Torsion bars and spings

[Doc Hubler]

The color of the torsion bars is a kind of ugly green. I've cleaned them off carefully as they had some dirt, but mostly undercoating sprayed all over them when they were new. Now, as I've removed the rear springs on my Toro along with the frame, I noticed that the rear leaf springs seem to be painted the same green color as the torsion bars. You don't notice this until you take the spring off from the axle.

has anyone else noticed this or can confirm this? I will get some good pictures and post here later to show the color comparison.

[1970w34]

I was able to match the green by just going to one of those paint chip racks, picked the closest color and brought that to the paint shop. I've asked a number of times about the springs and have not yet gotten a confirmation.

The springs on all the Toronado's I've owned (1970) SEEM to have been natural steel. I've never found any evidence of a finish on them.

[69W34]

The rear spring are a medium /battle ship eeee gray eee well s o r t of I've never seen green rear springs. The area under the rubber isolator should be very close to the original color as it is some what protected from the elements and sun light. In deference to Carmen I would have no idea why in what you have experienced rear springs being unpainted. The climate in the rust belt would be enough to warrant the factory coating everything with somethings getting better coverage than others if for no other to protect it from premature failure. 71 toros went to full frame & coil springs what ever would cause Olds decide to leave the rears to left un-coated is beyond me what is going on with 70 rear springs needs to be explored further to answer the question.

[69W34]

Here are photos of the rear springs, one can clearly see the darker gray where the rubber isolators cover the springs and the faded gray that covers the rest of the spring body. One can also see the rust in and around areas where paint/coating has been chipped.
The pins (bottom) locate position at the rear axle plate.

[1970w34]

Thanks for the pics Bill, first time I've seen any finish on a spring--though I've primarily dealt with the 1970 model.

Most of the cars I pulled apart were well used (even under the rubber cushions) and some that weren't had the whole underside painted black (the ole half-ass 1980's-90's "restoration").

What year are those springs off of?

Carmen

[69W34]

Well as it is i have two sets one from a 69 the other a 67 they appear to be identical though I have not miced either of the them. The 66 had the best suspension over all, the 67 up Olds started tweaking with both front and back suspension to reduce the so called harshness, which (in MHO is a big part of what made the 66. To my knowledge only the 70 offered a HD suspension option which included the 66 front bars and (though I don't have any good info) I would be willing to speculate the 66 rear springs too) there is though no confirmation of that however the assembily line manual may shed some light on that. Of course the shocks changed as well, one thing I could get my head around was the lack of rear sway bar. Okay admittedly front drive and reduced ass end weight but still it would not have hurt or at least offered the option.

[Doc Hubler]

Torsion Bar Spring Color 1.jpg[/attachment]well, here are my torsion bars cleaned off and the springs. In the final picture, we used a special light that is used in the paint booth. These are a gray green, if you will. Torsion bars are all original color. The coating on the rear springs was probably the same paint (makes sense since these are the major "springs" for front and back. THe rear springs, due to natural action probably tend to break up and wear off the paint over time.

Torsion Bar Spring Color 1.jpg (24.17 KiB) Viewed 12371 times

Torsion Bar Spring Color 2.jpg (19.53 KiB) Viewed 12371 times

Torsion Bar Spring Color 4.jpg (23.85 KiB) Viewed 12371 times

[Doc Hubler]

Couldn't get the final one in. It's a hard color to see or reproduce online, the the last picture in the previous post shows the torsion bar next to the spring with the spot in the center cleaned. They match. Here's the picture with the light. It is basically the same color as the torsion bar.

[1970w34]

This is great, I'm always looking to confirm the details! Looks like I'll be painting the leafs on the chassis I have going as I'd bet the 1970 is the same as the other first gens. Thanks!

Carmen

[bcroe]

The color of the torsion bars is a kind of ugly green. I've cleaned them off carefully as they had some dirt, but mostly undercoating sprayed all over them when they were new. Now, as I've removed the rear springs on my Toro along with the frame, I noticed that the rear leaf springs seem to be painted the same green color as the torsion bars. You don't notice this until you take the spring off from the axle.

has anyone else noticed this or can confirm this? I will get some good pictures and post here later to show the color comparison.

I've seen the coating on torsion bars. Must be pretty tough to survive that. Bruce Roe