[Bob Bidonde]

What follows is conjecture.



Disassembly of the rods for restoration is not practical in my opinion. At best, clean the rods and have them plated or use a rattle can of dull aluminum paint to cosmetically restore the rods. Exposing the springs to the acidic baths of plating could do some damage to them.


The repro rods I have seen have aluminum end caps in contrast to the original rods that have steel end caps.



Lets reverse engineer the manufacture of the rods to get some idea of why the rods should not be disassembled for restoration. My guess is that:
> Rods were made from rod stock that was plated with zinc /cadmium so the springs were not exposed to acidic chemical baths of plating;

> Rod stock was cut to length;
> 2 springs were slid onto the each rod, and the rod's ends were formed by forging / stamping into a half-cup shape. The end cup shape traps the springs;
> Meanwhile, the end caps were blanked (AKA stamped) from zinc / cadmium plated sheet stock. This operation gave the blank a shape that would form into the opening necessary to engage the ball fittings on the steering column, distributor advance arm and carburetor throttle;
> The springs were likely purchased and used as is. The springs may have been wound from bare or from plated wire stock;

> Next came the final assembly. The rod end with a spring went into a holding fixture. Using a die and press, the blanked end cap was formed over the rod and spring. This final assembly may have been done simultaneously on both ends of each rod.

> There is a likelihood that Ford bought the rods from a supplier ready for use.