Chassis finish

[dsrk98]

Can anyone tell me the correct metal finishes for the svo under chassis, such as control arms ect. Bare, painted....?

[SVOeric]

I painted all mine flat black.. not sure if it was correct or not, but it looks pretty cool when it is clean

[svobud]

it depends on the parts ... some were left bare - some were painted black - others gray. I personally would paint the 'bare' parts a nice metal gray color if you're working on a show car. If you don't - they'll rust and your show car won't be show ready within a year.

For instance .. front sway bar: black
Front sway bar brackets: bare or "gray"

BTW - originally ... lower control arms were left bare.

[svobud]

btw - here's a reference photo of that 97 mi car that sold on eBay not too long ago...

[8T6 SVO]

If I can't paint or powder coat something to look stock, I'll put a clear coat to retain the bare metal color. Bud's right, In a year, that exhaust manifold, lower control arm, etc. will be rust colored. Almost not worth the hassle of making it look good in the first place when it looks like S*** a year later.

8T6

[dsrk98]

Info

Good info, that's what I needed. Has anyone tried spraying clear like DuPont 7500 as used for paint jobs over the bare metal?

[svobud]

Re: Info

Originally posted by dsrk98
Good info, that's what I needed. Has anyone tried spraying clear like DuPont 7500 as used for paint jobs over the bare metal?

power coating works better, but it's the most expensive medium ... and you can powercoat in clear. If you use a 'paint on' clear over bare matel ... it'll turn yellow with age. Trust me - the gray paint works the best for the price. I used the stuff from Eastwood Co.

[KevinK]

If you want to do it only once, go with powder coat. There are some natural colored paints out there such as Eastwood. Stay away fron laquor paints as they don't last.

The last time I looked at my 84 (original owner) the control arms were a nice orange rust color. If you want the easy way out for a show car look, used WD40 to darken them.

BTW, I showed my car in MCA Concourse Driven Unrestored class and never had a big problem with the rust. They look for mud and dirt. The rest of the car makes up for it in points.

[svobud]

Originally posted by KevinK


BTW, I showed my car in MCA Concourse Driven Unrestored class and never had a big problem with the rust. They look for mud and dirt. The rest of the car makes up for it in points.

That's only true in the unrestored classes. If they find that anything on the car has been painted - you will be reclassed into a restored class and the rusty parts count point off then. Had it happen to a friend of mine with his 68 fsbk. I personally had points taken off once by a National Gold Card Judge while showing in an 'occasionally driven' class at a National Show cause my paint was too shiney. Some wonderful anal people in the MCA ...

[KevinK]

That's probably true for the 1st and second generation cars. The 3rd generation is not that well defined. You are allowed to paint up 33% of the car's exterior with no point deductions. After 66%, it's not worth the unrestored class from the loss of points. The only other defined area is repainting the engine. Again loss of too many points. Most MCA judges only know the 5.0. Jack and Randy are pretty reasonable about was is correct and what is not. Regardless, they are not perfect but the few points lost here and there really don't add up to be significant.

Of course this only really matters is you are trying to restore the finish of the drivetrain. For more details, see the MCA 3rd generation judging rules or attend judging meetings like I have.

For those who don't care about restoring, you stopped reading the post long ago.

[svobud]

Originally posted by KevinK
Jack and Randy are pretty reasonable about was is correct and what is not. Regardless, they are not perfect but the few points lost here and there really don't add up to be significant.

I know Jack. Great guy. A real straight shooter. Randy ... errr... questionable at times as he lets politics get in the way (my opinion).

If we ever run across each other again Kevin - remind me to tell you the whole story. My old 86 2R ... you know it? at the time 3k miles on a full restoration. Needless to say .. my car took last place in a 12 car class. I protested to the National Head Judge at the time .. Floyd Scranton. He came out to look at my car after the awards were over (with the judging sheet) - he was a complete lost for words. They said the best they could do was .. send me a "National 3rd place" in a couple of weeks and call it done.

Couple of years later .. the same two chuckleheads (named below) tried to pull the same thing on me with the Green car. I got involved BEFORE the awards and had the Head Judge look over the judging sheets. He changed things ... and it resulted in a first place tie.

How so? Two Gold Card Judges ... will judge each other's classes. They always take first.

So - the MCA, as a whole (especially Stew and Terry), can kiss my you know what (I'm trying to reframe from using LOADS of profanity right now). I'll show up to the big events every 5 years ... but I'll never show in a National or Grand National again.

So - anyone who has read this far - be prepared to deal with the MCA "clicks" if you're going to start gettin involved with their higher level shows. There is NO "svo specific" classes. They do not know how to judge a SVO for correctness and it will be compared to their own cars as the 3rd Gen Judges all show 3rd Gen cars too.

[8T6 SVO]

Clear coat

Just a note on some clear coat paint. I have used high temp engine paint clear coat with no yellowing over a five year period. I've used this on misc. nuts, bolts, and minor bare metal pieces.

Today, I was at the junk yard and saw a SVO valve cover that was restored and cleared - had a yellow crust on it - looked good except for the yellow color.

8T6