BB512 Winter project: Suspension & Exhaust. | FerrariChat

BB512 Winter project: Suspension & Exhaust.

Discussion in 'Boxers/TR/M' started by John B, Dec 5, 2014.

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  1. John B

    John B Formula 3

    May 27, 2003
    1,564
    NJ
    #1 John B, Dec 5, 2014
    Over the winter I plan to replace all the suspension bushings, ball joints and rod ends in my '79 BB512. Although the car feels fine, the rubber bushings are looking a little dried out and brittle. While I'm at it I'll anodize the A-arms and hardware, rebuild the shocks, re-coat the wheels and refinish the exhaust.

    A couple questions ensue.

    1) What is the proper color and texture of the factory ANSA exhaust on a BB512?
    I have seen the headers a white rough finish. Is the muffler supposed to be the same, or black? I have an excellent rough white coating on the exhaust of my Ford GT that has held up exceptionally well for 8 years and am inclined to use that same process.

    2) The A-arms?
    What is the proper color? Silver with a little gold?

    3) Wheels?
    The wheels are showing some bubbling of the paint and I might as well refinish them
    while I'm at it. As they are magnesium, what is the proper process? It obviously didn't
    work so well last time. I know aircraft with magnesium filght control surfaces use a
    special procedure / primer before applying paint. What do you guys do for the
    magnesium wheels?

    I appreciate all help and input.
     
  2. 2dinos

    2dinos F1 Rookie

    Jan 13, 2007
    2,776
    #2 2dinos, Dec 7, 2014
    1. Typical Ansa finish on new 308 systems that I purchased had black wrinkle which burned off. I opt for silver Jet-Hot because it protects the metal well, and looks good for a long time. I think they offer black??

    2. A-arms typically are gold. I think it's cad that was the original finish as it turns brown-ish over time. Gold zinc-chromate is shinier, and stays bright longer. I did my Boxer in Cad. Looks great -for now, but not excited about it getting dull brown, but it's original :)

    3. Wheels are Mg. Be verrrrry careful on these . Look up "Mil-M-45202", and DOW-17. The companies I know of that treat Mg are General Magnaplate ($$$), and TAGnite (Tech. App Group. I tried the greatest epoxy primers, and after a track day, and some heat, the finish started to fail! Bubbling, "blooming", "wormtracking" under the paint. You gotta address the Mg chemistry. I got a quote from TAGnite, and it was pretty reasonable, but I never used them for wheels. I did try TAGnite for a work project where we were analyzing Mg corrosion rates, and it was significantly better than bare Mg. Whoever you use, get cert's. This means they verify solution bath temperatures and concentrations. I had a bad experience where I paid for the DOW treatment, and it was bad so I got to re-finish my wheels again :(. I re-did using Anodite in Los Angeles 25 years ago that held numerous aerospace contracts, and did an excellent job on DOW-17, AND it was reasonable, but they no longer do this due to the chemicals involved. To start back up a DOW-17 process was 500 in chemicals (I figure, expensive but doo-able), but I would have to pay for disposal which is 5,000.

    Hope this helps. Happy Holidays!
     
  3. Cribbj

    Cribbj Formula 3

    Jan 1, 2011
    2,295
    Cooke City MT, The Coolest Small Town in America
    Full Name:
    John
    #3 Cribbj, Dec 7, 2014
  4. ferraripete

    ferraripete F1 World Champ

    Nov 5, 2003
    11,560
    san diego/charlotte
    #4 ferraripete, Dec 7, 2014
    steve is not only an artist and an authority that is so generous of his time and knowledge...he is an amazing man and father and friend. he is very missed on this site!!!
     

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