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1981 2 Tone Need Help

R

RONS81

Guest
PHOENIX GRAPHIX WANTS TO REPRODUCE
STRIPES & HOOD DECAL ,STILL NEEDS
DECAL 3 COLORS OF SILVER /DARK BLUE
& SILVER/CHARCOAL HOOD DECAL
ORIGINAL DECAL WOULD BE GREAT.
LIKE FINDING NEEDLE HAYSTACK :) :)
 
two tone stripes

Ron, I'm pretty sure you will NEVER find decal kit for two tone cars I've never seen a kit availible from any aftermarket supplier,nor were they ever offered from G.M I have been wanting to paint our Beige over Bronze 81 for some time now, but the lack of the stripe kit has us dead in the water. A few painters have told me they can paint them on but, not only will it not be correct, who knows how it would come out! I wish I had a better answer for you but the 81 Two tones were just such a small number of cars that it really is hard to find items like the stripe kit. I hope your able to solve the problem, as you have a beautiful Corvette. (if you are the same Ron I parked next to at the Corvette Museum last Year!! )
Good Luck
Mike Kelly
MKR8T1@AOL.COM
 
What does the 81 two-tone look like?

My 78SA was painted by a shop and I have been very pleased with the overall results. Two tones, hood detail and pin striping was all masked/taped by hand and the results are phenominal!
Sure, it is not "correct". I think it is better!
Heidi

I think it is better because I have several clear coats over the entire paint job and there are no edges where the different paint colors meet. Sharp points on the hood pin striping, not 'pin stripe tape' coming together at a blunt point.
 
Two tone stripes

Good friend and fellow L81 owner(TAH81 - Tom) just had his 2 tone blue/charcoal painted eariler this year by a local body man. This guy does paint and body work on the side. He painted my car as well a few years back. For the stripes on Toms two tone car we used a local graphic's company to reproduce the stripes. The side stripes were not that hard to reproduce, but it took him a while to get the hood stripes done right - this guy that does the graphics is pretty picky. The end results were great and look as good as factory to me. I'm can't remember exactly what he charged Tom but I know it wasn't cheap- I'm thinking it was in the $500 range. Don't take that as a price quote, because I'm not sure of the price.

If any of you other two tone L81er's are interested, I can check with the graphics company that we used and see if he still has the layout/design on his computer and see if he would be interested in reproducing the stripes for you. I know the guys work and can say that it is top notch. He also does a lot of work for our city police dept -as well as some surrounding cities- doing the graphics on the city patrol cars and service vehicles.

Let me know if your interested and I'll see what I can do for you.

Zane
 
Ron,
I have a silver/blue 81. When I went to BG several years ago, I wanted to see what the true colors were like. I found a guy from Minn. with an original. Actually, my stripe was still partialy inside the door but the outside had been painted several times. The color was not that great. I had the car painted last year with a 2 stripe blue (lower) painted on and a little sparkle in the paint. Looks great! The original stripe was kind of green and touqouise. I may have a picture for you.
Jeff
 
Zane,

I'm interested in this stripe kit stuff. My Silver/Dark Blue needs paint, but have held off for two reasons: Money, and stripe package to duplicate original.

Will have the money thing by mid-summer, stripe kit is what I need next...

Help and information is appreciated.

Thanks,

Darrell
81Silver/Dk. Blue
 
Ron,

I'll borrow my work's camera tomorrow, and I'll send you photos on my stripe set-up. It is stock and the paint worn/bleached on some areas but, you'll get the idea how they look.
 
Darrell,

I'll get in touch with the graphics guy this week and get back with you. Zane
 
Ron,

I don't know what I was thinking (I guess that I was not thinking...:L) the two-tone has different stripe profile than the St. Louis vettes that came out with stripes.... :duh Sorry!
 
St. Louis vettes that came out with stripes
:confused

To the best of my knowledge, the St. Louis 81 cars didn't come out with stripes. Only the Bowling Green cars were two-tone and had the stripe package. Zane
 
Darrell, I talked to the graphics company today and got a price quote.

1- ready to apply hood stripe
2- rolls of side stripe vinyl

Total price of.... $355.00

This is for the hood stripes (which is a 3 layer design that they would put together and all you would have to do is lay it down as a one piece stripe) and the side stripes that include two rolls of the correct colors(one is 1/2 inch wide the other is 1/4 inch wide) that you or someone such as a body shop could lay down, following the body contours. The owner of the graphics company said that you could call him and he could talk you thru the process -- he said its not that hard just time consuming. He tried to explain it to me but lost me after a while, something about you lay down the 1/2 " stripe first then follow that up with the 1/4" stripe......

If your interested in this I could take a few pics of Tom's car and e-mail them to you to give you a better idea of this guys quality of work, or I could give you the name and number of the graphics company and you could talk to him directly. Just let me know how you want to handle it, and I'll help in anyway I can! Later Zane
 
Zane,

Thank you for your help. I'd like to see some pictures if it isn't too much trouble and I would like to have the name/number of this company too. My home email: cdjrwade@sunlitsurf.com

Once again, thank you for the kind assistance.

Darrell
81 Silver/Dk. Blue
 
To the best of my knowledge, the St. Louis 81 cars didn't come out with stripes.

Zal,

I hope that I am not mistaken. My car has the stripes, and I thought I saw a stripe kit in my assembly manual. That would be disappointing if the stripes on my Vette are aftermarket or even dealer installed....:(
 
Update...

I called Chevrolet today, and they told me that their records show no option or program available that added the pin stripe onto the Vettes back in 1981...so Zal's information seems correct, and I am just flushed with emotion...:cry....:hb....:)...:L

Now...does that mean all 1981 vettes? (my question to them was...Was the 1981 Corvette available with an option or part of an option that added stripes to the finish?)...so now what???
 
Gerry LP, Hate to say this, but if your car is a St. Louis car then your stripes are after-market. Only the Bowling Green cars came out two tone and with factory stripes.
And as far as I know, there is no major supplier(Mid- America,Ecklers,Coevette Central, etc...) that make thje original stripe kits.
I have seen them come up on e-bay on occasion, and they usually go for high dollars($500.00+) If fact, my buddy Tom found a set for his car down in - I believe - Kentucky that he just missed out on, that sold for $675.00. Kind of steep for a set of 20+ year old decals.
The way I see it is, even if yours are not factory, they are on a CORVETTE, YOUR CORVETTE, so enjoy the car and save the wave:w :Steer :upthumbs

Later, Zane:v
 
What Zane said .. you can take it to the bank ;)
 
I WANT TO THANK EVERY ONE FOR THEIR INPUT
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE STRIPES & HOOD DECAL
MADE TO ORIGINAL GM SPECS. I KNOW THEIR IS SOME
GREAT GRAPHICS COMPANY OUT THEIR.
THEY DID NOT MAKE A LOT OF THESE CARS,
BUT I THINK THEIR IS A GOOD DEMAND FOR THE STRIPES
& HOOD DECAL, DONT FORGET THEY MADE TWO TONE CARS
IN 82 ALSO
RONS 81:)
 

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