Who painted the Murray and Briggs bodied cars?

Does anyone know who painted the Murray and Briggs bodied cars?

Were they delivered to Ford painted or in primer?

Were the hoods painted at the same time as the bodies?

Or if the bodies were delivered already painted, were the hoods painted separately by Ford?

If painted by Murray or Briggs, were they striped by them or by Ford after the car was assembled?

If painted by Murray and Briggs, were they delivered already trimmed out, i.e., complete with headliner,

door panels, etc.

Just curious.

Steve,

Good question! From what I have read the Briggs and Murray bodies differed in many ways including the shape of the garnish mouldings and the available trim. I have seen one photo showing a 1930 Briggs 3 window sedan body on a cart ready for shipment stating that the body is assembled and trimmed at the plant and shipped complete. It is also painted but does not carry the pinstripe. I must assume then, that at least, the Briggs bodies where shipped ready to be installed at the assembly line. I have seen photos of the Ford paint lines showing the bodies, hoods and windshield frames being painted at the same time to insure color consistency so I would imagine that a body prepared by Briggs or Murray would have all it's painted components done at the same time and shipped as a complete unit. I have read another article stating that the plants that received completed bodies did the final color coat at the plant along with the hood and other components to insure paint consistency. I have seen a photo of the final buffing line showing the painted bodies had their interiors installed prior to final buffing. One book claimed that the bodies were striped after the final paint had dried but before the polishing operation. The bodies shown in the final polish line photo do not appear to have their pinstripes applied yet. The Briggs and Murray bodies may have been striped at a later time in the assembly operation or at the final paint and polish. I don't know if every assembly plant followed the same routine but I think there is enough evidence to suggest that some assembly procedures may have differed between plants. I do know that bodies marked for export were usually shipped primed with the other parts and interiors packaged with the bodies.

I hope this helps answer your question and I don't pretend to have all the answer or the correct ones; I just glean some info from different source books. Maybe someone will have more accurate info for you. Jim

Okay. All of that makes sense. Thanks.