Maybe a rather sad, anoraky question re. Torsion Bar!

[Coalmossian]

If any of you have read any of my posts, then you will know that I am restoring a 1960 Traveller. Up to now you could be forgiven for thinking that I strip panels for painting and spend the rest of my time playing with the wood!
I am currently doing something that I have never done before, and that is stripping the front suspension and cleaning each component prior to painting and rebuilding. I have every component ( although I am still searching for the d/s torsion bar! ....must be somewhere but I took it off 20 years ago!)
My question is; "what colour was the torsion bar on a new Traveller?" Having scraped off a good amount of Adup Bronze Superseal, I notice that apart from being very fresh underneath, it would appear that the original finish on it was silver Paint! Would this be correct?
Also, a wee word of warning! Several months ago I bought a pair of reconditioned front kingpins/trunnions/hubs. I thought that this would save me a lot of work! However, having removed the lower trunnions from them, I noticed considerable rust and pitting on the threads! Pretty good on the top ones, but not on the lower! Looked to me as though they must have been dry of grease for a long time at some stage in their lives! The old ones off my Traveller were, on the other hand, perfect! Obviously people have different standards of "reconditioning"! Guess which ones I'll use!?
Actually, this getting to grips with mechanical bits wot I've never played wiv before is quite good fun! Wonder if I'll still be thinking that when it comes to re-assembling!?
Also, what is the best grease to use for rebuiling all this front steering and suspension?[frame][/frame].
Bit of muck and rust eh!? But hopefully not for long!

[simmitc]

Having unpacked a pair of new torsion bars from their original BMC packaging, I can confirm that they were finished in silver. The body was sprayed before fitting the suspensions, so the bars would not have been body colour. The only other likely finish would be underseal. Sounds like it's going to be a very nice car when finished.

[bmcecosse]

I use Moly grease for everything, yes - including the steering rack.

[jagnut66]

Hi,
Nothing 'sad or anoraky' about wanting to get it right, good luck to you.
Just don't make it so good that you're afraid to take it out of the garage, for fear of getting stone chips.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[Coalmossian]

Many thanks Simmitc for your help. I have since looked more carefully at the photo of the burgundy lowlight showing the front suspension, and can see it silver on that. I hope that you didn't open them especially on my behalf!! Thanks again. Re. your comment on the underseal.....aye! There's plenty of that, but then that's what's kept a lot of it so fresh for five decades!
Thanks also to bmcecosse. Moly grease is now duly ordered! Thank goodness for eBay. I can do my shopping without having to drive anywhere!
And, jagnut66, My intention is to make it as nice as I can, but I'm not interested in the concours scene. Just would like it to look like it did 5 decades ago. And as for not daring to take it out of the garage, I don't know when I will get it out!!The farmers here in this North-east corner of Scotland are a breed apart!! They're worse than Victorian mill-owners, thinking of nothing but time and money. To that end, they drive massive tractors with giant machinery up and down our wee country roads, doing untold damage to them, destroying the verges and spreading the earth all over the road. I only have to wash my Golf, drive the ten miles to Ellon and back, and if it;'s been raining, my car looks like I've been off-roading!
What ever happened to that quaint idea of pulling in and stopping while vehicles pass! Or am I living in ye olde timewarp?