original color of front backing plates

[resq302]

Can anyone settle a debate that my dad and I are having?  We are redoing the front suspension on our 70 chally with manual drum brakes (10"brakes) and have been arguing as to what the original color of the front backing plates were.  I want to say semi flat black and dad seems to think that it was natural steel.  I know the backing plates on our rear axle are semi flat black.  Would they both be the same colors?  As in front and backs?

Thanks for everyones input.

Brian

[maxwellwedge]

All Backing Plates (front and back) are Zinc Phosphate plated. Black painted ones are wrong. The sway bar, sway bar to k-frame plates, K-frame, k-frame to rad yoke bracket, trans crossmember, torsion bars and axle housing only (8-3/4) are the only things under a Challenger that are painted black. The 8-3/4 center section is natural. Dana's are all black. Disc brake cars had black painted splash shields. I might of missed something here or there but brake backing plates are Zinc Phos. plated.

[resq302]

Thanks for the info.  I pretty much had everything else correct.  I will have to use the zinc phosphate paint from eastwood since we are going for durability since the car is being stored in one of  the cover-it garages and is exposed to humidity and moisture and anything plated or coated will started to corrode and oxidize.  I can see where it is a common mistake to paint the part the flat or semi flat black since the zinc phosphate is such a dark gray / black color.

[maxwellwedge]

10-4.

If you have any zinc phos parts spray some Mopar MP50 on them. They will stand up pretty well.