Underside colors

[Bill Stoneberg]

I am replacing all my floor pans on the wagon and am wondering what color they should be when done ? The car was so rusty, dirty and neglected that there was no color that I could find when taking it apart. <BR>I also didn't see any colors on the inside of the fenders either.<BR>I would assume semi-glass black but need to know for sure.<BR>Thanks

[Jyrki]

Bill, don't have the answer but another question: did the transmission come the same color as the engine? How about the torque tube/rear axle?<BR>Can't make my mind whether to paint the rearend black or the Buick turquoise...

[BuickNut]

If they're show cars - yeah, you ought to check it out...but if they not....do what color you like. Heck, I have a chrysler blue on my '86 Ford engine !

[Bill Stoneberg]

I dont knnow about the transmision yet but the Torque tube and rear end are semi-gloss black.<BR>Yes, This will be a show car so I need the correct answer so I dont get dinged in judging.

[old-tank]

Hi Bill<BR>For BCA judging it probably matters not what color the underside is painted since the judges are not supposed to crawl under the car or use mirrors. For AACA and other nitty-gritty outfits you might check on their tech and judging forums.<BR>For what it's worth my 55's were primer(red) color on the underside with lots of body color overspray. On my CVT I duplicated the color in acrylic enamel for durability but did not duplicate the overspray. (BOO...over restored...not "correct"...but it looks nice!!)<BR>Willie

[Guest scott mich bca # 6619]

Bill,<P>My 2 cents: On my '55 the underside is undercoated. In reading the product service book, the procedure was described as if undercoaing was ordered, it was done by the dealer. The floor pans and the underside on the fenderwells were to be coated. It cautioned dealer's service people not to coat any rubber parts, exhaust etc, but a slight spray on the gas tank was permissible.<P>Very little is on the frame or driveline. Odviously, anywhere anything passed thru the firewall had a large spray of undercoating protecting those breaches. The backside of the front fenders were also undercoated.<P>I am assuming you are making a concourse quality restoration, and as long as you are not going to be driving in the rain or snow, and the car is garaged, w/ temp. and humidity control undercoating may be unnecessary.<P>Which brings me back to your original question. I can not tell on my car what color the underside is. Yes I would personaly want to paint it the proper color, <BR>and try to find out what that is.<P>There is another fellow in my chapter that has a 20k mile original '55 I will ask for you what his looks like.<P>For what it is worth, my 1959 Oldsmobile, which is also a 59k original car, without undercoating, has a white body, and most of the underside is white, except in some areas, it looks like an red-orange primer. I don't know if Olds did it different that Buick or not.<P>Scott Mich<BR>Assistant Director<BR>Chicagoland Chapter<BR>1955-76C<BR>1959 Olds SS-88

[NTX5467]

One key issue on what colors went where relates to the order of assembly of the body unit. It could be that the whole body shell was dipped in primer as later vehicles were. If that's the case, the underside should be the same color as the primer they used that year. I concur that it could be duplicated in a more modern paint of the correct gloss and such for greater durability and ease of cleaning.<P>The overspray on the underneath from where the fenders and such were painted on the vehicle is also accurate. It might not be the most neat way to do things (as perceived by some) but if that's the way the factory did it, that's the way it needs to go back for correctnes and authenticity. <P>For example, due to the build sequence and related modification sequence for the Dodge Daytona Wing Cars of the late 1960s, there were three levels of overspray on the underside of the vehicle. If they were not there, it is a judging deduction at shows where they looked at those things.<P>Also, as each plant back then was run by the division, the only good gauge to use as to what is correct would be a similar model year Buick from the same plant. Much of what went on could be specific to that particular plant and shift and workers although there was a standardized build manual for the vehicle. <P>To complicate matters further, if there was some shortage of paint from a particular supplier and they had to get something from someone else to keep the line moving, it could have been different still. Not to mention mid-year changes.<P>Perhaps a factory service body repair manual would have some specs on what paint went where in the refinishing sections? Specs with respect to approved manufacturers and their part numbers on the paint.<P>Many times, what people do when restoring their vehicles for show is not what the general public considers to be correct although it is as far as the way the vehicle was built. I've seen tons of high gloss black on GM vehicles where GM never put anytyhing by satin black paint, for example. <P>A lot of that just depends on which target audience you are playing to--the strict "as produced" people or the people who want to see the vehicle as they perceive it should be instead of as it really was back then. I do concur that modern coatings can be used provided they match the original in color, texture, and sheen. Sometimes it just takes some experimentation with available restoration paints to get things like they need to be.<P>Enjoy!<BR>NTX5467