Finally a '63

I'm installing new carpet and rear vinyl trim in a 1963 coupe and I'd like to confirm that the horizontal surfaces directly above the wheel wells are painted the same color as the interior carpet? I've installed the black vinyl trim around the rear windows and have put the carpet in place, but the interior paint was stripped when the body was restored, so I need to refinsh the uncovered areas above the wheel wells between the carpet and the vinyl. If, as I suspect, it is supposed to be the color of the interior trim, black in my case, is there a specific paint I need to use? Should it be matte or semi-gloss? Thanks for your advice..

vettebuyer6369

Ive been trying to answer this question for awhile. The uncovered areas I think you are talking about on my car are bare glass and unpainted. Ive seen other 63s like this. Yet Ive seen other 63s, this year at Bloomington Gold that have those sections painted. Definitely red cars. Mine is Daytona Blue.

Im not sure what the answer is.

vettebuyer6369

Red interior, painted:

vettebuyer6369

unpainted fiberglass:

vettebuyer6369

another unpainted bare glass...

Nowhere Man

Unless you got 67 fibberglass shown in thoes "un painted" areas that's lightly painted. 63 raw fiberglass is a whitish color. Not gray/black like 67

JAMES69

Just checked my 63 SWC, tan interior. The color looks like a brown. Not sure if that was original, but doesn't look like a great paint job.

Jim

Finally a '63

Thanks for the responses. I'd still like to find a definitive answer. I haven't found anything in the books I have either.

Nowhere Man

Have you asked on the NCRS board. or checked the judging manual

Finally a '63

Good advice. I'll try that

GUSTO14

This may not help much as it is a '63 Convertible and not a coupe, but it is the 396th one made and I am the second owner. I purchased the car in 1969 and put it in storage in 1971. In 2008 I took the car out of storage to begin a long awaited restoration. We began disassembling the car very quickly and started by taking a lot of pictures.

Here are some of the pictures that were taken at that time and may be of help in determining how they left the factory, or at least in September of 1962... The car left the factory Tuxedo Black with a red vinyl interior.

Left rear compartment before the removal of the carpet...

...and after the carpet removal. It appeared that the red paint was applied rather haphazardly in those areas that were not completely covered by carpet. The cream color in the image below is what remains of the foam after the carpet is removed. Needless to say, I spent a great deal of time removing every trace of it by hand before we could proceed.

The front compartment seemed to be the most uniformly covered. With red paint completely covering the "tool trays" and extending somewhat up the sides of the tunnel, rocker panel and even the foot well, but not uniformly.

The underside of the rear deck lid did appear to be a rather uniform flat black.


And this is how we decided the factory actually intended it to look...


Good luck... GUSTO