1970 Trans Am 12-Bolt Axle Color

[William]

I'm sure they didn't intend to paint the studs but occasionally got carried away.

[Steve Shauger]

A lot of great information has been shared. There were standards (method sheets, process controls) in each gear plant. It appears as though there were variation in how paint was applied on Chevrolet, Buick, Olds, Pontiac axle assemblies....

I thought you might find this interesting. Here is a book/document from Chevrolet Engineering Center. It provides overview of the Exterior Paint Process.

[jeffschevelle]

Originally Posted by William

I'm sure they didn't intend to paint the studs but occasionally got carried away.

As I noted in the other thread, the wheel studs had some sort of sleeve (I assume cardboard or tubing) slid over them before the paint was applied, so the threads did not get painted. On low mile survivor 65-67 Chevelles you can see a donut of bare metal on the drum face around each stud, that shows where the outer diameter of the sleeve was. You can also see paint on the very end of the studs, so the sleeve was open on the outer end.

The studs were plated with a black finish to begin with, explaining why the threads also appears black in that pic.

Also note that hex shaped bare spot around one of the studs in that pic. Suggests that at that time frame (is that a 68 in the pic?) one nut was run on one stud to hold the drum on during shipping and until final assembly of the car.