steering box finish

[culp71]

71 340 cuda w 727 what color finish did the steering box originally have?

[burdar]

Very cheap gloss black.  Like most of the cheap gloss black paint back then, it didn't have the high gloss that we see today.  I used SEM Trim Black for the pump, pulleys, brackets, fan and power steering box.

[culp71]

that's what I thought... but I have been seeing a lot that are painted a cast (silver-ish) color

[burdar]

The title of your post says "steering BOX finish" but you then said steering PUMP.  I assume you are talking the steering BOX?  The paint that was used flaked off very quickly.  It's easy to see why people still think they should be bare metal.  There obviously could be exceptions but black should be correct for a power box.

I thought mine was bare metal until I started cleaning it up.  I wire brushed it and sprayed it with a cast iron color years ago.  The paint didn't hold up very well so I started to redo it.  I covered the entire box with paint stripper and was surprised when I started stripping away black paint that was under the cast color.

[burdar]

This subject is still debated.  Have a very close look at your original box and refinish it the way you think it came.  After paint stripper pulled old black paint from my bare looking box, that's what side of the debate I'm on.

[culp71]

sorry for the confusion.. yes I did mean the steering BOX itself. as on my odd pump, the finish was evident that it was blk.
however the steering BOX was so rusted that any attempt to clean it did not show any trace of an underlying color of any kind.

[anlauto]

I've seen them both ways in 71....