Quote:
Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's
The photos of the parts I posted are of NOS pieces, not blasted and/or restored ones.
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Thanks. I have five NOS Pontiac Tripower carbs. They have been stored inside a heated shop since they were produced. The plated levers, rods, clips, screws, and the carb bodies all look OK, but the surfaces exposed to the environment are not the same color/sheen as they once were.
I've removed the airhorn on one of the carbs. Inside the float bowl, the diecast is a nice greenish-gold irridescent finish. Outside, you can barely see any hint of the original gold color. The plated steel levers all are dull silver color. When I remove a lever and examine the protected area between the lever and carb body, the plating looks shiny & quite different in color than the exposed areas.
My point is---The NOS parts we have are a great reference point, but seldom represent how these parts looked when new.
I've had similar experience with zinc vs. cadmium plating. Many enthusiasts insist that the plated parts on our '60's cars were cad rather than zinc. I don't doubt that this is true. What I do doubt, however, is that cad & zinc appear so different that "anyone can tell." I've had identical pieces plated zinc and cad after identical prep. I would defy anyone who is not a plating expert to ID which is which. In my experience, appearance varies more between batches of plating than by whether zinc or cad is used. Also, surface prep before plating is key to how the finished part will look.