Found Blue Paint on My Black Torsion Bar ('65 Formula S)

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dibbons

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Getting reading to repaint the torsion bars. After degreasing them I made two observations.

#1) It appears the last time they were painted, the paint ran down to the bottom of the bar (gravity) because the paint is not smooth on the side that faces the ground. This could have been a factory finish for all I know.

#2) I thought there was some left over blue masking tape on the driver's side torsion bar from when the underbody was painted (white). However, I can't scrape it off with my fingernail and it appears to have been painted on there.

I got out my dial micrometer and measure .878" so I must have the ABody V-8 four-barrel torsion bar. According to the chart below, the .87" bar is marked "blue". I guess that is what I was seeing.

Screen Shot 2020-11-08 at 5.23.27 PM.png
 
Yes, if installed correctly the numbers are visible where the torsion bar is visible at the crossmember. You may have to take some mineral spirits, or varsol, to clean the end off.
 
????? Don't they just have the number stamped in the end 892 and 893?


Yes, but sometimes it helps to put identifiers on parts to help the assembly line operators from picking the wrong part... Doing the same thing on a car gets repetitive and sometimes the operators can miss some things and install the wrong part... The colored paint marks on the torsion bars will help the assembly line workers pick the right part... It's much easier to look for the colored paint on the part than to look at the ends for the part numbers...

That's called "error proofing" or "idiot proofing"....

I used to work in a truck factory back in the 90's... One of the parts that I was responsible for was the decals and tape stripes... The computers at each station would flash the color code for the decal or stripe for the next vehicle to enter their work station... Even then, the operators would put the wrong part on sometimes...

So to help that, we made the color code in the computer come up in the same color as the decal or stripe as another way for the operator to key in on which part to install... This helped reduce the amount of wrong color stripes or decals being installed on the trucks... They still could put the wrong part on, but with the color code flashing in color on the computer helped reduce the number of wrong parts getting installed...

We once had a truck get out with a v-8 emblem on one fender and a v-6 emblem on the other... They were done with different operators on each side of the assembly line (operators are not allowed to cross the assembly line for their job while it is moving - union rule for safety of the operator)... When the operator works on one side of the assembly line, they can't see what the one on the opposite side is doing... The operator accidentally grabbed the wrong part and installed it... So we made the engine cylinder flash in large letters on the computer screen to help them know what part to install on the truck that is in their station... The screen would flash a large V-8 or V-6 on the screen to help them pick the right part....
 
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Can the numbers be read when the torsion bars are installed in the vehicle?


Yes, if installed correctly the numbers are visible where the torsion bar is visible at the crossmember. You may have to take some mineral spirits, or varsol, to clean the end off.


Yes, the part number is on the end of the part... However all of the torsion bars are the same color and the part number can look the same as another if you just glance at it quickly... Or the operator gets fatigue and sometimes their eyes can play tricks on them and they see the number wrong... When you do the same job over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over - you can make a mistake...

By putting a color mark on the parts, it's much easier and quicker for the operator to know what parts they are picking up...

Operators don't have any spare time between jobs.... If they did, the industrial engineers will add more parts for them to install, that's called "line balancing" to use each operator's time efficiently...

The assembly line does not stop, it keeps moving... It keeps the operators moving and sometimes they can make mistakes... Nobody is perfect.... Color coding helps the operator know what part to install and helps keep them from taking more time to read the part number.... It takes more time to look for a part number that blends into the part, than it does to look for a color mark on the part... They don't have time to double check the part number after they install it.... Not to mention that there was most likely not enough light on the assembly line for the operator to check the part number on the part after it was installed...
 
#1) It appears the last time they were painted, the paint ran down to the bottom of the bar (gravity) because the paint is not smooth on the side that faces the ground. This could have been a factory finish for all I know.

#2) I thought there was some left over blue masking tape on the driver's side torsion bar from when the underbody was painted (white). However, I can't scrape it off with my fingernail and it appears to have been painted on there.

Torsion bars were dipped in paint...they weren't sprayed. After they were dipped, they were set aside to dry and the paint ran down and created "drips/runs" on the bottom side. As was already mentioned, the paint marks were so the line workers could more easily identify a part. Much easier to look at a colored line then read a part#. When restoring my Challenger, I had one silver mark on one bar and two silver marks on the other. That was so they could more easily identify which bar was left and right.

8-3/4 center sections have a lot of paint marks on them too. Each gear ratio has a specific paint color mark as well as specific marks for sure-grip units. 8-3/4 housings also have a lot of factory markings on them.
 
Getting reading to repaint the torsion bars. After degreasing them I made two observations.

#1) It appears the last time they were painted, the paint ran down to the bottom of the bar (gravity) because the paint is not smooth on the side that faces the ground. This could have been a factory finish for all I know.

#2) I thought there was some left over blue masking tape on the driver's side torsion bar from when the underbody was painted (white). However, I can't scrape it off with my fingernail and it appears to have been painted on there.

I got out my dial micrometer and measure .878" so I must have the ABody V-8 four-barrel torsion bar. According to the chart below, the .87" bar is marked "blue". I guess that is what I was seeing.

View attachment 1715626923

That is correct. If you look closely the left bar has one paint splotch and the right side has two paint splotches.
 
Heck when doing new car set up in the 60's we found mismatched beer cans strung up in the door panels!
 
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