Cheese and trunnion

[boxcorsair]

Sorry I couldn't resist... anyway on to the point. I am continuing on the longest suspension rebuild of all time and I have cleaned up the trunnions ready for the trunnion kit when it arrives. Thing is that I have stripped all the paint off these things and they are lovely brass pieces.

I guess that they are all brass; my question is that rather than paint over these (and the little brake pipe union and other brass bit waiting to be found), how does brass cope with the elements? Obviously they wouldn't rust but would they deteriorate in anyway? I would like to keep all these little bits shiny and brassy if possible.

As an aside I have found that I have one top ball joint (top of the uprights) with a nipple and one without; any need for concern?

Thanks all :)

[npanne]

Paint? I haven't seen painted ones before. They'll wear out before the weather does any harm to them - they do tend to get a coat of oil over the outside when serviced anyway.

I think the ball joints are just different types - most these days are the sealed "no maintenance" type, but the ones with the nipple need oiling every now and then.

[boxcorsair]

Good stuff. Thanks npanne. I reckon the previous owner has painted them because everything at the front end has seen blue paint by the looks of it. It feels criminal to cover all this brass with paint.

Yeah, I have one of each of the ball joints. Will just run with it, top the other up with oil and see what dies first.

Cheers

[heraldcoupe]

The top ball joints should be greased, it's the trunnions which should be oiled.
For the record, trunnions were painted black on the early cars, but unpainted brass seems to be the norm for later cars. The brass lasts well, but the steel disc pressed into the bottom will rust to some degree - I've never seen one rust through though, so it's more of a cosmetic consideration.
Cheers,
Bill.

[Steve Cureton]

I think  read somewhere that the trunnions were painted at the factory. I could be wrong but I bet I know a man who knows.

Bill, what do you think?

Edit ... see, I told you!  :)

[heraldcoupe]

Steve_Curton wrote:

Bill, what do you think?

Ha- timing! :P

[Slimboyfat]

G11 still has it's original vertical links, and trunnions.

No evidence of the trunnions ever being painted.

[boxcorsair]

Thanks all. Grease at the top, oil at the bottom, and I might just give the little disc a coat of black paint to keep it sound. Interestingly enough when I stripped the trunnions back they were full of grease (and in the bottom of the upright). Cleaned it all out with a cotton bud, but will make sure to top up with oil instead.

Cheers :)

[heraldcoupe]

Slimboyfat wrote:

G11 still has it's original vertical links, and trunnions.

No evidence of the trunnions ever being painted.

But cars like G11 and Y128 are hardly typical of production cars, with handmade panels and other features which put them closer in detail to the pre-production vehicles. I've handled a number of Heralds from mid-1959 onwards with original black trunnions, and I've also had some new boxed Stanpart trunnions with the black finish,
Cheers,
Bill.