Replated my BBi suspension | FerrariChat

Replated my BBi suspension

Discussion in 'Boxers/TR/M' started by dwhite, Apr 3, 2019.

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  1. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    May 30, 2003
    3,499
    Bklyn, NY/Vero Beach
    #1 dwhite, Apr 3, 2019
    Started late Jan pulling apart my suspension, finally took the car out today for a nice drive. Longest time was waiting for the plater to fit in my stuff, otherwise it is a fairly simple winter project.

    Couple thank yous to Newman for getting me the torque specs (my workshop manual is buried in storage) and answering a few questions on the correct plating- which I ignored :). I went with Cadmium over Zinc, after switching back and forth with the plater. Cad is just so much more corrosion resistant, important to as I drive the car.

    Couple after pics


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    George Vosburgh likes this.
  2. vincenzo

    vincenzo F1 Rookie

    Nov 2, 2003
    3,373
    #2 vincenzo, Apr 4, 2019
    Was OEM cad or paint on the arms?
     
  3. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    May 30, 2003
    3,499
    Bklyn, NY/Vero Beach
    #3 dwhite, Apr 4, 2019
    Yellow Zinc, which is gold as well, but can appear more shinny.

    The cad can still have the rainbow look at certain angles. Like gasoline in the ocean.

    Paint would be completely wrong.
     
    vincenzo likes this.
  4. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
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    Wade Williams
    #4 Ferrari Tech, Apr 5, 2019
    You said you went with Cad over Zinc in the first post. Which did you use? Cad or Zinc?
     
  5. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    May 30, 2003
    3,499
    Bklyn, NY/Vero Beach
    #5 dwhite, Apr 5, 2019
    I went with Cad. The zinc is actually what was from the factory. Looks wise they are close.
     
  6. John B

    John B Formula 3

    May 27, 2003
    1,564
    NJ
    #6 John B, Apr 5, 2019
    Nice!
    I have a whole box of new bushings, spacers, ball joints, hardware etc sitting in my garage waiting for me to get off my butt to do the same thing.
    I'm glad to hear it was fairly straight forward. Who did you use for plating?
     
  7. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    May 30, 2003
    3,499
    Bklyn, NY/Vero Beach
    #7 dwhite, Apr 5, 2019
    http://www.galvanizeit.com

    Very nice folks in Erie, PA. The person I was working with, Jim Engstrom, is retiring in May. Very resonable I thought. Zinc is less expensive than Cad. All my stuff was $225.

    Prep is very important, spent 2 days on everything. Started with sandblasting then wire wheeling suspension arms. Then wirewheeling all nuts, bolts, forks(hold arms to chassis), spacers and even the washers. Used a dremel with small wire brush to get into all the holes and the nooks in the suspension arms.

    My problem is I'm a bit of a perfectionist on this type thing, so I wanted every piece to look better than new.

    Well worth the effort. My suspension arms were starting to get some surface rust and that was making me nuts.
     
  8. Newman

    Newman F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner Professional Ferrari Technician

    Dec 26, 2001
    14,155
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    Newman
    #8 Newman, Apr 6, 2019
    Now to make it more correct you should get in there with the undercoat gun and slather the goo all over it like they did at the dealer when it was new :)
     
  9. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

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    Wade Williams
    #9 Ferrari Tech, Apr 8, 2019
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
     
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  10. Ferrari Tech

    Ferrari Tech Formula 3

    Mar 5, 2010
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    Wade Williams
    #10 Ferrari Tech, Apr 8, 2019
    I use yellow and clear cad as well. I keep a really nice original sample that I send and ask them to make it look like the sample. Works well for me. I use a company out of Chicago called Reliable Plating. They have served me well for many years. You are correct about the prep work. It takes a while to get the parts in great condition for a really nice finish. When you figure all of the plating on a restoration, then you can see why it cost so much to do it right. Lot of hours just cleaning and prepping.
     
    brian.s and turbo-joe like this.
  11. Ludwig

    Ludwig Formula Junior

    Mar 27, 2006
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    Ludwig Allegra
    #11 Ludwig, Apr 8, 2019
    Ferrari Tech, turbo-joe, xplodee and 1 other person like this.
  12. suicidedoors1964

    suicidedoors1964 Formula Junior

    Oct 2, 2004
    385
    #12 suicidedoors1964, May 1, 2019
    You can see the work Wade is talking about here. The work he did was amazing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j7HKaVAxYo
     
  13. Newman

    Newman F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner Professional Ferrari Technician

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    #13 Newman, May 1, 2019
    GASP! 2 point deduction for nylock nuts where castle nuts should be on the ball joints!
     
    EZORED likes this.
  14. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    34,097
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    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    #14 Rifledriver, May 1, 2019
    Last edited: May 1, 2019
    As said, the factory did use zinc. One thing that does bother me some on most suspension restorations. Yellow zinc is very variable in shade. Some looks nearly silver and some is quite yellow. Looking at a 365 or BB suspension where everything is intense yellow just looks out of place to me. They just were not that way. Like Paul tried to make his BBi manifolds new wrinkle paint imperfect, quit trying to make the yellow zinc perfect. It looks fake.

    One area this is not the case in my experience is ATE brake calipers. They were pretty consistent.

    This is one of many reasons we favor worn original over restored. Overrestoration is just a natural tendency. We love the cars partially because they are hand made with all the imperfections that implies then we try to make them look like they came out of a cookie cutter. Toyota does that magnificently. No need for us to emulate them.
     
    Newman likes this.
  15. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    34,097
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    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    #15 Rifledriver, May 1, 2019
    Let Stevie Wonder do it. The factory did.
     
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  16. 53ford

    53ford Karting

    Nov 13, 2009
    112
    #16 53ford, May 7, 2019
    Stevie Wonder...that is hilarious
     

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