How do I tell what color my 61 was originally?

[studiog]

Hi all! I am getting ready to strip my 61 body and I just wanted to make one last effort to see if there is a way to tell what color it was originally. The present color is badly painted white body/rough black interior. I have tried to scrape with a coin behind the passenger seat to reveal the wax pencil color marking but nothing could be seen. I had a resto. Vette body man check there too but to no avail. The body is totally bare including the dash pad which appears to be white underneath but the Vette body guy said that he thought they were all white or light colored in that area. I have looked in the trunk floor and side walls & see red as the bottom most color. The inside trunk lid is white among other colors including red. In the gas tank compartment again I see areas that look white but I can see fiberglass through some of it. In the area near where the outboard seatbelts would attach I can see shinny red areas where it looks like other paint that had been over it had worn off. Up under the dash looking through from above down through the radio speaker hole I see some flat looking red. The upper steering column also is red underneath the black. Behind the clock/heating control console mounting area some red is revealed. The kick panels are red on both sides of both panels. The inside of the cluster housing has traces of red. The interior floor doesn't seem to have any color just a gray fiberglass look. The area under where the windshield frame mounts to the body doesn't have much color but I would say it appears slightly white, no appearance of red at all. Have I missed somewhere that might definitively tell me what color the body was. Right now I would only guess it was originally red interior/ white body. Any help appreciated as usual. Thanks.

 

[61 Silver]

61 Paint

Hi!

I am also restoring a 61 and have the body 90% stripped. I used fiberglass safe chemical stripper and stripped behind the passenger seat with care and a soft rag and found the word silver. I had silver paint over spray on the floor, signs of silver paint on the inside of the fuel door, the trunk area was still silver and behind the door panel edges. The original silver paint was still under the repainted jewel blue lacquer. If it will help, I can inspect the body tomorrow and see if there are any other signs of silver paint.

 

[Larry Shermak]

Studio,
:confused It looks like you've done your homework on this one. I was lucky on wy 61, as I stripped off paint I found the original black/silver cove under the maroon paint. I also found "BLACK" printed on the panel behind the passenger seat. It was printed on an angle with a green lumber crayon. Good Luck, I've been watching the progress you have made. What did you paint you're chassis with? Larry

 

[studiog]

Hi!

I am also restoring a 61 and have the body 90% stripped. I used fiberglass safe chemical stripper and stripped behind the passenger seat with care and a soft rag and found the word silver. I had silver paint over spray on the floor, signs of silver paint on the inside of the fuel door, the trunk area was still silver and behind the door panel edges. The original silver paint was still under the repainted jewel blue lacquer. If it will help, I can inspect the body tomorrow and see if there are any other signs of silver paint.

Hi Ray, Did you by any chance remove your dash pad? If so what color was it underneath. I will try the paint remover behind the pass. seat also and see what happens. I will probably get more clues as I begin to strip layers of paint. thanks for the info.

 

[studiog]

Studio,
:confused It looks like you've done your homework on this one. I was lucky on wy 61, as I stripped off paint I found the original black/silver cove under the maroon paint. I also found "BLACK" printed on the panel behind the passenger seat. It was printed on an angle with a green lumber crayon. Good Luck, I've been watching the progress you have made. What did you paint you're chassis with? Larry

Hi Larry Thanks for your reply. Like I said to Ray I think I will find out more as i start to strip. What did you use to strip? I painted the chassis with POR 15. I am very glad I did. It is tough stuff and sticks well. I throughly wire wheeled the entire frame using 3 different wire wheels so I could get all the nooks and crannies. It actually adheres better if there is at least slight rust. On smooth metal it will need 2 coats which I did to the entire frame anyway. After painting the frame I took it to a frame shop where they wrapped chains around the frame and tweeked it back to specs. The chains didn't damage the paint! Also highly resistant to gas and oil spills which happened as I was testing my rebuilt engine. I still owe you some pics!

 

[Larry Shermak]

Studio,
I haven't stripped any paint lately, I did this 31 yrs. ago when I was still single... Back then I used regular paint stripper - it was like jelly. I have more to strip off & I'm going to try the stripper from Corvette Central. They are just 15 min. away. Also I'm getting real close to body lift. I'm going to use straps like you did, but I am making a bracket out of wood that hopefully won't put the squeeze on the body.
I thought I was going to try POR 15, then I heard the product from Eastwood was good too. Looks like I'll take your advice & use POR. Thanks

 

[studiog]

Studio,
I haven't stripped any paint lately, I did this 31 yrs. ago when I was still single... Back then I used regular paint stripper - it was like jelly. I have more to strip off & I'm going to try the stripper from Corvette Central. They are just 15 min. away. Also I'm getting real close to body lift. I'm going to use straps like you did, but I am making a bracket out of wood that hopefully won't put the squeeze on the body.
I thought I was going to try POR 15, then I heard the product from Eastwood was good too. Looks like I'll take your advice & use POR. Thanks

Larry 31 years ago I had a black 61 with silver coves. It needed motor work & paint and being young and stupid I tried to do it all at once. I soon ran out of money and time and had to sell the car. The paint product from Eastwood may be very similar to the POR 15. Good luck with your body lift.

 

[ChuckG]

Not that familiar with 61's, but another place to check for the original color written in crayon is on the trunk divider panel in the trunk. I think that this is the more common location as opposed to behind the passengers seat. I've seen "ivory" written for a white car. I've also seen "HT" if the car was supposed to have a hardtop. Chuck

 

[61 Silver]

61 Paint

Studiog



Good call!

I do have the dash pad off the 61 and I just checked for paint. The top section of the fiberglass dash panel near the windshield is painted the original sateen silver. If your dash pad has never been removed you may find the original paint there.



Ray

 

[studiog]

Studiog



Good call!

I do have the dash pad off the 61 and I just checked for paint. The top section of the fiberglass dash panel near the windshield is painted the original sateen silver. If your dash pad has never been removed you may find the original paint there.



Ray

Thanks Ray, That helps allot!

 

[Seahorse51]

color code is "ermine white #510A. It's the only white they used in '61 on the vette. Hope this helps. BTW, have you gotten your restoration kit from GM yet? It's free and contains all that info plus. Phone # is 1-800-222-1020.

 

[studiog]

color code is "ermine white #510A. It's the only white they used in '61 on the vette. Hope this helps. BTW, have you gotten your restoration kit from GM yet? It's free and contains all that info plus. Phone # is 1-800-222-1020.

Hi Seahorse,
What I am really trying to do is see if Ermine White was the original color. I had forgotten about the GM resto kits. Thanks for the reminder & the #.