Topic: trying to work out what color my car might be

[2V8s]

Hi all,

someone sent me a link to this forum - its great, as Im very keen on originality and maintaining and restoring my '67 Mustang convertible that I bought in October last year, though Im not looking to get it concours as such.

I'm still "getting to know" my car, but luckily I do have a good amount of early history with it, and I have had a deluxe Marti report that shows everything seems to match, door data plate and vin all correct etc.

But one thing is puzzling me. The color.

I have made contact with the previous owner who had the car 15 yrs in California, who is pretty sure its 90% original, never fully restored as such, just paint touch ups and stuff like that here and there, though Im not so sure but then Im no expert. He thinks the color is Silver Frost

The car is a San Jose built (Jan 1967) 289 C code auto with power steering, power hood, centre console and a few other bits and bobs.

But it has no color code on the data plate, and the marti report shows it as a special order paint - Ford # unknown. The DSO was for West side of Canada DSO B7 as a special order 7134.

Order type - Fleet
DSO item 7A31
Dealer B70126 Musgrove Ford Sales, Vancouver.

The car does indeed look like it could be Silver Frost but I havnt yet found someone in the UK to compare it to. But if this is the case, and that was a standard 67 color option, why would it not be paint code 4 on the data plate and Ford records?

Any help appreciated, also I dont really understand the order type and DSO item references.

I have the waranty plate, warranty cards and service history for the 1st 4 years and original owners name and address etc, original supplied documents and manual, but no order sheet as such and I have not found a build sheet in the car though I have read this was very rare in San Jose factory to leave them? If I could find the original owner that would be ace but Ive done a search and so far no luck, plus this supplying dealer doesnt seem to exist any more.

I cant find any particular sign that the cae has ever been any other colour than some kind of silvery grey - probably the only bit that slightly differs is under the sill tread plates which is slightly darker towards grey, but maybe after 40+ years out of sunlight it may be normal for it to have faded or dulled? have attached a photo of this but its hard to see.

I have some photos attached, let me know if this isnt the best way as Im new to this forum.

I know from reading other threads on here an elsewhere it can be virtually impossible to ever know - but maybe from the photos etc you experts may be able to spot something! or at least if it looks to be Silver frost, or if there was any other similar ford color it could have been. Could the darker silver grey of 1965 have been an option to use in 67 for example? I also wondered what the Lincoln 67 silvery grey / platinum colour was like.

it was aparently built Jan 30th 1967, 13 days behind schedule.

Many thanks!

Aaron

 

[67gta289]

I suggest that you start by catching up on previous posts on the same topic.  Go to "search" and look for the words "special order".  You will find a lot of good information.  I think that the short answer is two fold, (1) it was "cheap and easy" to special order any other 1967 Ford paint such as but not limited to the T-bird colors (so the answer is probably "no" to your question about using a 1965 color/colour ), and (2) there are no know records of what paint color was used for these special orders.  You can search the web for 1967 Ford Ditzler colors, all models, then compare to the door sill area and in the trunk.  I suspect that you will find what you are looking for.  Good luck, John.

[J_Speegle]

Have had a number of Special paint cars so let me try (though looking at past discussions will help you along

...............................
I know from reading other threads on here an elsewhere it can be virtually impossible to ever know - but maybe from the photos etc you experts may be able to spot something! or at least if it looks to be Silver frost, or if there was any other similar ford color it could have been. Could the darker silver grey of 1965 have been an option to use in 67 for example?

Its not about being an option since if it was the original owner would not have had to special order the car (blank door tag at the color and the special DSO)


For special order paints there was no color (well within limits) limitations. First the sales man would try and steer the buyer to a color currently being used on another Ford line (Merc or Lincoln would work)  and if that did not work then one of the chips out of the Fleet Paint Chips book

Not (most didn't) all of the colors in the book would have any "official " name just a code that the plant could relate to

I also wondered what the Lincoln 67 silvery grey / platinum colour was like.

The color (if the digital pictures are correct and my monitor settings are the same as the cameras - they are not) it looks slightly darker than the silver frost. You need to find a way you can send a part of the car with a good sample of the original color (not the repaint) to someone that has a Fleet Color Chip book - that would at least give you the paint code

[Pete Bush]

Aaron,

You might try looking through this website http://www.tcpglobal.com/autocolorlibrary/
They have some color cards for 1967 as well as the years before and after that. You can also look at the  Lincoln and Mercury cards to see if there's anything close. If you can't find it this way, you may have no choice but to find someone with a a fleet color book (picture attached) as Jeff suggests.

There were essentially three basic order types (some of which got broken down more specifically): Retail, Stock, and Fleet. Retail was a car ordered by a specific customer. Stock was a car ordered by a dealer for re-sale. And Fleet was a multiple car order, or a multiple car customer. If your car was a Fleet order, it may have been one of several cars in the order - perhaps all with this special paint treatment. Fleet might also mean a single car order going to some corporate client such as Coke or Pepsi, who might have ordered multiple vehicles throughout the course of the year with standing instructions on colors or options.

The term DSO Item 7A31 is unfamiliar to me. I would have thought the B7 7134 would have referenced the special order item number.

[CharlesTurner]

Agree with Jeff about it probably not being Silver Frost.  The picture of the door jamb shows a silver with a pinkish hue.

[J_Speegle]

............. The picture of the door jamb shows a silver with a pinkish hue.

It appears that the car has been repainted so most of what we are seeing was the last guys attempt at getting something close (notice the overspray/tape line on the weatherstrip and the painted door latch screws)

The is an area just below the door tag (looks like they left it in place when painting) there is a shadow of what might be the original color (tone/tint different shown slightly in the picture below that one) appears slighty darker to me

[CharlesTurner]

I was actually referring to the pic that shows the area covered by the sill plate... looks like undisturbed original paint under there...

[2V8s]

Thanks for all your replies,

yes so far the only sign of a slightly different color is that area under the sill plate. Everywhere else seems the same as the exterior color or at least to my eye under garage lighting it does - I could check under the door tag but wouldnt want to remove it if the rivets are original.

it would be great to find someone in the UK with that Fleet Paint chips book but I think that would be virtually impossible as these cars were never sold here all are imported and reasonably rare compared to the US.

I did have a look on ebay though and found an original 67 ford paint chips sheet for the main colors, so I have bought it - at least that will give me some idea of the silver frost color compared to the current exterior and also to the inner sill color.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350084808098&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Seems odd to me though if the car has been fully resprayed at some point that they would have done such a through job everywhere but then not bothered to remove the sill tread plates.

I did find this interesting car colour though that is kind a purply silver but i think that is a stronger color to the one under the sill plate...

http://mustangattitude.com/mustang/1967/1967_00012_01.shtml

heres another pic of the inside showing what seems to be original style overspray onto red oxide color. Also - anyone know if the other pic with the black sound deadening is likely aftermarket or factory fit? the carpet also has a jute material glued to it



Ohh - sorry just looked again at a shot I took the other night of the rear quarter with open boot and maybe infact the under side of boot is a slightly different colour similar to the paint under the sill finisher and could be the original color?






 

[J_Speegle]

..................... Seems odd to me though if the car has been fully resprayed at some point that they would have done such a through job everywhere but then not bothered to remove the sill tread plates.

Painters do allot of odd things to cut corners - IMHO don't waste allot of time wondering why a previous owner did something - things often just can't be understood

heres another pic of the inside showing what seems to be original style overspray onto red oxide color. Also - anyone know if the other pic with the black sound deadening is likely aftermarket or factory fit? the carpet also has a jute material glued to it

The black deadener under the carpet (seat seat foot area of the floor in the picture) appears to be aftermarket

Ohh - sorry just looked again at a shot I took the other night of the rear quarter with open boot and maybe infact the under side of boot is a slightly different colour similar to the paint under the sill finisher and could be the original color?

The surface behind the rear seat looks like it may not have been resprayed (only you can tell)  IF it looks similar to what is under the sill plate it could be the same - Might want to sand through a small hidden area to see what lays under it (factory primer - or another layer of silver color)

[2V8s]

Hi,

here's a better pic of the rear seat upright, it does appear to be the same colour as under the sill plate.

I got my color chips sheet and it does appear the current exterior is liklely to be Frost Silver but the original color was not - like you say a slightly pinkish/purply/bluey hue but still some kind of variation on silver.

Notice the paint run top left in the pic.

Now I have opened the roof I can see the color difference more clearly, but still under false light. So when i get the car back on its wheels and outside in day light it'll be great to get an idea of the cars original color, plus I'll then take it to a paint shop with a color scanner machine and see if they can identify what special color it might have been (im assuming its a WT paint code)

[CharlesTurner]

Remove the rear inner quarter trim pieces.  Sometimes there is some decent original paint areas on the top surfaces.  Also, if you remove the windshield and dash pad, it should reveal near perfect original paint areas.  The A-pillars usually have a decent coating of paint on them.  Judging by the original condition of the rear seat area, I'm guessing the rest of the car hasn't been totally disassembled at any time in the past.

Be sure to check the Mercury/Lincoln colors from the time period to compare also.

[2V8s]

thanks, yes and Im also investigating if this Silver Mink color could have been used:

http://mustangattitude.com/mustang/silver_mustang.shtml

under the section - Silver Mink 1966 Anniversary Limited Edition Mustang

http://mustangattitude.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?type=sample&ditzler=12751&syear=1964&smanuf=Ford&smodel=Thunderbird

[CharlesTurner]

It's funny you mention "Silver Mink", that's the first color name that popped into my head when I first saw the original paint sample in your door sill area.

[Pete Bush]

Interesting advertisement. I wonder if they're referring to a Sprint?

[2V8s]

well I think I may well have likely color now, not Silver Mink, but a 1966 Thunderbird & Lincoln color - Silver Rose. From my finding thus far this is a very likely candidate.

Here is a color chips chart with this color on it:

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/chipdisplay.cgi?year=1966&manuf=Ford&smodel=Thunderbird&info=&page=2

Here is another mustang in this special order color, with blank entry on the dataplate, though the paintwork is very faded. But the color tint is quite subtle and appers silver on the face of it, which is very similar to what I see on my car

http://mustangclassifieds.com/mustang-4112.html

the ford color code is M1920