'59 accelerator linkage original colors

[pkingco]

Hi all.

I'm wondering if anyone knows what color was used for the 1959 accelerator linkage rods, brackets, etc. I recently purchased the VCTI volume 3 OFS, and that item is not yet listed. Mine were pretty rusty, but under the rust it appeared as though the brackets had a gray or drab finish. Hard to tell. The connecting rods were too rusty to determine their original color.

[Alan H. Tast]

On page G3-14 you'll find the finishes are provided in the text. However, as you noted, the accelerator/throttle rod from the bellcrank/Z-bar to the carburetor itself is not specifically listed: that nobody's called us on this since the OFS release in 2004 astounds (and embarasses) me. The throttle rod is silver cadmium, similar to what's called out for the transmission kickdown rod.

Portion of VTCI 1958-60 OFS page G3-14 - Throttle Finishes

I'll need to flag this for revision/addition. The other thing that we need to do is add illustrations and photos of the linkage and finish colors (that's why there's the comment 'For Future Release'). That's on my 'to-do' list for photographing and looking over at the VTCI International Convention coming up in Kansas City August 10-14 for upcoming revisions with all OFS volumes, current and future, as well as a tech article for VTCI's Thunderbird Scoop magazine.

You'll find we have a LOT of information buried in the Original Factory Specifications manuals - some are highly illustrated with drawings and photos, along with part numbers for reference/identification, but there's also a lot of information in the written portions at the beginning of each section. It's an evolution of the format from when VTCA first started putting this information together in Concours Rules 50 years ago in 1972 for its first National Convention and subsequent revisions through the '70s, '80s and '90s.

[pkingco]

Ahhh, so sorry. I did read through that, but thought the reference to the coming section was different. Thanks so much.