The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Another color question

When my 52 chevy pick up left the factory what color were the carriage bolt heads going though the bed strips? also the color of the bolts holding on the rear fenders. and the bolts holding on the tailgate hinges and tail light brackets Thanks for your help.

Paul

Wait here for a moment, Dr. Graham will be by shortly to help you

Black on the bed bolts same as the strips and body color on the fender (clutch head) bolts.

Dr. Denny Graham (DBS/HA)
Sandwich, IL

Thanks Denny So are you saying the box was painted with the fenders bolted on. I think I read some where that the fenders were bolted on lossy and the box was assembled is this your thought too

Paul

From what I have found on my 1950, 3600, which was about 95% original, the beds would have been in stock painted in green. When they were pulled for a production order the fenders which were in e-coat, would have been bolted on and the assembly painted the color on the order. I can’t say for sure but it appears that the box assembly was painted separately as were the cab, doors, front clip and hood. Then these were assembled on the frame.
Now that is not to say that it was done the same way at each plant or during each shift, or with each crew or that each crew member performed the tasks the same. There were many variations in the way these were assembled back then.
We see many variations in the pin striping also as far as the width and the exact location. I’ve seen variations in the way the factory undercoating was applied and the way the bottom of the cabs were painted also. In short, they were not all assembled exactly alike.
Contrary to some opinions, everyone that I have had any contact with that have made a study of the AD agree that the original floors were Southern Yellow Pine and all painted black, wood, rails and bolts.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

OK Denny: let me put another way. If I took my 52 pick up to an VCCA event what would the judges except for the color of the fender bolts front panel bolts and the tail gate hinge and tail light bracket bolts. Body color? Or zinc? Or what?

Paul

Paul,
I know for certain that the entire bed assembly was painted as a unit. I'm taking my 51 apart right now and the tailgate hinges, tailgate, front bed panel, etc, were assembled before painting. All these components have just the black primer underneath, and the bolts still have some Forester green on them, therefor all the bolts should have body color paint. I'm still not certain about the fenders being attached before paint, I've got a photo around here somewhere of a new Ad pickup and it looks like the clutch head screws for the fenders are still cadmium color. When I get a little farther along in my detective work when stripping the paint, I should have a better idea.
It's also my understanding that the wood bed floor was pre-assembled before being given a coat of black paint, therefor all the 1/4" carriage bolts on the wear strips would be painted black. I haven't ascertained what the 5/16" carriage bolts on the bedside angle strips should be.
My '50 is still original paint and its' bed was Mariner Blue from the get-go. Just black primer under the blue paint.

Bob

Thanks Bob:I agree with your assessment of the bed wood being assembled before being install tightening the nut would been alot easyer. Are the side panels on your truck welded to the rear cross member on the back below the hinges they were on my and if they are on yours would indicat that the bed was assembled before painting with or without the fenders.

Paul

Paul,
In '51 they started welding the rear sill to the stake pockets. Evidently they were having problems with the sides bowing when the bed was loaded up. Supposed to be two welds, tacks really, on each side, but my 51 has a bead all the way down the rear sill where it meets the stake pocket. You can tell it was done with a stick welder at the factory.
Another little tidbit that I've never seen on a restored truck. My 50's left hand tailight/license bracket had traces of blue paint. In correspondence with an old fellow who worked at a dealer when they were new, he recalled the standard left hand bracket being body color, in other words it was attached to the bed before the whole shebang was painted. It makes sense since it requires a good electrical contact to provide a ground for the taillight. So the left bracket would be body color, and the optional right would probably be in the factory black.

Bob

Paul,
I did some more digging on my two trucks and now I'm really confused. On my '50, the entire outer bed side is blue, even under the fenders. I can slightly pry up under the fender flange and see blue, so it appears this bed was painted before the fenders were installed. Now on my 51, the entire area under the fender is black primer. This truck had an Earl Scheib job over the original paint about 35 some years ago. I sanded down some of Earls' enamel, and there's a distinct line of forester green outlining the fender. So it appears this bed was originally painted with the fenders on. How they did that is beyond me, must have had a special gun or some sort of wand they used to get under the bed rail.
Possibly different plants had different procedures, my 50 came from Kansas City, my 51 from Norwood. One of those mysteries we may never solve.

Bob

Not zinc, they would be or what!
The original clutch head bolts were bare steel.
Here are a couple of pic under the fender, make up you own mind.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2954317120098611668lsxdTU
Denny G