paint code for 59

[jose]

I found on a previous thread the place where the colour code was on a 59 vette.
I found it in the boot to the left side of the right hand boot hinge, by scapping the paint with a coin.
The writting is in green crayon and looks like the letters IVORY can anyone help for I might have rubbed off some of the writting.

Thanks

 

[John Mcgraw]

Jose,
That is correct, the original color on you car would have been Ivory. The green crayon is exactly what I have seen on other C1 cars.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[jose]

But they never painted them Ivory !

 

[Tom Bryant]

Most interesting. Let me ask a few people and see what I can find out. They may have used the word ivory instead of white to avoid some sort of assembly line confusion.

Tom

 

[Tom Bryant]

Just heard from a gentleman on the NCRS Tech Board. 1959 white Corvettes were marked ivory.

Tom

 

[John Mcgraw]

Jose,
Ivory was a color that was used on earlier cars and it was just force of habbit probably for assembly line workers. In their mind white and Ivory was the same color! Most of the other colors with the exception of red were usually abrreviated and BLU was the blue regardless of which blue it was for that year. I don't think the ivory was to avoid confusion since they abrreviated blue with BLU and black with BLK.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Tom Bryant]

Good point John. My '59 sports a plainly visible BLK. Thankfully the inside of the trunk was only painted once when the first color change to red was done. Cronilogically it was origional black, red, white, red,dark green and '68 yellow. It sported 6 colors and 5 repaints in the first 10 years it lived before I bought it. How do you paint a car 5 times in 10 years?? It must have been an annual thing figuring that the origional black surely lasted a few years.

Tom

 

[Mac]

Hmmm, 1959 Vettes had Snowcrest White and Classic Cream. I'm guessing Ivory would be the Classic Cream. 1958 didn't have any Ivory colours but 1957 had two kinds of Ivory- Imperial Ivory and India Ivory (only available on two tones).

 

[John Mcgraw]

Mac,
I don't know why they stuck with the ivory name for white all the way through 59, but they did. I have never seen one with any other writing on the division panel other than ivory.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Mac]

I tend to think of Ivory as an off-white but if the General wants to call it white, who am I to argue? :L

How is your project coming? I haven't received any pics lately.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Mac,
You have mail!

Be patient, the pics are large and will probably take a while to load. I have spend an incredible ammount of time trimming all the high strength stainless bolts to the perfect length and polishing all the nuts, bolts and washers to a mirror finish. It will be worth it someday, but it sure is a pain! I will have it rolling around on the wheels and tires this week. Now it is time to start on the body........
Regards, John McGraw

 

[58Mike]

Snowcrest White is off-white and "creamy" looking. My F150 is a pretty bright white and the difference is dramatic!

Remember Ivory is what white piano keys were originally made of, so I can see that being their word for white. For a related joke: there are two colors of keys on a piano: the black keys and the honkys!

- Mike Greene