8/17/09

Here are the pics of some phosphated fasteners. The picture was taken with a flash, so keep in mind that the color is slightly darker in appearance. Also, notice that there are varying shades of color, which are a result of the type of steel and the forming process. The solution used was manganese phosphate, I have found that zinc phosphate is way too light. The solution was primed in a stainless steel pot with a pad of coarse steel wool for half-hour at 180-185F. After that, my fastener batches are left in the pot at this temperature for 15 minutes. Take everything out, rinse/brush off with water, dry off and then dump in oil for 24 hours. The pic of the finished fasteners is with some oil still on them. I'll let them drain another day or 2 before cleaning off the oil. Just as a reference, you can see what I started with!





Next up, another obscure detail. Still not sure of the answer to this, but here goes! The San Jose headlight dimmer switches used at this time in production (Jan/Feb '65) had a round top head and somewhat short cap (in comparison to other versions.) I have 2 switches from the 2 coupes and 1 from the K convertible. Unfortunately, I never thought to measure these when they came out of each car. What I have found is that 1 measures about 2" in total height while the other 2 are 1.90". They are all of the same design. Have FoMoCo on one of the plug spades and "1-5" cast into the middle section of the switch body. Of course, my curiosity got the best of me, so I checked in the assembly manual, which states there is an A & B version, but does not indicate what the difference is. The 1965 assembly manual and also the 1968 have the same notation. Checking the single year 1965 master parts catalog, there is only one dimmer switch version that was serviced, which is the -A. Nonetheless, the service parts could be several varieties. I have not seen an NOS version of these San Jose switches. My initial guess is that the longer dimmer switch is for convertibles, but I need more information to make a better ascertainment. Here's a few pics to show my findings:







Last item to share is another obscure detail. We know that 2 speed wipers were optional equipment in 65-66. We also know that the wiper motors are different for each system, as is the wiring setup. But, did you know that the mounting bracket for the motor was unique for each motor!? I certainly had never discovered this until recently. Can't say it's much of an exciting find, but interesting to know for future reference. The bracket on the left is for single speed, the one on the right for two speed.