Hello, paint job is done and so it´s time to think about this little item: "paint ok"
Ok let's start at the basics. This is a San Jose only thing until sometime in 67 (other styles and methods were used at other plants and later at San Jose). It was RARE that a car got stamped with PAINT OK. Instead the paint inspectors were assigned a number (so the bosses could track who was doing what and who to call if they found a car with paint problems that got past an inspector) and each was assigned a stamp with that corresponding number - ex PAINT 5
A few questions:
- Is the place at the cowl vent/inside underhood also right for San Jose 1966 ? - saw in Collector´s Originality Guide on Page 21
Never heard of the book but it is typical to find that the person inspecting the uni-body of the car placed their stamp on the passenger side of the cowl - below the hood weatherstripping and above the pinchweld, outboard of the windshield washer hole. There were a couple of other variations but this is the most widely seen type found on approx 95% of the ones we see. By 66 the font size was more uniform (two different sizes were applied in 64-65 production( and if your thinking of making your own stamp be aware that the font style is an old one and currently (to my knowledge) is not available through type setters or places that make rubber stamps.
A different stamp (different inspector - different location at the plant) was used by another inspector looking over the parts that were painted individually. These parts (headlight buckets, fenders and hood) typically were stamped by that person
- What´s the right color for the stamp by M-Code (wimbledon white) - black ?
Have never seen black used on a 64-66 San Jose car. Instead they used one of three colors the most common was a yellow.
As part of helping out I often carry one of my stamp boxes to the national shows (MCA, SAAC and Team Shelby - plus some local ones) and often stamp cars on site with the owners permission, of course.
Of course allot of people see pictures of these details in a book, magazine or at a show and they rush out to get one for there car. We see so many try and get it right or just guess
but fall short (not unusual to find inspection marks from one plant or year getting applied to a completely different car) that I started just bringing my stamps along to help owners get it right.
Hope this helps
