A couple of things here that will help you avoid a few pitfalls.
The Steering Box Restoration
I had a local outfit, Lares Corp., restore the steering box. You can't do this type of thing yourself
for the price they charge, which was about $150. But if you don't communicate clearly, you end
up with this story. Since they are near where I live, close here meaning about a 45 minute
drive one way, I brought them the box, explaining that I did not want the outside of the box painted after it was rebuilt (trip #1). They typically paint them black. My thinking was that I could pull the bolts out that needed plating after I got it back, and I could paint the outside in cast iron gray myself.
After about 4 weeks, they called to say it was finished (trip #2). When they brought it out, I pulled it out of the box, and they had cleaned the iron part of the steering box in a jet washer. There was dirt still crusted on the outside. The rest of the parts on the outside looked about the same. This is a-ok if you just spray bomb it black and off you go. I was looking for a more detailed factory look.
I had them keep the box, and had them disassemble it. I picked it up all the external parts (trip #3) and took them home. I sent out the parts that needed plating, and had the box dipped in a paintstrip tank by a pro (I didn't want glass beads floating around in there at all) and glass beaded the aluminum cover. Then the box was painted cast iron gray. After I got the plated parts back, another 4 weeks or so, I went back to drop everything off (trip #4). Lares put it all together, and after a couple weeks, I went to pick it up (trip #5). It turned out very nice in the end, but not knowing how it was done, I planned it poorly and wasted a lot of time and gas.
Mark
