Front and rear valance

[Charlie71rt]

Were the valances installed when E bodies were dipped in primer and painted with the rest of the car? Any body color over spray on the inside. Did they blackout the lower radiator support with the valance in the way?

 

[Charlie71rt]

anyone out there have any thoughts on my assembly line valance primer/ paint question?

 

[Katfish]

I read in the past the blackout on the front was performed by a guy in a pit as it moved through the assembly line, he sprayed upward and it was a sloppy job.

No way they painted parts and assembled later, cars were painted fully assembled.

 

[pschlosser]

Were the valances installed when E bodies were dipped in primer and painted with the rest of the car? Any body color over spray on the inside. Did they blackout the lower radiator support with the valance in the way?

I've never heard of the body parts being dipped in primer, but it makes sense the supplier (to Chrysler Assembly Plants) would choose this as the most efficient method to prepare an order of valance panels for shipment.

As Katfish has said, the bodies were painted fully assembled. The pit guy spraying the black out would be focusing on the radiator support.

Having worked a few e-bodies in original paint, I can safely say the backside of the front and rear lower valance panels had little or no body color applied. I sometimes see light surface rust, there. By light, I mean unusually little, given the age or history of the car, and compared to other areas of the car. This correlates to their having been a factory primer protecting the metal as long as it was able.

 

[Xcudame]

I believe they were dipped in primer up to the roof line. Cars without vinyl tops were primed by hand. Then the whole car was painted. Vinyl top cars pretty much got next to nothing under the vinyl top except over spray during painting. Vinyl tops were applied after paint. Besides the vinyl trapping in water, the lack of primer and paint causes the usual rust problems on vinyl top cars which seems worse than on non-vinyl top cars.

Katfish is right, the radiator yoke on bright colored cars was painted by a poor guy in a hole spraying over his head. Must have been a miserable job!

 

[floyd]

I followed advise from Resto Rick. According to him, valances were painted off the car and the backside was fully painted body color. They were blacked out partially while the other front end blackout was applied. Most had only the center area covered.

Attached pic shows how I did mine. I used SEM Trim Black.

 

[Katfish]

Will all due respect to RR, that just doesn't make any sense.
It was all about speed, why would they paint it separately and then assemble later?
Was the rear valance also painted separately, if not, why not?

Just think about the coordination involved, things were done in batches.
So they run to the storage area and grab a green valance when a green car was coming down the line?

 

[floyd]

You got me, no idea how things came down the line and through the paint booth. (honestly, not a snarky response). I’ll have to dig up pics I found of original valances. I remember seeing similar patterns on unrestored parts so went with that.

 

[Xcudame]

Found this link. Moparleo has the correct process for primer.

L

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