AAR Springs, Shocks, Etc

[jjc1981]

I'm cleaning up my AAR and want to make sure I get the details right.  What color should my shocks be? 

Should the rear springs be painted? 

I know that the following two questions don't really fall into this category but hopefully you guys can help me out here.  I have read and seen conflicting things regarding the color of the underside, should it be body color, dark gray primer, or black? 

Also, the rear end should be semi gloss black, correct? 

Thanks!

[JH27N0B]

The shocks are semi gloss black.  The rear axle is semi gloss black too, though the center section on the 8-3/4 (the front part that has the gears) is cast iron with some paint daubs but not painted overall.
I ran into the same question recently about my T/A springs.  I found they can be natural or painted black.  Fortunately we found some traces of black on my original springs, so we went with that. 

[Topcat]

Reproductions are available. OEM's have a bell flared edge on the upper portion I recall.

[jjc1981]

Thanks for the information.  Does anyone know what color the underside would have been painted at the factory?

[JH27N0B]

The body was dipped in a primer and also sprayed with primer, I don't recall exactly all the steps but there may have been 3 primer steps on these cars?  The primer on the bottom was gray, and then when the car went through the paint booth overspray would cover some but not all the bottom of the car, the paint would be most thorough closest to the rocker panels and thinnest/non existant as you look closer to the driveshaft tunnel.
And also, after the car was painted they would spray blackout on some features underneath the car so they wouldn't be noticed when someone was looking at the car, things like the pinch welds and other things like that would get a black paint.  And you can't forget there was undercoating applied to, in the wheelwells and sides of the frame close to the tires.
Gets complicated!

[jordan]

I just looked at Challenger and 'Cuda mopars ebody muscle cars by Robert Genat.  On pages 31 and 32, a panther pink AAR 'Cuda shows the correct primer, and overspray as viewed from under the motor, under the floor pan, and a shot taken from the underside rear of the car.  The above statement is correct when looking at these photos.  I painted my Challenger this way, as the factory would have done it.  No paint should be on the seat bolts, brake cables or exhaust, since none of that would have been on when the car was painted at the factory.  Maybe some of the other resto guys could add their opinions as to what should be primed or painted underneath.