Tell me about the Copper Metallic Paint Color on the 1994

[JBenesh]

Hi All,
What can some of you more advanced Corvette fans tell me about the 1994 Copper Metallic paint color? My understanding is that there was a problem with the paint and it was therefore pulled from production, any more info other than this would be appreciated?

Josh

 

[Chrisr]

Copper Metalic Paint

I think your right. There were only, I believe a 116 cars made with that color before they pulled the plug on that color.

 

[B17Crew]

JBenesh,
Try getting you hands on the July 2001 issue of Corvette Fever, http://www.corvettefever.com/ they had an article on a ‘94 Copper Metallic vert., (pages 36-38).

For as rare as they are, I have seen quite a few for sale, coupe and convertible.

The ones I have seen in person have had mismatched colored body panels. I considered buying one of three six-speed Copper verts that was for sale but I couldn’t get past the “crazy quilt” blothchyness of the paint. Some factory Copper paint jobs may be better than others, but the one’s I have seen had matching issues.

Hopefully the link below will take you directly to one that is for sale at Rogers in Florida.
http://www.rogerscorvette.com/car.php?CarID=1025

I think that there was only one Copper Metallic ‘94 ZR-1 produced. From what I’ve read, GM has it tucked away.

B17Crew

 

[B17Crew]

One more thing that is interesting: production of Copper Metallic lasted only three days!

Additional pics of a ‘94 Copper Metallic coupe.
http://www.rogerscorvette.com/spots/jul02/spot.htm

B17Crew

 

[copper94]

94 copper metalic

I just got a 1994 copper metalic LT1 with gray interior and a six speed, 57200k. Love the car and only found out how rare it is after I purchased the car. My paint is not all that bad, the only "noticable " areas would be the side mirrors and the bar over the top, and that needs to be in white light to be seen.

 

[B17Crew]

Rogers in Florida now has the Copper vert I almost bought!!!!

Rogers bought it from the dealer I would’ve bought it from -- Bob McDorman Chevrolet. I see they have increased the price as well. I guess they have to cover the cost of shipping it from Ohio to Florida by $3,200.00.

http://www.rogerscorvette.com/

B17Crew

 

[tyrel]

It's a shame they made so few copper metallic Corvettes, the color is stunning.

 

[WNH]

Hi All,
What can some of you more advanced Corvette fans tell me about the 1994 Copper Metallic paint color? My understanding is that there was a problem with the paint and it was therefore pulled from production, any more info other than this would be appreciated?

So, is that the reason??? A problem with the paint???

 

[B17Crew]

Yes, there was a problem with the paint. From what I have read, Bowling Green (BG) had matching problems with the Copper Metallic. BG pulled the color after three days of production. Since BG pulled it after three days, that suggests the problem could not be resolved in a timely manner for one reason or another.

I just about bought one of the three six-speed verts in that color. When I saw it in bright daylight, it looked as if the car had several panels repainted (which it wasn’t). Canceled my purchase decision right then and there. It’s a hard color to come by, but the mismatched panels were a factor in my choice not to buy. That’s just me, it will probably find a new home fairly soon as it is a head turning car.

The car is in absolute excellent condition, Rogers takes in some of the nicest cars I’ve seen, this ’94 vert falls into that category. If you have a chance to see this car in person, it’s worth your time.

B17Crew

 

[Z_OH_6]

Hi All,
What can some of you more advanced Corvette fans tell me about the 1994 Copper Metallic paint color? My understanding is that there was a problem with the paint and it was therefore pulled from production, any more info other than this would be appreciated?

Josh

Sorry to enter this thread so late. There are a couple of guys just now setting up a 1994 Copper Metallic Registry and I was helpng out by researching how many of us own one of the 116 cars with the 66U paint code. The info contained here is mostly correct. Paint problems were two-fold; production problems in getting the paint itself to be consistent from one to the other and blotchy coverage of the car's surface from panel to panel. A very few of the 24 convertibles and 92 coupes were flawless. Most of the 116 that were painted in the 3 days of 66U spraying were affected in one way or another. B17Crew, you show a link to the coupe that I bought from Roger's Corvette Center. It is one of the 'near flawless' paint jobs I have seen. Here's a better photo of it.

The convertible that he had, I believe you mentioned that one as well, had a slightly mismatched rear bumper cover but only seen in certain light. The color is really unique. For other informational purposes, this color was used once before. In 1986, Corvette sprayed only four cars in this 66U paint!!

 

[B17Crew]

Z_OH_6,

Your ’94 is BEAUTIFUL! I really like that color, I have been hard pressed to find Copper Metallic recently. Glad you mentioned that the 66U was used back on the ’86. I wasn’t aware that they were the same color. I did see one of the ’86 Corvettes Coppers once. It was at a Corvette specialty dealer in Springfield, OH. The dealer was Mershons. They had it in the showroom, wasn’t there very long.

I think the year before last, The National Corvette Museums (NCM) Copper vert with the grey interior/white top was displayed at Bob McDormans annual Corvette show. The combo was very, very nice. I’m pretty sure that it was an automatic. I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of it, it had the NCM logo in the center of the hood.

McDorman has two of the Copper cars in his personal collection, a coupe and hardtop convertible. The coupe has a black interior, has 996 miles on the odo. The hardtop vert has the beige interior, I think the mileage on that one is in the single digits. The Copper vert that is currently on sale at Rogers was originally owned by the owner of Buds Chevrolet, in St. Marys Ohio. Buds owner sold off part of his collection, Mr. McDorman picked-up several of the cars in his purchase -- one of them was the Copper vert. McDorman sold it to Rogers in Florida, Its configuration is one of three produced.

B17Crew

 

[Z_OH_6]

Z_OH_6,

Your ’94 is BEAUTIFUL! I really like that color, I have been hard pressed to find Copper Metallic recently. Glad you mentioned that the 66U was used back on the ’86. I wasn’t aware that they were the same color. I did see one of the ’86 Corvettes Coppers once. It was at a Corvette specialty dealer in Springfield, OH. The dealer was Mershons. They had it in the showroom, wasn’t there very long.

I think the year before last, The National Corvette Museums (NCM) Copper vert with the grey interior/white top was displayed at Bob McDormans annual Corvette show. The combo was very, very nice. I’m pretty sure that it was an automatic. I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of it, it had the NCM logo in the center of the hood.

McDorman has two of the Copper cars in his personal collection, a coupe and hardtop convertible. The coupe has a black interior, has 996 miles on the odo. The hardtop vert has the beige interior, I think the mileage on that one is in the single digits. The Copper vert that is currently on sale at Rogers was originally owned by the owner of Buds Chevrolet, in St. Marys Ohio. Buds owner sold off part of his collection, Mr. McDorman picked-up several of the cars in his purchase -- one of them was the Copper vert. McDorman sold it to Rogers in Florida, Its configuration is one of three produced.

B17Crew

Hi B17Crew!
Thank you for the compliment and the inforamtion. I tried to buy the convertible at Roger's but was a little late as it was being held for an earlier buyer. So I bought the coupe instead. It has 15,000 miles on it. What made the convertible so rare was the 6 speed tranny - one of only 3. I haven't seen an 86 yet in Copper, talk about rare, like hen's teeth I guess. LOL!! Thanks again!

 

[Vettelt193]

I have seen a couple different copper 'vettes that have matching problems depending on light and angle looked at...

In one light, it looks perfect... then from another angle, or in different lighting panels don't match.

The color is one of the sweetest they made though

 

[B17Crew]

Hi B17Crew!
Thank you for the compliment and the inforamtion. I tried to buy the convertible at Roger's but was a little late as it was being held for an earlier buyer. So I bought the coupe instead. It has 15,000 miles on it. What made the convertible so rare was the 6 speed tranny - one of only 3. I haven't seen an 86 yet in Copper, talk about rare, like hen's teeth I guess. LOL!! Thanks again!

You are welcome, those Copper ’94s are few and far between.

I haven’t seen ANY Copper 86’s for years now, just the one at the dealer. Hopefully when one surfaces, I’ll have a camera handy.

Funny that you were interested in the vert too, small world! There was something about that car that drew me in when I was looking at it at McDormans. I almost did it, it was a find and a half. I can fully understand you wanting the Copper vert, it’s truly a unique C4.

B17Crew

 

[Z_OH_6]

..... I can fully understand you wanting the Copper vert, it’s truly a unique C4.
B17Crew

You kidding, I want them ALL! LOL!

 

[tyrel]

It's an exceptionally beautiful color.

 

[Z_OH_6]

My understanding is that there was a problem with the paint and it was therefore pulled from production, any more info other than this would be appreciated?
Josh

Just found out a little more about the paint. Tony, a member of the Corvette Club of the Palm Beaches, on Florida's east coast, just talked to me about this paint. He was just finishing his '63 split window some years ago and was looking for a color to paint it. He fell in love with a Porsche classic racer painted a color called Copper Metallic. He could not find it listed under any Porsche chart. But he did find it under a Volkswagen color chart. He later confirmed that the Porsche owner painted it the VW color. Some time after he painted his car that color, a couple of GM's engineers saw it at a car show and duplicated it for use on the Corvettes for 1986; all four of them. It wasn't used again, as we know, until 1994. The reason it was discontinued early into that year, he told me, was that due to the translucent nature of the paint itself, the cars had to be sprayed by hand rather than being done by machine. That sounded its death knoll after only three days of spraying 116 '94's.

 

[B17Crew]

Awesome information Z_OH_6, Thanks!

B17Crew

 

[acposter]

94 Copper

The Copper Metallic (also known as Melon) is definitely a love it or hate it color. Personally, I love it. I looked for a very low mileage car for years before finding one with black interior and 6000 miles about a year and a half ago. I have owned many cars over the last 35 years and usually enjoy them for a few years before I move on. Now I own the 94 Copper Coupe and an 01 Metallic Red/ Oak Conv with 12,500 miles, and have no intentions of letting either go.

The paint on my car is pretty nice with well matched panels and bumpers. There is indeed some blotchy areas in the hood, but you need to look for them with just the right reflection. Guess I was pretty lucky to get one of the better ones.

 

[B17Crew]

acposter,
Nice stable of Corvettes. :cool You’ve got the best of both worlds, Corvette coupe and convertible.

B17Crew