Mopar Engine Detailing

Your engine compartment--it's the heartbeat of your musclecar. It's the focal point of what your car is all about. It's the "muscle" in musclecar, and it's what everyone wants to see when they inquire about your car. No wonder we feel such a drive to make the engine compartment look just right. But how are those fender bolts, or that little box on the firewall, or even the master cylinder supposed to look? Especially with Mopars, there is some conflicting information.

We've spent some time with two top Mopar restoration experts, John Grinwald and Jerry Schmidt. Having won numerous Best-of-Show trophies from the Mopar Nationals with partner Rich Berlisk, John has become a Mopar Nationals judge. Grinwald's "Gold Certified" Bright Green Metallic 1969-1/2 Super Bee went through five years of research and restoration before winning "Best of Show" at the 1994 Mopar Nationals. Grinwald and Berlisk also operate a sideline business, Almost NOS, supplying restoration parts that they needed but couldn't find. Jerry Schmidt operates Concours Creations, a unique restoration service specializing in correctly and meticulously replating and rebuilding engine compartment and body components.

This engine compartment is representative of a late-1960s to early-1970s Mopar, since paint and plating are very similar among V-8 Mopars. Some details on your engine may differ. When trying to determine the original finish, hunt for clues, or as John says, "Be a detective!" Most parts have a protected area--maybe under the bolt head or where it contacted another part--that has the original paint or plating well preserved. If you're interested in restoring (or re-restoring) your Mopar engine compartment, you couldn't start in a better place.

Silver Zinc
Frequently confused with silver cadmium, silver zinc is, of course, silver in appearance with a slight bluish tint, similar to silver spray paint. Typically found on small nuts, bolts, washers and fasteners, distributor hold down, coil brackets, carb, and transmission linkages. Jerry Schmidt says that in 1966, Chrysler began phasing out use of silver cadmium in favor of the more durable silver zinc, and no silver cadmium was used after 1967.

Phosphate
A rust-preventative plating used to extend shelf life. It deteriorates soon after exposure to the weather. Schmidt usually recommends replacing phosphate with similar-looking, more-durable black zinc. An alternative is to zinc plate for protection, then phosphate coat for a 100-percent-correct appearance.

Zinc Dichromate
Yellow/gold in appearance, with a mild rainbow effect. Found on the windshield wiper motor, windshield washer pump motor cover, master cylinder cover, heater box screws, starter relay, and horn relay (on early cars).

Black Zinc
A dark, low-gloss finish. Typically found on hood latch, and catch and release assemblies. Schmidt says there is some well-placed misinformation that these parts were phosphate-coated from the factory. "They absolutely were never phosphated from the factory," Schmidt stresses. Customers have asked him to phosphate coat the parts to conform to show judges' mistaken understanding, but Schmidt refuses, not wanting to participate in what he believes is a restoration error.

Money-Saving Tip
Disassemble your carburetor and break it down into groups of parts requiring the same plating--one bag of parts to get zinc dichromate, one for phosphate, one for silver zinc, and so on. Asking the shop to do your disassembly will cost more money.