In the process of rebuilding the front suspension on my ‘67 Dart. It has the hd suspension with factory sway bar. It appears to be painted blue. It doesn’t appear to be painted over or a replacement, as it looks like original bushings, etc. I was wondering if they were originally blue like this, and if so, what color should I use for it? This being my first restoration of a Mopar, I’m not that familiar with this. Any input would be appreciated!
Factory sway bar color?
- Thread starter DartGuy67
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Mine isn't factory, but it's the color of dirt.
What color is the car?
My 67 dart with factory sway bar might have some over spray on it but nothing like yours.
Yours seems to have been deliberately painted as the supports have no paint on them. The supports are welded on so not something that can easily be installed after the bar was painted.
Mine shows no signs of body color paint, might have black paint on it but 56 years of dirt, grime and road debris sandblasting it's hard to tell.
I would note that if the unpainted areas that are not blue are not surface rusted they probably had some form of coating on them
My 67 dart with factory sway bar might have some over spray on it but nothing like yours.
Yours seems to have been deliberately painted as the supports have no paint on them. The supports are welded on so not something that can easily be installed after the bar was painted.
Mine shows no signs of body color paint, might have black paint on it but 56 years of dirt, grime and road debris sandblasting it's hard to tell.
I would note that if the unpainted areas that are not blue are not surface rusted they probably had some form of coating on them
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No, people...
The sway bar was left natural finish. ANY paint on any sway bar was not a factory effort.
The bar can be restored to the factory appearance with a sandblaster. A wire wheel will make it clean but too shiny,
In Summer 2022, I had my engine and trans out. I sandblasted an aftermarket front bar since I wanted a sort of factory appearance.
To keep the finish looking nice, I coated the bar with this stuff:
First, the part gets sandblasted. You could wire wheel it then brush it down with red Scotch Brite pads to dull out the finish.
Next, the part gets wiped down with some type of acetone or other chemical cleaner.
This "RPM" stuff is a paste that needs to warm up a bit to spread and soak in. I left the parts in the sun to warm up, then brushed this stuff in. Over a year later and the parts still look "new".
The sway bar was left natural finish. ANY paint on any sway bar was not a factory effort.
The bar can be restored to the factory appearance with a sandblaster. A wire wheel will make it clean but too shiny,
In Summer 2022, I had my engine and trans out. I sandblasted an aftermarket front bar since I wanted a sort of factory appearance.
To keep the finish looking nice, I coated the bar with this stuff:
First, the part gets sandblasted. You could wire wheel it then brush it down with red Scotch Brite pads to dull out the finish.
Next, the part gets wiped down with some type of acetone or other chemical cleaner.
This "RPM" stuff is a paste that needs to warm up a bit to spread and soak in. I left the parts in the sun to warm up, then brushed this stuff in. Over a year later and the parts still look "new".
What kinda sway bar link is that?
junkyardhero
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i think it's off a ford or something. a lot of the late model links look like that/are that design. IIRC he cut and welded it.
had a moment of wtf is wrong with that link bolt and then looked at the rest and remembered a post about him changing it.
junkyardhero
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that's wild, because every factory 73~76 bar i've ever seen has had some kind of black on it, same with the mounts. not disputing it, but just find it interesting.
It's supposed to be a bolt in on some A-Bodies. Needs to be altered for Bs and Es.
Moog Chassis Parts K750074 Moog Sway Bar End Links | Summit Racing
I have a pair, but I haven't installed them yet. If you'd like, I could take some measurements.
The end link is a MOOG. I shortened them to fit the 1970 B body.
I then welded them back together, sandblasted them to look Undisturbed, then coated them with that RPM stuff.
Those links have ball joint type ends. Better articulation and less slop.
I then welded them back together, sandblasted them to look Undisturbed, then coated them with that RPM stuff.
Those links have ball joint type ends. Better articulation and less slop.
I bought 4 of these.
Here you can see the difference in length.
After cutting, welding and sandblasting.
Here you can see the difference in length.
After cutting, welding and sandblasting.
If you keep it "natural" it will rust.
Less slop. You mean like a hooker with low mileage?
Thanks for the link! Looks interesting.
I never had a sway bar for any of the body styles, that wasn't your favorite color of "rust."
As far as i know they were left natural finish on the metal, then left up to mother nature to do her thing with the metal.
As far as i know they were left natural finish on the metal, then left up to mother nature to do her thing with the metal.
If you want to be "correct", then the lower control arms are natural but half dipped in cosmoline.
in 2003 after my Charger was painted, I rebuilt the front end. I had no sandblaster so I cleaned the parts and painted everything. The spindles, calipers, strut rods, steering linkage and steering box and sway bar got painted a dark gray metallic. The UCAs. LCAs, K member and torsion bars got low gloss black.
In 2022, I blasted the steering linkage, spindles, ball joints and sway bar and left them "natural" but coated with the RPM.
I'm not factory correct but have found that I don't get chipped paint since those parts are not painted.
In 2022, I blasted the steering linkage, spindles, ball joints and sway bar and left them "natural" but coated with the RPM.
I'm not factory correct but have found that I don't get chipped paint since those parts are not painted.
Moog replacement for 1972 & earlier A-Bodies below the Moog K750074
Moog K8266 replacement for 1972 and earlier A-Bodies.
New ball joint style for Ford applications. As you can see, the "business length" is a bit more than a half inch longer. It's close to a bolt-in. If the extra half inch causes interference, it can always be shortened like @Kern Dog did in post #11.
Bent looking
dibbons
Well-Known Member
I imagine factory sway bars were not painted (or if so, black). I had some left over John Deere green I used the first time. The second time I stepped things up to red (matching the Commando 273 engine paint now). I wanted to "feature" the sway bar, more so than hide it.
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dibbons
Well-Known Member
The '60's Valiants were better rallye cars than drag racers.
Yeah that was the claim to fame, pikes peak correct?
No idea on the car and year being stated here, but I can tell you with much certainty that a 1969 Sway bar on a B body was assembled with mounts and rubbers set to width and then dipped in Semi Gloss Black paint. At least from Lynch Road..
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