Quote:
Originally Posted by 68ragtop
I have been battling with these same type questions as I finish all these same type of details.
Here's where I have found myself: I want my car to look & present itself correctly. I am using as many original parts as I can & trying to install many of them in the correct way with the correct paints. But, some of the things that really bug me I am & have already changed. They are the details that would hurt in a concours competition, but Once I decided not to follow that type of restoration, it made it easier to continue and deviate from original where I saw fit. For me, its been things like no over spray on the floor pans or under hood, over restored & over painted chassis parts, etc. I am installing my door latches & strikes clean, with no overspray. I just like that clean look. should still look good just not "correct"
But I still struggle with what way to go with things. Today I was deciding wether to paint the front sway bar chassis black, or natural steel. I have seen them both ways & don't know what I like better. Leaning towards natural steel though 
I also added a 70 rear sway bar. Looks completely correct, but of course wasn't even available on our cars. So, I feel your pain, but unless your car is going to be completely correct, I would't be afraid to change things that really bug you.
Ironically I did paint over my hinge bolts. Once I had all the panels fitting perfect, I removed the hinge pins & left the halves installed & painted them. Top pins have to be installed upside down with this method however..... |
Sounds like a car that I would be proud to own and would have no issues with how the various items are finished.
My take on the suspension components is they were likely installed bare or natural.....some items would appear darker than others due to the different manufacturing process. Then, most of those items were painted chassis black after they were fitted to the frame. Here is a page from the 69 assembly manual that shows where the black paint was supposed to be applied. Disk brake cars were a little different than drum models. I presume the 68 models received similar treatment.
The question is from what direction the black paint was applied. It looks like the paint was only on the lower half of the rear suspension and the upper portion remained natural finish. I presume the front suspension would done in a similar manner. In a month or two, I am going to try and schedule a visit to see a unrestored 68 GTO and might be able to determine how the front suspension components we're finished.
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