Explanation to the correction


[Follow Ups] [Post Followup] [Dodge Power Wagon Forum]


Posted by Clint Dixon (Curator of Antiquities) on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 7:56PM :

In Reply to: Re:Correction to the correction posted by Clint Dixon (Curator of Antiquities) on Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 4:30PM :

I have to assume that who ever plated the lug nuts, and the rest of the plated nuts, bolts, washers, screws, and studs on the trucks, most probably also did the lock rings, provided the same vendor supplied them. The parts lists are full of hardware specified as plated in Cadmium, including the lug nuts. Some newer lug nuts on the market that fit the Power-Wagon are still found Cadmium plated. An example straight from the D-12004 parts list is found in the lug nuts: 22-05-24 NUT, Front Wheel Hub Stud, Right (S., cd-pltd., 3/4 in.-16)......585 192. The abbreviations found in the text in parenthesis are explained on page 2 of the manual: S = steel, cd-pltd = Cadmium plated. Unfortunately, the lock rings were classified as true parts rather than attaching standard parts (such as hardware) so they were not specified with a finish callout. An exception to this rule would be sheet metal and other body parts, which can be found variously, called out as prime, chrome, black, or white.

I would like to see firsthand some lock rings with a factory galvanize coating. I would bet that even when new they would look fairly rough and dull compared to Cadmium plated parts. Cadmium plated lock rings are a nice contrast against newly painted black Budd wheels. Not shiny like chrome, but with kind of a smooth satin silver/aluminum finish. I can see the logic behind using galvanized rings on military trucks under a coat of olive drab paint. Much less chance of attracting attention once the paint chipped off than if Cadmium plating were to begin showing through. But I basically know nothing about military trucks, so that line of thought is just a hunch at trying to justify a possible use of galvanized coatings.

I take apart a lot of old rusted assemblies from parts trucks. Even when hardware is rusted together so badly that parts have to be separated with a torch, I find bolt shanks that have been hidden from the elements for 50 years to still have an almost new Cadmium finish. It looks just like the finish on the nicer lock rings I have seen. Though nice lock rings (and lug nuts and other hardware) are not the norm as the Cadmium plating tended to not hold up very well to years of exposure. Rust seems to penetrate right through Cadmium plating from the inside out without any pealing or flaking of the finish, where on galvanized parts, it tends more to creep under the coating.

Now the subject of the grill color is more of an educated theory on my part and a subject that I like to bring up now and then to get people stirred up. Kind of like the frame bobbing, A-frame vs. gin pole, hyphen-no hyphens debates. Realistically, over the past 30 years I have seen but only a very small number of the total Power-Wagons produced. All that I have owned, parted out, worked on, or inspected have had remaining paint on the backside of the grills matching the original body color. Many have appeared to wear remnants of original black paint on the front side of the grill. But closer inspection of these revealed that what was seen was remaining black primer exposed after the original finish had chipped off. In all of the old black and white photos I have seen where you can tell that the cab color is something other than black, the grill appears to match in color. Others have told me that I am wrong and have not seen enough trucks so I guess I will have to label my theory a “personal preference cultivated from previous nurturing.”

Junior




Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
Message:
Optional Link
URL:
Title:
Optional Image Link
URL:


This board is powered by the Mr. Fong Device from Cyberarmy.com