65 FLH King of the Highway fit and finish

[Chris Haynes]

Nuts and bolts were always plated or Parkerized, never painted

[JSB55]

Aaarrrgggh... then I've got lots of old paint to remove, and parkerizing is clearly in my future.

At least I can now figure out which finish goes where, based on the body of the bolt, assuming the former owner didn't swap very many out.

Thanks again, Chris and Ray.

[bmh]

I'm pretty sure that the pinch bolts on top as well as the mounting bolts and cups underneath were all cadmium plate. the pinch bolts can't be seen when assembeled as they are under the aluminum cover and you really gotta look to see the bolts underneath.

[Chris Haynes]

Very frustrating that Palmer doesn't go into detail on a lot of things about the 65, and his Appendix that covers various finishes completely omits the 65.

And of course, some things just aren't visible, or it's impossible to tell parkerized from painted in a black and white photo.

But somebody on here knows the correct finishes, I'm sure.

Palmer's book does not give detail on either the 1936 or the 1964. To cover those two correctly would require another book.

[rbenash]

Palmer's book does not give detail on either the 1936 or the 1964. To cover those two correctly would require another book.

Agree on that for sure! Assuming you mean 1965 though?

[Chris Haynes]

Agree on that for sure! Assuming you mean 1965 though?

Yes, 1965.

[JSB55]

Fortunately, a little encouragement from a wire brush after soaking in paint thinner was enough to get the black paint off the cad fastener heads and they shined up nicely.

Now I notice that my star covers are black, presumably because the former owner had painted them, too.

Palmer says those covers were parkerized through 1964... same for 65?

[JSB55]

hi-temp or bead blast silver?

Hi...

I've got one source that says the oil pump body and tappet blocks on my 65 FLH should be hi-temp silver, just like the cylinders, and another that says they should be closer to harley's "bead blast look" paint, which is more of a grey.

Which is correct?

Thanks!

[JSB55]

Never mind... got the answer by phone.

Thanks, guys! (you know who you are)

[Chris Haynes]

Hi...

I've got one source that says the oil pump body and tappet blocks on my 65 FLH should be hi-temp silver, just like the cylinders, and another that says they should be closer to harley's "bead blast look" paint, which is more of a grey.

Which is correct?

Thanks!

H-D didn't have bead blast gray in 1965. See the photo on the bottom of page 4 of this thread.

[JSB55]

Down to the final details (at last), but in spite of scouring Palmer regarding turn signal finish, I can't find it.

My rear turn signal bar appears to have once been polished aluminum. Or ???

The lamp bodies themselves appear to have been chrome, but the bar is a puzzle.

[Chris Haynes]

Down to the final details (at last), but in spite of scouring Palmer regarding turn signal finish, I can't find it.

My rear turn signal bar appears to have once been polished aluminum. Or ???

The lamp bodies themselves appear to have been chrome, but the bar is a puzzle.

The rear bar is bare die cast aluminum.

[JSB55]

Thanks once again, Chris. I'm going to owe you, in particular, along with a few others, buckets of beer and/or margaritas if we ever meet in person!

Unless I've lost count, there are 8 different metal finishes to deal with on this thing. Amazing.

[Chris Haynes]

Thanks once again, Chris. I'm going to owe you, in particular, along with a few others, buckets of beer and/or margaritas if we ever meet in person!

Unless I've lost count, there are 8 different metal finishes to deal with on this thing. Amazing.

Parkerizing, Cadmium, Chrome, Paint, Mild polishing, and???

[JSB55]

1. natural
2. painted same as tanks (e.g. tail lamp housing)
3. painted black
4. parkerized
5. cad plated
6. chromed
7. polished aluminum
8. stainless steel