Can Anyone Translate 1930 Paint Codes

[hursst]

I asked this question last year and no one had an answer, so I'll try again to see if anyone has new info. I have a 1930 30U Roadster. I sent away to Chrysler Historical to get a copy of my build card. The build card has a paint code of 8236. does anyone know what this translates into? Thanks for any information.

[ply33]

I've been looking for the definition of paint and upholstery trim codes for pre-1934 Plymouths for quite some time. I don't think they exist anywhere.

For '33 I think I've deduced a couple by comparing the numbers on build cards to original paint and/or interiors and those seem to match up with the general scheme used in the later '30s. However I haven't got anything for codes on the '28 through '32 Plymouths.

If you do come up with some, please let me know so that I can add them to my web site.

[Guest chopped50]

Have you tried taking these number to the local auto paint&body shop supply? I know the people that run the business in the town I live in are very knowledgeable and may be able to help track down what the numbers mean.

[Restorer32]

Call the Ditzler/PPg Color Library at 800-647-6050. If anyone can help you it will be them.

[hursst]

Thanks for the advice Chopped and Restorer. I will try calling Ditzler/PPG and my local body shop soon...

[Guest DodgeKCL]

The Chrysler clubs have long thought that you could only have a Chrysler factory color on your CPDD vehicle. This is not true. Outside paints could be brought into the Chrysler factory and put on your new vehicle if you wanted it. I know of a run of 10 vans that were painted in an outside non Chrysler paint color that belonged to a Canadian company's livery. It's just MAYBE that your 30U was painted with an outside paint. I see the code 8236 comes up much later as Apache Red for Studebaker and also for as an Iced Silver. But much later. But Plymouth painted several cars red in those years as an advertisemnet and put mirrored one way glass on them. But I believe they were all sedans none were roadsters that I know of.

[hursst]

I called PPG and they don't know, either. Thanks for all the tips and thoughts. Maybe it was an outside paint?

[Chrycoman]

The Chrysler clubs have long thought that you could only have a Chrysler factory color on your CPDD vehicle. This is not true. Outside paints could be brought into the Chrysler factory and put on your new vehicle if you wanted it. I know of a run of 10 vans that were painted in an outside non Chrysler paint color that belonged to a Canadian company's livery. It's just MAYBE that your 30U was painted with an outside paint. I see the code 8236 comes up much later as Apache Red for Studebaker and also for as an Iced Silver. But much later. But Plymouth painted several cars red in those years as an advertisemnet and put mirrored one way glass on them. But I believe they were all sedans none were roadsters that I know of.

I am surprised Chysler clubs had that attitude. All manufacturers over the years have painted cars and trucks in the corporate colours of the customer, at extra cost of course. In Canada both CIL and DuPont stocked paints for hundreds of companies, utilities, departments of various levels of govenment (municipal, provincial, federal) and government owned companies. In the case of Chrysler, during the period the paint codes on the cars used the AAA or AAN code layout, 999 was used for special paint jobs. Chrysler of Canada used codes 501 through 999 each year from 1957 through 1965 for special paint jobs. Unfortunately those codes were never released to the public. Studebaker did much the same with its paint codes, using numbers above the factory offerings for special jobs. Again, these numbers were only used at the assembly plant.

Do not assume that the paint code used by one manufacturer is the same colour for the same code used by another manufacturer. You might be in for a big surprise. And the codes quoted by car manufacturers are not the paint codes used by the paint manufacturers. Codes such as Studebakers 8236 was assigned by Studebaker to a particular colour used on a Studebaker product and has no relation to an 8236 used by another car or paint manufacturer. And to complicate matters, codes were assigned to different colours in different years by car companies. Many people like Mopar B5 blue, but very few know there was more than one shade of B5 blue over the years.

In the case of Plymouth and 8236, it was more than likely a production colour. Unfortunately for us, Chrysler did not start to share its paint codes with dealers and paint companies until 1933. Prior to that the codes apparently were basically used only in the assembly plant. And in the U.S. Chrysler did not start recording the paint code on the car itself until the late 1940s for Chrysler and the mid-1950s for Plymouth. Chrysler of Canada started recording the paint code on the car as early as 1935.

So, given the fact that the paint codes prior to 1933 were not released for public use and Chrysler Historical does not have records on the codes, somehow or another it will be necssary to track down engineering department records of paint codes and the colours assigned to those codes. I have no illusions on the matter, however - I sincerely believe those documents are long gone.

[Rusty_OToole]

If you can find a patch of the original paint anywhere on the car, it can be matched. Glove box door, firewall, or a spot where a fender or other part bolted on and protected the paint. Sometimes you can strip off old paint jobs down to the original and polish it up. Or, once you know what color it was you may be able to find it on an old color chart.

[Guest Lynn Wicker]

If you can find a patch of the original paint anywhere on the car, it can be matched. Glove box door, firewall, or a spot where a fender or other part bolted on and protected the paint. Sometimes you can strip off old paint jobs down to the original and polish it up. Or, once you know what color it was you may be able to find it on an old color chart.

Good call Rusty_OToole. I worked for a BASF (RM and Glasurit and Limco paint brands) for 24 years and this situation came up often. The solution we had that seemed most effective was to use these sprayed out decks called "Color Max" decks that have thousands of actual sprayouts that can be compared to your sample and then it is a simple matter of looking up a paint formula in their data base at a autobody supply store that offers BASF paint products and has the Color Max decks. Also available for antique auto formulas is an Antique Color Chips cd offering color chips from 1936 to 1972. You may have to contact the local BASF rep. to get a copy. It won't help in this case but it might help somebody out there.