@Greg Kalmes posted:I started working on my suspension this week with the hope of getting it done in time to put this car back on the ground by springtime. This Mangusta has not been on it's wheels since the previous owner bought it over 20 years ago. First I reinforced the front lower control arms more or less the way DeTomaso did on later production cars. There were some additional reinforcements done on these arms by someone else but they looked even sturdier than factory so I left them alone. Then as I was sandblasting the components in preparation for painting I noticed evidence of some kind of plating on the parts so I decided to go that way instead. I am going to have them plated in gold zinc which may not be correct but will provide a nice contrast.
I got the suspension back from the plater this week. Everything came out great looking but there was a problem with the lower control arms. The arms had too many pinholes and pits in the factory welds and every time they attempted to plate them the cleaning solution that had collected in the pits would drip out and ruin the plating. I have a solution to that problem that I am going to try and I will let everyone know how that comes out.