Would you paint these control arms?

[KongaMan]

I'm planning an R&R on the front end of my 64 (replace all the rubber and any hard parts that show wear, which means the control arms, knuckles, etc. are coming out.).  There's never been any cosmetic work done on the frame or undercarriage; it's a solid car and relatively clean, but there is still 50+ years of accumulation underneath.

 

Here's the question: when it's disassembled, do you give the parts the full treatment (strip them down, prime, paint, etc.) or just clean and degrease thoroughly and put them back in like that?  Not cleaning them at all is not an option, but bear in mind that everything else in the area (wheel wells, frame, etc.) will still have the patina of the daily driver it used to be.  As much as I'd like to have a completely restored frame (and the opportunity to stand over jobs that I usually lie under), it's not happening unless someone can tell me how to lift off the body and put it all back together with a total of about one day's work.  So, my choices are to selectively restore what I can or just embrace the character.

 

Whaddya think?

[RoadShark]

Assuming the car is stored somewhere dry and you don't drive it in the rain a lot, and based on what you said, I would embrace the character.

[Guest Kaber]

I usually paint the parts that are off and i have easy access to. After a couple of years back on the car, if you drive it, you won't be able to tell you painted anything! But, it will still be clean(er) and not rusty.

 

T

 

[Seafoam65]

               I would clean it up and leave the finish it has now.

[RivNut]

Embrace the character.

[RockinRiviDad]

If cleaning equals metal is left unprotected I would paint it…

[60FlatTop]

Get one of those closet door shoe racks and hang it from the garage ceiling. And squirt them.

[alini]

Lol. Embrace the character.   Of the underside of your car.   When you go to resell the car are you wanting the next owner to see a rusty worn out bottom end or a car that's been well maintained.   The character of the car is the paint finish and the interior.   Take care of the car.  Show you cared for the car by taking the time to do it right.  Does it need to be powder coated gloss black to be right . No but show you took the time to clean and put some rust prevention into your work. Simple blast with a rattle can that dries quickly is enough

[RivNut]

Give it a good cleaning.  Get it down to the surface rust.  Spray some Permatex Rust Treatment over the entire area.  The Permatex will turn the surface rust to a black finish.  That should be good enough to make any buyer know that you've taken care of everything.  Just make sure that you wear some rubber/latex gloves when you spray.  The Permatex will Permanently dye your skin.  It wears off; doesn't wash off.  Same with your clothes.  It's really good stuff, just take some precautions.

 

[EmTee]

Mrs. Daily: "Bernie -- have you seen my shoe rack?"

 

Bernie: "Um, er, no -- what's it look like?"

 

Mrs. Daily: "Well, it was that white rack on the back of the closet door with all of my shoes on it"

 

Bernie: "Hmmm, no, I don't see any white rack around here.  I'll take a look as soon as I finish painting these control arms. I'm sure it'll turn up..."

 

[70rivme]

While we are on the subject of control arms, does anyone know what control arm bumpers are interchangeable with Rivs and where to acquire them? ebay or amazon maybe. I'm doing the same job as you right now KongaMan with the control arms on my '70 and had the same thoughts on which direction to take my rebuild. Being that I drive mine regularly in the nice months and store it in the winter, I didn't want to go all out on the finish as it would really disappoint me if i scraped on something. I have cleaned mine up with a product called Evaporust which seems to work pretty decent and will go over them with a product along the lines of what Rivnut brought up in a previous post. Good luck with your project and post some pics of the end results.

[RockinRiviDad]

Here is some good info on bushings for the 1st Gen guys. Don't know if this applies to your '70

 

 

[KongaMan]

1 hour ago, RockinRiviDad said:

Here is some good info on bushings for the 1st Gen guys. Don't know if this applies to your '70

 

Speaking of which..   I called Rare Parts about this. I spoke with a guy in their tech department who said that the spacer is affixed to the center sleeve with Loctite Red.  He didn't say anything about the mechanical attachment.  It's not attached to the rubber at all.

 

In lieu of buying their bushings, a suitable spacer and a Nord-Lock washer might do an effective job of locking the sleeve of a shorter, cheaper bushing into place against the bracket.