Topic: Trap door hinge color

[jtfx6552]

Looking at most cars I see the trap door hinge color matches the interior color.

My October 29 1964 Dearborn scheduled build day FB appears to have the hinges body color, which was white, not interior color that was red. Has this been seen before?

Car has been in the family since new and while repainted once, no one ever bothered to paint in the trunk/trap door area, and I see no hint of red anywhere on the hinge. Looks like a black primer with a not quite complete covering of Wimbledon White.

[J_Speegle]

Yes trap door hinges were typically painted interior colors for 65-67 fastbacks. They were painted individually off the car.   Believe that in this case you have discovered a moment in time when the worker at the station where they were bolted to the car or to the trap door when there were no hinges there for a red interior car for a short period of time so he choose the next best option and found a color (originally painted for a white interior fastback) instead. Guess he could have chosen a pair painted a black interior car but he didn't in this case. Other possibility is that they made a mistake but this is so obvious I think it was a choice.

As far as seeing similar things I would offer that this is really rare, workers were good at making certain stations had the parts and hardware needed ready and waiting but out of say a million cars there are going to be mistakes. Would share that I have seen similar on Dearborn fastbacks built in 65 and 66 but distant from when your car was likely built so no pattern there. One was another red interior and white exterior with white (interior white) hinges and another was red hinges on a blue interior, blue exterior car.

Not sure why they didn't just paint them all the same color as they did in later years. Would have been so much easier plus its just the trunk were the standards for finish and such (like the engine compartment) was not as high as the exterior and the interior. Things like paint runs , thin or missing paint is somewhat common and were overlooked by inspectors. Likely the reason these examples slipped through or were ignored.

In any case IMHO what you found on this specific car is not the norm of something that often took place.

[jtfx6552]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Is there a consensus of what to do in situations like this? Should I paint them white as they were and have most people assume they were restored wrong, or paint them trap door color. Based on your description the bolts and clip nuts should not be painted? My clip nuts looked like P&O.

[Bob Gaines]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Is there a consensus of what to do in situations like this? Should I paint them white as they were and have most people assume they were restored wrong, or paint them trap door color. Based on your description the bolts and clip nuts should not be painted? My clip nuts looked like P&O.

Most people would not want to be "that guy" who had to explain every time about why the hinges were painted different and don't match the standard when people asked. A lot of people would not even want to ask and just assumed he restored them wrong . At least that is the general consensus from my perspective with the Mustang /Shelby crowd from my years interacting, but others could have different. Of course this boils down to a personal choice on how you want something on the car you own.

[jtfx6552]

Thank you for the response. That's what I'm thinking, that I should do it properly. After years of being here and the "don't do what you see on other (restored) cars mantra", and research what you have, this is one of the rare cases where I really could tell what the car had originally. This forum is a blessing so that I can know with some certainty that body color trap door hinges were not the Dearborn standard or time period standard and can confidently palnt them red as they should have been without being called out later.

[J_Speegle]

Yes the hardware for attaching would not be painted.  As for which direction to choose as mentioned it is your car and choice. IMHO you just have to choose what is right for you and the car. On the one hand I don't think anyone here wants to see a sea of cars all restored to look exactly like each other since we understand that is not how they looked originally when you get down and notice all the little details but at the same time do you want to replicate/reproduce a mistake? 

Both choices IMHO are valid if you've done your documentation and thought the choice through for you and your car.  Each situation is different so make your choice wisely then be comfortable with it. Making the hinges red as they should have been will eliminate the comments, questions and having to explain over and over again as well as the "that guy" or car label   as Bob mentioned 

Glad we could help and provide some information to base your choice on