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WHAT IS PAINT CODE 66 FOR '57 BUICKS?


Guest Rob McDonald

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Guest Rob McDonald

'Round here, common knowledge is that 1957 Buick Paint Codes were always letters - A for Carlsbad Black, B for Castle Gray, C for Dover White, etc. First letter is the colour above the sweep spear and the second letter is what's below that line. If a third character, the letter I appears, it means Tangerine wheels were specified. That matches the painted centre of the sweep spear on most '57 Buicks.

A '57 Roadmaster 2-door Riviera model 76A has shown up with Paint Code 66. It does not have its original paint, now being finished in pale green with a white roof. It has a blue interior, which is original.

Would anyone, maybe living in Tukwila WA for instance, know what the original paint scheme would have been? Here's what the cowl tag says:

1957 MOD. 57-76A

STYLE 57-4737X

BODY No BL 82

TRIM 721

PAINT 66

ACC

There's no urgency to this, just a couple of forum buffs hunting down some Buick trivia.

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Guest Rob McDonald

DAVID, here are the 1958 colours from PPG. It includes 1957 Spring Colours, coded 57-F, 57-S, 57-U, 57-W, 57-X, and 57-Y. It also notes that the then-new acrylic enamel paints were coded with numerals, 58-1 through 58-5. At the time, this paint was replacing nitrocellulose lacquer.

So, my dear Watson, if the coupe for sale in PA was late production, as suggested by the roof spear delete, then it could have been painted with acrylic lacquer, colour 6. A single tone paint job would be Paint Code 66, as seen on this coupe's ID plate. Trouble is, PPG doesn't give us a danged colour 6!

post-59990-143139329065_thumb.jpg

Edited by Rob McDonald (see edit history)
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DAVID, here are the 1958 colours from PPG. It includes 1957 Spring Colours, coded 57-F, 57-S, 57-U, 57-W, 57-X, and 57-Y. It also notes that the then-new acrylic enamel paints were coded with numerals, 58-1 through 58-5. At the time, this paint was replacing nitrocellulose lacquer.

So, my dear Watson, if the coupe for sale in PA was late production, as suggested by the roof spear delete, then it could have been painted with acrylic lacquer, colour 6. A single tone paint job would be Paint Code 66, as seen on this coupe's ID plate. Trouble is, PPG doesn't give us a danged colour 6!

Well Mr Holmes, you may want to note that all 1957 model 76A's had only a trunk band of chrome and not rear window or roof strips from day one of production in late august of 56. Only the model 76R's had this treatment of chrome and usually a two tone paint job as the model 76As went mono tone. Really and truly the only difference between the two model lines. They did very little to create an image of having different models where it was really just tack on stuff.

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The serial number for this car is 7D3010630, with the last six being 010630. The range for Linden, NJ was 001001 to 047645, making this car 9,630 out of 46,645 built at Linden, so I wouldn't think that this is a late car. I would agree that it is probably meant to be GG.

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Guest Rob McDonald

I'm throwing in the towel on this one. Let's call this car Gigi and accept that she was dressed all in Dresden Blue the day she left Linden NJ.

As for Tiara Tops, I'll wait for TG to weigh in, if he wants. My model 73A, without roof spears, was 2-toned in Flint. Just sayin'.

Edited by Rob McDonald (see edit history)
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If you look at the 1957 order form I posted awhile ago, it says that 73A and 76A have chrome mouldings on the rear deck only.

1957 Buick Order Form, Options and Codes

I suppose the paint code could be some sort of special order color. Oldsmobile used a paint code 66 in 1957, but it was a kind of a dark pink color, so that seams unlikely.

Paint Chips 1957 Oldsmobile

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