Static Collectors

[Bo Dillingham]

I'm putting a formerly abused 65 together, and just found out that they have something called "Static Collectors" inside the dust caps.

What are they, and do I really need them?

As usual, Thanks for your help,
Bo

 

[67HEAVEN]

I'm putting a formerly abused 65 together, and just found out that they have something called "Static Collectors" inside the dust caps.

What are they, and do I really need them?

As usual, Thanks for your help,
Bo

Bo,

They were part of the attempt at minimizing AM radio noise. Most mechanics disgarded them when greasing the front bearings.

I think it's a rare non-NCRS car that will have them after all these years.

 

[Bo Dillingham]

Thank you very much; I had a feeling it was just that, but it doesn't hurt to ask, and I always get the right answers at CAC.

Bo

 

[Mac]

I remember the first time I saw static collectors... bizarre!! I tried to find a picture but I couldn't find one. They're useless, as far as I've heard, but an interesting idea. Hard to imagine what entered the mind of the engineer who dreamed them up.

-Mac

 

[Bo Dillingham]

Mac,

Not that it's important, but there is an orthogonal sketch of the static collector in the "Corvette Central" catalogue in the front suspension section. It is not, however, clear enough to give away its secret function.

Bo

 

[Mac]

They went on like a washer between the bearing and the crown nut. How they were supposed to collect or prevent static is entirely beyond my comprehension.

-Mac

 

[JohnZ]

They were pressed into the dust cap at the assembly plant on cars with radios; the thinking at the time was that they would provide a static ground path from the spindle to the hub, which were separated by the greased wheel bearings, whose motion was thought to generate static electricity. The outer periphery of the device contacted the inside of the dust cap, and the brass "tit" in the middle contacted the end of the spindle to provide the ground path. They disappeared in the 70's when FM became the dominant radio mode.

On Corvairs, they served a dual purpose, and every car got one on the left side whether it had a radio or not - the "collector" on that side had a square hole in the "tit", which engaged the speedo cable (which came through a hole drilled through the center of the left side spindle) and drove the cable.