels and the weight of the body brought the suspension close to normal ride height.

I don't know why or when this procedure would have changed later for the C3 era but it does appear that it did.

I think the length of the link bolt was the same for all 63-82?

[Michael H.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Mike H.,

I was under the understanding that the sides and most of the bottom portion of the mufflers on 67's and 68 -72's are sprayed black on the line with the spare tire tub in place which would explain why some Bowtie/Survivior cars are seen with some black paint on the outer portions of the tire tub.

Ron

The mufflers and pipes were installed prior to blackout for all 63-67's. There is (was) usually chassis black from the muffler blackout on the spare tire carrier and some other items in the area.

I think we've learned over the years that no two workers sprayed the muffler blackout the same way. Some are coated heavily on the top and side while others are only coated on the top or only on the bottom.

I think the idea here was to coat the muffler so it appeared black from two different vantage points. One was looking in through the wheel well and the other was from behind the car. Coating the upper outer section and the entire bottom would have done this.

Unfortunately, very few original mufflers are still in existence today that show exactly how the coating was applied.

[Ron G.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Mike,

Well said. I agree with you 200%. I met you a couple of times thru Dave Burroughs in Bloomington's early years, but would value an opportunity to talk chassis's with you one day via telephone or in person. Like you, I have also done a myriad of research and was around when when these cars were new, but I am always continuing to learning more and wanting to improve mu knowledge.

[Joe L.]

Re: 65 ball joints

Mike

I think what we're seeing is that the link in the 1966 picture is only loosely assembled while the nut in the late C3 pic is run down and torqued.
The reason for this in the 60's was probably the fact that with the suspension in full rebound position, the link washers, tubes and grommets don't align properly and it's difficult to get the grommets to seat properly. The final tightening of the link was most likely done a little further down the assy line when car was on it's wheels and the weight of the body brought the suspension close to normal ride height.

I don't know why or when this procedure would have changed later for the C3 era but it does appear that it did.

I think the length of the link bolt was the same for all 63-82?

Michael------


Yes, the same front link bolts were used for all 1963-82 Corvettes. GM #3817575 and 5-25/32" in length.