Paint and upholstery colors that just KILL the look of a 1930's Classic

[1937hd45]

That is a great looking color combination! Studebaker did a lot of "Stock Car" racing in that era, then went on to INDY 500 competition. 

 

[MarkV]

I spoke too soon! And it’s not a military car 

[MarkV]

Just now, MarkV said:

I spoke too soon! And it’s not a military car 

 

[JRA]

I really love this forum. Interesting to see that more I read about brown-tan-orange being a 1970s fashion in the hobby, more information I get those colors were really factory options for many cars. For sure this seems to be a taste discussion more than anything. I agree that a good factual reference is important to paint a car, but we know this information is scarce for many 1920s automobiles. I have spent lots of time researching and investigating original colors for my cars, considering I have just repainted my 1929 Marmon, and I am about to start my 1926 Studebaker, and certainly this forum is a good source of references, as well opnions. I am very happy with my color choices.

People say that we need to consider the resale moment when repainting a car, but people are different. I started in the hobby in 1999, with my 1928 Chevrolet, and never sold any of my cars, so resale may have a different importance for me.

 

[ericmac]

2 hours ago, JRA said:

I really love this forum. Interesting to see that more I read about brown-tan-orange being a 1970s fashion in the hobby, more information I get those colors were really factory options for many cars. For sure this seems to be a taste discussion more than anything. I agree that a good factual reference is important to paint a car, but we know this information is scarce for many 1920s automobiles. I have spent lots of time researching and investigating original colors for my cars, considering I have just repainted my 1929 Marmon, and I am about to start my 1926 Studebaker, and certainly this forum is a good source of references, as well opnions. I am very happy with my color choices.

People say that we need to consider the resale moment when repainting a car, but people are different. I started in the hobby in 1999, with my 1928 Chevrolet, and never sold any of my cars, so resale may have a different importance for me.

 

I couldn't agree more. After all, ideally, are you restoring your car for you or for the next guy?

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, JRA said:

People say that we need to consider the resale moment when repainting a car, but people are different. I started in the hobby in 1999, with my 1928 Chevrolet, and never sold any of my cars, so resale may have a different importance for me.

 

This my exact approach.  When I purchase a car, it's for ME, and no one else!  I don't even think about 'resale value' when I make the purchase, as I plan on keeping it a very long time.

 

Craig

[chistech]

On 11/25/2021 at 9:09 AM, chistech said:

Those colors are factory colors on many GM marques of the early thirties. In 31’, chevy had paint code 81 which was Fawn Brown, Coffee Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange for the wheels. It was production colors and not an artist rendering. So while you and others dislike it, it’s a matter of taste and it’s an original color scheme. There are many new car colors I dislike, like the old school Ford gray that they’re using again. But people are buying them so they like it. My own 31’ chevy Special Sedan is painted code 81. It is actually incorrect for a sedan as code 81 was never used on closed cars but I can tell you everyone loves the colors of my car. I have not had one person tell me they didn’t like it but of course, they could be keeping their opinion to themselves.

I should have also mentioned that while not only the color code for my car is wrong, my fenders are also not correctly painted as they should be black on the underside! It would be rightfully scored low at a VCCA show even though the car is almost immaculate and correct otherwise.

[8E45E]

4 minutes ago, chistech said:

Those colors are factory colors on many GM marques of the early thirties. In 31’, chevy had paint code 81 which was Fawn Brown, Coffee Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange for the wheels. It was production colors and not an artist rendering.  My own 31’ Chevy Special Sedan is painted code 81. It is actually incorrect for a sedan as code 81 was never used on closed cars but I can tell you everyone loves the colors of my car.  I should have also mentioned that while not only the color code for my car is wrong, my fenders are also not correctly painted as they should be black on the underside! It would be rightfully scored low at a VCCA show even though the car is almost immaculate and correct otherwise.

I have the opinion that it is not 'incorrect' for the reason Chevrolet Motor Division would bend some to honor special requests including paint colors and combinations not shown in the literature, even in 1931.  After all, Chevrolet Motor Division established the Central Office Production Order department (COPO) starting in the 1950's to handle special orders, and it continues on to this day.

 

Craig

[chistech]

5 hours ago, JRA said:

I really love this forum. Interesting to see that more I read about brown-tan-orange being a 1970s fashion in the hobby, more information I get those colors were really factory options for many cars. For sure this seems to be a taste discussion more than anything. I agree that a good factual reference is important to paint a car, but we know this information is scarce for many 1920s automobiles. I have spent lots of time researching and investigating original colors for my cars, considering I have just repainted my 1929 Marmon, and I am about to start my 1926 Studebaker, and certainly this forum is a good source of references, as well opnions. I am very happy with my color choices.

People say that we need to consider the resale moment when repainting a car, but people are different. I started in the hobby in 1999, with my 1928 Chevrolet, and never sold any of my cars, so resale may have a different importance for me.

 

There is a ton of knowledge we can get off this forum while we weed out all of everyone’s personal opinions. I agree with you on it’s being your car, your color choice, but the color has to be pleasing to the eye. That’s the way I feel about my 31’ chevy and it was never intended to be a show car. My 32’ olds, being a rare car, (we can find many discussions on the term rare in these forums!), I choose an OEM restoration. Oldsmobile in 32’ only painted the convertible roadsters in 4 different color combinations so the pickings were few. The 2-3 tone brown discussed earlier was one combination, maroon with black fenders,(there’s the black fenders again), two tone blue, (very pastel colors that look like they belong in a circus), and all black. I personally don’t like black but painted my car all black, which it was originally, but the natural wood wheels with the tan top, along with the cream saddles, pinstriping, and tons of chrome help offset the black and bring everything together as a pleasing package (there’s my opinion!). Then I added the wide whitewalls (that brings up another whole discussion on these forums, hint; opinions). Almost every original Olds sales add of 32’ shows whitewalls in the photos including every picture I’ve found of the convertible roadsters. I actually had some tell me that whitewalls shouldn’t be on my car as they weren’t offered in 32’! (That’s one of those weeds that needed pulling from the facts on these forums that I mentioned earlier.)

      When making a car to your own style, I think it really hurts the hot rod guys. One of the biggest things about building hot rods is there’s very few “original guidelines “ to follow so each car is the builder’s imagination. Sometimes it’s good, more often not so good. The hot rod guys also differ from the original cars guys by their love of the car. Many of us purchase a car with the intentions of never selling it while the hot rod guy purchases their car for the excitement of the build and performance but often become bored with the car not long after completion. I realize it’s not all but the majority I know it always seems to go the same way.  So now the car goes up for sale and the builder has a ton of money in the car and can’t understand why he can’t find anyone else who shares the same abstract point of view on color, interior, drivetrain, wheels, etc. At least when restoring an original car and using original colors, even the two-three brown color combination, a prospective buyer, if they’ve done some homework on the car, has a perspective of the colors the car came with originally. When they look at the car they at least aren’t taken aback by some gaudy color.

[chistech]

18 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

I have the opinion that it is not 'incorrect' for the reason Chevrolet Motor Division would bend some to honor special requests including paint colors and combinations not shown in the literature, even in 1931.  After all, Chevrolet Motor Division established the Central Office Production Order department (COPO) starting in the 1950's to handle special orders, and it continues on to this day.

 

Craig

Special order paint jobs were done by the dealer and not Chevrolet in the thirties. Chevy already had the largest color library for their cars of any marque in the thirties offering way more combinations and hues than anyone else. They had zero time for special orders when they were turning out over 300k cars a year. If you know of special factory painted cars from 30-31’ please list them here. I’m sure the VCCA a would like them for their data base.

[8E45E]

23 minutes ago, chistech said:

 If you know of special factory painted cars from 30-31’ please list them here. I’m sure the VCCA a would like them for their data base.

At present, I do not, but I won't claim the Oshawa plant didn't process any special orders.

 

Craig

[Larry Schramm]

10 hours ago, ericmac said:

I couldn't agree more. After all, ideally, are you restoring your car for you or for the next guy?

 

Me.  As soon as I can get running, off to tour and run the wheels off it.

 

Maybe secondary my offspring.  A couple of them I believe will get into touring.  Hopefully we will be touring together this year.

[Guest]

This one just popped up on craigslist claiming to have it's original paint.

 

[1937hd45]

Most cabs had the rates painted on the doors, and ran black wall tires. 

[bryankazmer]

16 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Most cabs had the rates painted on the doors, and ran black wall tires. 

Looks a factory color to me, and not a bad one.  I think the wheels were originally body color though.

[Graham Man]

[8E45E]

20 minutes ago, Graham Man said:

Very similar to the '56 DeSoto in Post #15 here---->  New TW--don't read unless you have Feb's already! - Studebaker Drivers Club Forum

 

Craig

[Hudsonite]

A bit off topic but this thread reminded me of an incident many years ago.  I had just moved to West Hollywood, CA in 1980 and there was a lot of hullabaloo in nearby Beverly Hills.  It seems the son of an oil-rich Saudi sheik had purchased a large mansion on Sunset Hills Blvd. it was surrounded by a large wall with classical nude cherub statues on every post.  The sheik’s son had his own ideas on decorum and ordered the genitals of all of the cherubs painted pink.  Much to the chagrin of his neighbors and the city fathers.  

[Guest]

Oh yeah, we all remember Sheik Mohammed Al Passi and his flesh toned statues.  At first it was funny... then it was weird.

Just one more reason to hate Hollywood. 😄

[Hudsonite]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:51 PM, GregLaR said:

Oh yeah, we all remember Sheik Mohammed Al Passi and his flesh toned statues.  At first it was funny... then it was weird.

Just one more reason to hate Hollywood. 😄

We don’t call it “Hollyweird” for nuthin

[alsancle]

On 12/3/2021 at 11:22 PM, Graham Man said:

 

The entire  car is that purple.   Tom was a great guy but not a great judge of colors.

[Guest]

Good grief!  Including the frame?

[mike brady]

I think it was Don Williams who started the purple craze and Don knows how to sell cars.

[zepher]

On 11/25/2021 at 6:09 AM, chistech said:

Those colors are factory colors on many GM marques of the early thirties. In 31’, chevy had paint code 81 which was Fawn Brown, Coffee Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange for the wheels. It was production colors and not an artist rendering. So while you and others dislike it, it’s a matter of taste and it’s an original color scheme. There are many new car colors I dislike, like the old school Ford gray that they’re using again. But people are buying them so they like it. My own 31’ chevy Special Sedan is painted code 81. It is actually incorrect for a sedan as code 81 was never used on closed cars but I can tell you everyone loves the colors of my car. I have not had one person tell me they didn’t like it but of course, they could be keeping their opinion to themselves.

 

Maybe I'm just very different from other classic car enthusiasts, but I happen to really like the color combination of your '31 sedan.

 

[CChinn]

My 1940 Chevy has the same or similar color combination. I get lots of compliments as well.  I liked it because it was different from the usual black cars of this period

[DLynskey]

I don't know if Norman Baker ever had a Duesenberg, but if he did, it would have been purple. Norman Baker was a notorious promoter/inventor/radio "shock jock"/ and peddler of his expensive and ineffective cancer cure during the first half of the 20th century. He always dressed in purple, orchid and lavender, frequently with a white suit. The hotel he bought for cancer treatment was decorated in those colors and he always drove purple automobiles.

 

How would one of his cars, if properly documented, fare in AACA judging? 

 

Don

[28 Chrysler]

This one was on"For Sale Not Mine"

Another left over paint car ?

[8E45E]

I wonder if anyone has a full size copy of this Essex Challenger ad.

 

It was reprinted in the Autos section of the daily newspaper to a very small reduction in size of about 2" X 3".  Not enough resolution to be able to read the text.

 

Craig 

[Jim Skelly]

[alsancle]

I don’t mind any of the Essex colors.

[jeff_a]

...

 

This is a Packard ad about plating -- I'm guessing from about 1926 --but does show a colorful paint scheme. I'll call the tints spruce needle and salmon, but I'd be fine driving it.

Edited January 12, 2022 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

5 hours ago, jeff_a said:

...

 

This is a Packard ad about plating -- I'm guessing from about 1926 --but does show a colorful paint scheme. I'll call the tints spruce needle and salmon, but I'd be fine driving it.

 

Jeff,

 

Whenever I see a staid manufacturer advertisement for a colorful version of their car I'm always skeptical they actually build or sold one  in that color.  Possible.  But I can't help but think of my friend's dad and his Reo Royale that he painted to match this advertisement.   It became a very hard car for him to sell.

 

A very desirable car that he could not give away.

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

5 hours ago, jeff_a said:

...

 

This is a Packard ad about plating -- I'm guessing from about 1926 --but does show a colorful paint scheme. I'll call the tints spruce needle and salmon, but I'd be fine driving it.

 

This is one of my favorite Packards and has a similar green-over-orange paint scheme that I find quite appealing, but understand it wouldn't be to everyone's liking:

 

[Brass is Best]

Anything silver or metallic. 

[Jim Skelly]

I remember that Royale from before it was painted that color.  I understand that Ralph Boyer spent years looking for one and the next owner had it painted in that purple color.

[58L-Y8]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

 

Jeff,

 

Whenever I see a staid manufacturer advertisement for a colorful version of their car I'm always skeptical they actually build or sold one  in that color.  Possible.  But I can't help but think of my friend's dad and his Reo Royale that he painted to match this advertisement.   It became a very hard car for him to sell.

 

A very desirable car that he could not give away.

 

 

 

AJ:

 

Frankly, it looks like they botched the color match with the advertisement.   The fenders and splash apron are dark plum, the body a medium lavender.  The beltline stripe a burnt orange, the window frieze panel the yellow-gold of the advertisement background.  The solid purple they selected was too red-range and appears to have been two-stage paint which renders visually different than single stage which would have been original.   Call it a pet peeve, but two stage paint never looks right on pre-war cars.

 

As to whether the plant ever created such a car originally, likely only for the auto shows.  Once it was off that circuit, it returned to the shop for a standard color selection repaint, found its way into a company executive's garage.  Every company had to do whatever they could to grab attention to their cars in the nadir of the Depression, even if it was circus wagon colors.  Your 8-48 Dietrich had Campbell's tomato soup red obscuring it stellar design and proportions.

 

Steve

[f.f.jones]

 

[Matt Harwood]

 

What the hell is this poor thing?

[Walt G]

Matt my friend that color is called sherbet orange , and is a special treat at state fairs, and events like wheels up landings , divorce settlements, and lard heaving contests.

I was informed of this by some knowledgeable friends who also look and contribute to these forums on a regular basis.  Will this color be on the next 1st place winner at one of the posh posh concours events this year? 

[1937hd45]

How many clowns can fit in that orange thing? Put a Pierce Arrow sticker on it and part it out!