Topic: Undercarriage Pics Needed for December '65 Dearborn Car

[drummingrocks]

I'm doing some refinishing of the underside and engine bay of my '66 fastback.  I restored the car back in 2009, and I've learned a lot since then and would like to correct a few details, especially on the underside.  The car was built December 8th, 1965, at the Dearborn plant.

I'm mainly looking for:
1. The approximate color of the red oxide used underneath (I have a few photos of the original undercarriage before the car was restored, but didn't take near enough).

2. Where to break the firewall blackout and begin transitioning to red oxide underneath.

3. Any shots of the correct overspray pattern of sound deadener in the rear wheelwells.

4. The amount of body color overspray that made it underneath the car when the body was painted.


Thanks for any help!

[J_Speegle]

First don't have a ton of examples all cleaned and photographed  of 65 Dearborn but I hope these will help

I'm doing some refinishing of the underside and engine bay of my '66 fastback.  I restored the car back in 2009, and I've learned a lot since then and would like to correct a few details, especially on the underside.  The car was built December 8th, 1965, at the Dearborn plant.

I'm mainly looking for:
1. The approximate color of the red oxide used underneath (I have a few photos of the original undercarriage before the car was restored, but didn't take near enough).

Sorry have no samples of red oxide from floor pans  from that period and plant - only black and batch.

2. Where to break the firewall blackout and begin transitioning to red oxide underneath.

No good pictures and that area is often rusty. Basically as you stand at the front of the car and shot the firewall to the bottom end (as it bends back at an angle to meet the floor pan) the black will fade and end leaving the floor color. The transition is normally in that angled area more at the top - less at the bottom

3. Any shots of the correct overspray pattern of sound deadener in the rear wheelwells.

Not really overspray of exterior color but direct application. Consider that the painter shot the fender/quarter panel lid. the pattern was much wider than th elip so all the rest of the paint 90% approx went onto the sound deadener directly around the lip. The as he passed the gun over the opening of the wheelwell all that paint (100% traveled to the rear frame rail in that opening and the sound deadener at the back of the area

4. The amount of body color overspray that made it underneath the car when the body was painted.

Here a few shots of an earlier car - looks like allot of body color under the car  from painting the rocker panel on this car (red exterior car)








Hope this helps in some way

[drummingrocks]

Jeff, thanks for the pictures, I really appreciate it!

[drummingrocks]

Sorry have no samples of red oxide from floor pans  from that period and plant - only black and batch.

Jeff, I think I do have some pictures of the original red oxide color on my floorpans before I restored the car.  It looked like the car was undercoated fairly early on, and it had helped preserve the original color underneath.  If I find the pictures I'm thinking of, I'll post them here.  It's only a small area of red oxide that was visible, so they may not even be useful.

[J_Speegle]

.  It's only a small area of red oxide that was visible, so they may not even be useful.

As long as its not the front frame rail any original color will give us another landmark that may help others in the future.

[drummingrocks]

Jeff, after looking at my pictures, I'm not sure that the car wasn't originally black underneath.  It's hard to tell for sure, but the more I look, the more I think that what I was seeing as red oxide was actually body color Vintage Burgundy overspray.  Maybe the car wasn't undercoated, and what I was thinking was actually black paint on the undercarriage.  Keep in mind that in that first photo, the car has already had a one-piece floorpan installed, so that's actually black e-coat.  From the transition pan back under the rear seat area is still original and untouched, however.

Would you care to take a look and see what you think?  Thanks, I know these pictures aren't the greatest, but they're all I took before restoring the car.  I'm also enclosing two pictures of the engine bay.  These were taken before anything was touched on the engine bay--Hopefully these will be helpful for someone else in the future.

[J_Speegle]

Looking at the rear shock upper mount and the back side of that it appears (angle is odd to be sure) more of a dark batch to black. I'm ignoring the under rear seat panel area since it has a reddish or purple tint likely due to some body color overspray and angle

[drummingrocks]

Looking at the rear shock upper mount and the back side of that it appears (angle is odd to be sure) more of a dark batch to black. I'm ignoring the under rear seat panel area since it has a reddish or purple tint likely due to some body color overspray and angle

Thanks for the help.  Black, or at least a darker batch color, is what I was leaning towards too.  Is it possible to speculate what kind of sheen the black might've been?  What have you seen in your travels?

[J_Speegle]

..............  Is it possible to speculate what kind of sheen the black might've been?  What have you seen in your travels?

Shinny as exterior color - any overspray (the light faded part not the direct) softens it (dulls it) in those areas