Technical Edelbrock SBC Intake Finish - C357

I'm in the process of restoring an original Edelbrock C357 3x2 SBC intake back to 1962. It will have a original set of '57 Olds J2 3x2 carbs and mount on a period correct '62 300 hp 327. What was the original finish when this manifold left Edelbrock?

I have an NOS C4B intake that has a original gray almost like primer finish. It appears Edelbrock dipped the manifold prior to the machine work. All machined areas are bright natural aluminum. Were all the original early SBC intakes coated this way? I've never seen another C4B, C3B, C357, or C26 original or NOS with this finish.

@Moriarity - you're the resident SBC speed equipment expert. Do you have any documentation on how the early sbc parts looked?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

are you sure it's coated? Seems to me it would be naturally occurring aluminum oxide....which looks quite different when it is on a raw cast area, vs a machined area.

 

Looking at it the non machined areas have a uniform color and texture so I assumed some coating. If there was any oxide I'd assume the original machined area would have it as well.

 

Raw cast aluminum oxidize's more than smooth machined aluminum.

 

Ok... That's what I needed to know. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Yup, just oxide.

I make cast-appearing parts out of billet 6061, with large radius corners, and then blast the non-mating surfaces with 80-grit.

Once treated with mildly-acidic tile cleaner (artificial aging), it looks exactly like that.

 

can you recommend a tile cleaner to use? Something like Tilex?

 

About any tile/grout/concrete cleaner will work. Just search for mildly acidic tile cleaner for what you can get in your area.

I use B2B stuff from Skillcraft ECO, because I designed and built the factory that makes it, and I get it for free.

https://www.myriadgreeyn.com/Produc...ncentrate--2-L-Bottle--4Pack__NSN7148379.aspx

Not sure that an individual can buy it. It might look spendy, but that price is for a 4-pack, that is a concentrate. The mix is 40:1. Each bottle is 2L, so the case makes 320L, which is almost 84-gallons!

Here's the PDF of the MSDS sheet, that indicates the composition, so you can compare the ingredients.

http://content.oppictures.com/Master_Images/Master_PDF_Files/nsn7148379_sds.pdf

 

This pruned 4-71 is a combination of 75-year-old used cast parts, 60-year-old NOS cast parts, new cast parts, and new 6061 billet.




You tell me which is which.