Topic: '66 GT "A" Code (Oct 65) Metuchen Undercarriage Color?

[midlife]

Dang...to see original galvanize markings on a frame rail from a 1966 Mustang after all this time is simply amazing!

[Turnall]

Some more pictures as I continue to clean...

Allen

[tomtri66]

Just want to say this is a very cool anomaly.  I agree that you should clean it and clearcoat to preserve as is.  The pictures are the proof.  Not sure of the best method to remove the rust, I would guess chemically....  Thanks for posting this, enjoyed seeing it.

[Building 3]

I am very interested in this thread as I posted two photos of my underbody as the fourth post. I too have tried to figure out the underbody primer color without luck.  I have had at least four others look at the car on a lift and we all fail to see any red primer, black/gray primer. or slop paint.  Turnall's car was bucked on October 28, while mine was October 21. It's hard to believe that Ford could have had the underbody primer spray jets off for an entire week. Does anyone have a Metuchen car that was build around this time to help us understand what is going on? Some other possibilities: maybe Ford experimented with a primer that failed in the field soon after it was applied? maybe Ford did experiment with some cars without primer to see what would happen in the field? Nothing I can think of makes sense except that a variety of cars did not get primer, but why?  My car was shipped to the first owner in Ohio and stayed there for a period of time, then to Missouri, Nevada, California and Arizona. The second owner bought the car in Arizona in about 2002 with 22,000 miles on it. I bought the car in Arizona in 2012 with 24,000 miles.  The Ohio and Missouri winters would have been devastating on an underbody without primer.

[midlife]

Being bucked within a week or so may mean that they passed down the line on the same day (buck dates aren't the same a actual build dates).  My early January 1966 Metuchen car was very clearly painted the red oxide on the undercarriage. 

[Turnall]

In trying to figure out the best way to remove the rust from the floorpan, I have been experimenting in a small area with a few things.  The one that seems to work the best is using naval jelly, let it sit for 5-10 minutes then use a 0000 steel wool to "scrub" the rust off.  This doesn't appear to leave any marks behind and gets most of the rust.  I have comparison photos of the drivers side tunnel area before and after the cleaning.

Please let me know your thoughts...

Allen

[Building 3]

midlife;
Yes, it seems that all of the responses so far for this timeframe have been red oxide, which is also what I had though before this thread started. Maybe two cars or more got missed?

[sgl66]

Looks good but maybe to bright/polished?

I've been playing around with Pine-sol on some spare parts. I soaked a lightly rusted backing plate and outer shock tower for about an hour in a 50/50 mix of regular pine sol and water and most of the rust was gone. I did try a scotch pad after 10-15 minutes on some other parts and it definitely helped speed things up. You could try a spray bottle with 50/50 mix or full strength with a scotch pad and see if that does anything but expect Jelly may last longer.

I started another thread in the Processes area and will update that later with more findings but as far as steel, I don't see any issue. Zinc parts don't do so well so be careful around your galvanized parts if you try it or with naval jelly or whatever else you may try.

[Turnall]

Looks good but maybe to bright/polished?

I've been playing around with Pine-sol on some spare parts. I soaked a lightly rusted backing plate and outer shock tower for about an hour in a 50/50 mix of regular pine sol and water and most of the rust was gone. I did try a scotch pad after 10-15 minutes on some other parts and it definitely helped speed things up. You could try a spray bottle with 50/50 mix or full strength with a scotch pad and see if that does anything but expect Jelly may last longer.

I started another thread in the Processes area and will update that later with more findings but as far as steel, I don't see any issue. Zinc parts don't do so well so be careful around your galvanized parts if you try it or with naval jelly or whatever else you may try.

Not quite as shiney as that picture looks due to the flash and direct halogen light.  This one depicts it better...

Allen

[jwc66k]

In trying to figure out the best way to remove the rust from the floorpan, I have been experimenting in a small area with a few things.  The one that seems to work the best is using naval jelly, let it sit for 5-10 minutes then use a 0000 steel wool to "scrub" the rust off.  This doesn't appear to leave any marks behind and gets most of the rust.  I have comparison photos of the drivers side tunnel area before and after the cleaning.
Please let me know your thoughts...

I used Evaporust on a rusty chassis roll around cart following this method - https://www.evaporust.com/chassis
It worked. It involves using a spray bottle of Evaporust, a drip catching device (in my case, a 3 x 5 foot oil drip pan) and steel wool. It did take more than one application and then some spray paint. I worked my way from top on down.
Jim

[Turnall]

Thought I would post a couple of pictures of my progress.  I took the time to build a rotisserie for the Mustang to better be able to clean the undercarriage.  I'm desperately trying to keep as much of the overspray of the nightmist blue as possible (cleaning with naval jelly and 0000 steel wool).  Hopefully I will have a good picture of what the undercarriage looked like originally.

Allen

[midlife]

I take it that those drip lines on the tranny hump are from the naval jelly and not original paint?

[Turnall]

I had sprayed some evaporust on that side and when I turned the vehicle to get better access to the other side, it ran down.  So yes, drip from the rust I'm trying to remove.

It wipes right up with a damp cloth.

Allen

[Turnall]

Toying around with a suggestion that Charles made earlier in the thread.  Probably going to be the only way to make some of it look "rust free".  Found a piece of sheet metal and sprayed it a silver color and compared it to a cleaned part of the undercarriage.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Allen

[Turnall]

More pictures as I continue to clean.

Allen