Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

In 1972 I was introduced to someone who was building a special Mini.
It started off originally as an 1965 850cc deluxe in Island Blue, a very popular colour at the time and remained a popular choice until 1970.

The mechanical modifications included an ex MG 1100cc twin carb engine, a ported and polished cylinder head and the list continued to a very powerful Mini. Wide wheel arches, replica Minilite wheels and the car was complete save for the final colour.
When asked what the final colours would be, we were told Wedgwood Blue and dark blue roof. What we were not told was the paint manufacturer was Dulux and the finish was by roller and brush.
It looked appalling.

Who wanted a lilac Morris Minor in 1961?
I read that the preferred colour for the Minor Million was to have been silver but BMC paint technology was not advanced enough to produce a stable and lasting finish.


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I have never seen a Minor Million in the metal. Do they look as awful in Lilac as I have been led to believe?

This Land Rover Series 2a exists, it is not a photoshop colouring exercise :

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or how about this :

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Colour choice is subjective. Metallic brown cars are popular in the United States and in 1988 I saw a field full of repatriated Jaguar E Types outside Stafford. Many of them were brown.

I knew someone who had an excellent condition 1968 Jaguar 340 but even in the heady days of 1989 he could not sell it. The reason - the car was beige.

Red or BRG E types, red MGBs, maroon and silver Ford 105E Anglias, white Cortina Lotus, two tone PA Crestas. These are examples of the colours that sell classics these days.

How important is colour to you and would you colour change your classic if you didn't like the original colour or if it had a particularly unsaleable or dowdy hue?
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Rick]

9/10 I'd go for original colour ..... but if I had, say, an early XJ in pieces and its original colour was brown, or that pink shade they also came in, I'd be tempted to switch to navy blue, or very dark green.

RJ
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[Penman]

Hi
Can anyone forget (did anyone like) FIATs PinkPanda?
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[Vintage Crank]

I hope it doesn't reflect badly on my taste but I think that Rover looks quite cheerful in yellow. The pink Landrover however, I wouldn't drive in public even if you paid me.

As Ellis says, colour choice is a subjective thing and I think that some older vehicles benefit from colour schemes that simply weren't available at the time. Plenty of late 1950's US tail-finned cars have been treated to metalflake paint schemes that seem quite appropriate to the road-going starship designs of the time, although the silly wheels that invariably accompany them should definitely be left in the box.

I'm no rivet counter - I attach greater importance to keeping the original character of a vehicle than rigidly adhering to what came off the assembly line. I recall reading about one US muscle car restoration where the owner had even reproduced the paint flaws left by the grab crane that took the chassis through the paint process during the original manufacture. Seems a bit unnecessary to me.

That's not to say I don't understand the intent behind a perfect restoration,
but I just don't think I'd be able to leave, say, an Austin A30 in battleship grey for the sake of it. Seems a bit depressing now we've left post-war austerity behind. Still, differing opinions make the world a more interesting place I'm sure most would agree.
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Dave (Professional Procrastinator)

1927 Morris Oxford Saloon 14/28
1949 Ferguson TED20 tractor and other 1950s
1958 Series 2 Land Rover 88" and various 2a's
1969 Jaguar 420G

[Ray White]

One of the outstanding features of the Austin Swallow in it's day were the colours. The cars could be ordered in whatever colour the customer wanted however they were usually in a bright (some might say gaudy) two tone combination.

The factory offered the following as standard:

cream & crimson;
grey & green;
light mole brown & deep suede brown;
Ivory & black;
cherry red & maroon;
sky blue & Danish blue;
crean & violet;
birch grey & battleship grey (mine);
ivory & dark blue.

The first mentioned colour alludes to the body below the waistline; the latter to the wings, wheels and body above the waistline.

There is always much debate about how the cars should be restored; should the original colour scheme be retained or would the restorer feel happier with their own choice.?

It is important that the final decision be made before trim is decided as the interior was carefully matched to the exterior colour and although the correct pattern and colour braid and leather is available, it is quite expensive.

My own car has always worn two tone grey - although I did find traces of a thick black waist line which I chose to omit because I didn't like the look of it. A pin stripe also seemed unnecessary.

[Penman]

Hi
A Citroen C15 van would have to be either Red or White, otherwise it's colour wouldn't match the badges they carried. Vin Rouge or Vin Blanc
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Bristols should always come in pairs.

Any 2 from:-
Straight 6
V8 V10

[Phil - Nottingham]

I like the colour to suit the style and period of the. Most colours from 1930's to mid 1960's were drab and dull and few did justice to the style of the car.

Some Duo-tone Vauxhalls and Fords of the late 50's early were really cheerful and stylish and showed off the chrome really but far too bold for most owners so they stuck with muted Brown/Creams/Mushrooms or pale greys. Same holds today with white/silvers

My dad had a 1961 Ford 100e Escort shooting brake in Lichen green a mid green as hideous as it sounds yet just down the street was the equivalent Ford Popular saloon of the same age in shiny Primrose Yellow which really suited it.

His 1965 Mk3 Ford Zephyr of the late 1960's was a dull mid muted blue (Aqua Blue) which did nothing for the style as a White with Black roofed Mk3 Zodiac and a dark blue Mk3 Zephyr 4 nearby looked much smarter.

In 1976 I had a rusty Mk1 Austin Mini Countryman "woody" This was Fiesta yellow and light blue seats - this looked much smarter than some of the other colours BMC used. The Cherry/Tartan reds suited Mini saloons really well but looked terrible on the big Farina saloons and even the Minor.

My wife's first car she bought in 1972 and still has is a Morris Mini Mk2 Traveller "woody" in El-Paso Beige still looks good today but not common in 1968 and the same colour on Morris 1100's looks nothing.

Daytona Yellow and Fords orange looks really good on Mk3 Cortina's and Mk1 Capris as did the Orangy Austin Mk3 1300 GT's with their black vinyl roofs.

A Rover 800SE I had in the early 1990's looked really stylish in its pale metallic blue but nothing on Austin Metro's of the same period
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Rover P2
Rover P4
Rover P5 & P5B
Land Rover S2 & S3
Morris Mini Traveller Mk2

[Mog]

When I lived in the Midlands, a local , small dealer, used to get new cars that had "odd" paint on them. I can remember a Morris Minor that was yellow. As I went past every day, I noticed it sat there for many weeks.

[lowdrag]

When I bought my car it had been painted a mustard yellow, but it was cheap. Five years later I had it repainted like this:-



And so it stayed, in Ford Glacier Blue, for 27 years. Tastes change, and I felt bound to return her to her original colours and so now she is Gunmetal grey with red interior.



I'm pleased with the result, but she got far more attention when she was blue.

[Ronniej]

I remember seeing a few of the Morris Minor Million versions sometime in the ‘60s.
They had a “1000000” badge on the boot instead of the standard “1000”.
At the time I thought the lilac colour unattractive but if the intention was to make the car conspicuous it certainly succeeded.
I saw a “Million” at an event a few years ago and nothing in the intervening years has made me change my opinion on the colour, it is hideous!
I have seen a few small cars in Barbie Pink and have wondered if they are produced in this colour or if they have been specially sprayed. Either way, I wish the owner the best of luck when they try to sell it on.
Perhaps the most extreme example was the VW Golf “Harlequin” that had body panels in a mixture of colours. It looked like an accident damaged car that had been repaired using random panels from a scrap yard.

On a positive note, I have always thought the colour schemes on Swallow bodied cars was very attractive.

[peter scott]

Owners will always have a range of different agendas for their old cars but for me the important thing is that old cars should look just as they did when they were in regular daily use. Generally that would mean that an original manufacturer paint scheme is used.

Peter (the hypocrite)
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Bitumen Boy]

I'd say any colour paint is better than rust. When I bought my Herald it had been rollered with a bright yellow coachpaint and I reckoned on repainting it a more sober colour, but of course other priorities got in the way and the yellow grew on me over time. I also found out that pretty much any other paint reacted badly with it, so in the end I obtained more of the same paint and brushed it on one section at a time - fortunately the shape and construction of the Herald lends itself to this approach. Twelve years on I'm quite happy with the results, it's not perfect but then perfection would mean the replacement or extensive repair of every single panel which is a job for someone with much more time and money than I am ever likely to have - but the important thing is that it hasn't been scrapped or left to rust away in a field somewhere.

Regarding the "Barbie Pink" cars that Ronnie mentions, I feel sure they must be leaving the factory like that. I've seen far too many of them around for it to be done as a special job. I wouldn't buy one however cheap it was as not only is the colour vile, but you can guarantee anyone driving a car that colour will ride the clutch all the time and never change the oil

[MikeEdwards]

I've never considered changing the colour of either of my classics. But then it's easy for me - both were only produced in one colour originally, and while I've seen other people repaint them into non-standard colours and end up with a good-looking car, it's not for me.

[colwyn500]

[Rootes75]

My 1947 Minx was originally black, at some time 20-30 years back someone decided to paint it a dull almost primer type grey. I have been ok with this throughout my 10 years of ownership but now my plan is very much to paint her black as originally intended.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.