--hi moparts.

im restoring my 1970 e body 4 spd to its former glory. working on the outer case..its metal

my q is now that its cleaned-- what color should it be painted..tailshaft etc...or is just whatever i like (i.e black or something.)) or bare metal..

thanks moparts!

Originally they were natural/bare.

-thanks. --
-i thought there was a paint that looked like metal and helped prevent any rusting. ..

I paint mine with cast grey....You can also shoot over the paint with a light coat of cosmoline spray to give the paint a more natural look.

Paint is paint, some match the natural color of bare cast iron better than others, all help prevent rust because they cover the bare metal. Bottom line? NONE of them are "Correct".

If you want to leave it bare cast iron and keep rust away there are several metal treatments that will help but none will last forever without periodic maintenance.

I agree 100% with Scott ANY paint is not correct.....
...but it's pretty

--great input..
ok so now what works best for cleaning that metal to the level you see in those pics? media blast or sand blast? dipping it? not flaky rust just mild surface..

thanks moparts

Start with detergant/degreaser and get more aggresive as required, sandblasting would be LAST on my list. Try to keep the original surfaces as natural as possible without pitting them with blasting (especially any machined surfaces) commonly available liquid products like Ospho and Evaporust rust remover disolves rust without eating the metal. When you start removing scale and grease you'll likely find traces of the original paint markings and stamps similar to shat is on Alans restored trans, make stencil patterns of them and take ALLOT of pics and measurements before destroying them as no 2 are exactly the same.

--thanks--

This one I lightly glass bead blasted, then Krylon Satin clear for a topcoat to prevent rusting.
Made my own 603 stencil by tracing the original numbers and cutting it out of a thin sheet of rubber.