C1 '58 Paint / Polish Questions

[Ted S.]

Was the exterior lacquer polished before any parts were assembled or were some items installed prior to polishing? Also what color was the original primer (single layer or two different color layers prior to paint)? Were the coves painted the base color and then the cove color was painted over it or did they leave the cove primed only and then sprayed the second color? I'm in the process of disassembling my '58 and it looks like the original paint is under various items. Thanks in advance, Ted

[Dennis C.]

Re: C1 '58 Paint / Polish Questions

Ted - I believe no trim at all was installed until paint and polish was completed. Recall most primer is brownish in color. Believe coves were painted body color, then if specified, cove color was added. Enjoy your '58. Dennis

[Ted S.]

Re: C1 '58 Paint / Polish Questions

I got an email on the topic and it may explain what I was seeing. The paint under the tail lights and under the deck lid moldings was very rough (i.e. lots of the fiberglass texture showing), but under the mirror mount on the door was much smoother. The way it was explained is, the factory did not polish the paint after painting. But, the primer and potentially the first coat of paint were lightly sanded. In the factory sitting, it would make sense that were a molding was going to cover it wouldn't be sanded at all. Verses, the top of the door where the mirror was going to mount, it would have gotten the same sanding as the rest of the door. This all goes back to verifying that my '58 was originally black verses charcoal. Some that I have communicated with aren't convinced that black '58s were actually made. All indications on my car show that it was originally black not charcoal.

[Jack H.]

There's ample documentation....

in both the NCRS '58-60 Judging Guide as well as the Corvette Black Book to prove the existence of Black Corvettes factory delivered in '58!

[Dennis C.]

However...

I believe black '58's were a "late entry" into the field of available colors. I forget the S/N range at this point, though the TIMJG may speak to the issue, however, if it were my car, I'd be out in the garage right now with the trunk open, the cardboard divider removed, and I'd be trying to carefully remove the trunk color overspray while trying to find the hand written green crayon "trim tag" noting the original body color on the right hand side of the bulkhead. Good luck. DC

[Ted S.]

Re: However...

My '58 is #9128 so it passes the "late entry" test. On the separator panel I can see "B" "L" and the top of the "A" hand written in green grease pencil. The power top unit is covering the rest. Under various moldings it sure looks like black paint which I believe is original. The car also has "charcoal" interior. The original pebble grain vinyl and steering wheel are charcoal but the painted surfaces are black (i.e. instrument cluster, kick panels, console, and heater cover) rather than charcoal. The inside of the trunk is also black. My understanding is normally all of these surfaces would match the interior color, which in this case "should" be painted charcoal. Will I get dinked for this during judging?

[Roy B.]

Re: C1 '58 Paint / Polish Questions

Over the years the NCRS staff said they never had a black 54, a yellow 55 with green and yellow interior and then the 58 was never painted black till I wrote about locating the original color of the 58 to 62 Corvette in SACE and owners using the information proved to NCRS that they did in deed have black 58's. and on and on about headlights,wheels,soft top frames, seats, and more and more and more. That is the reason new editions of the judging Manuel come out every few years,with many more still to come. So don't throw away any parts that came on your vett because NCRS said it's wrong. I've head that statement over and over for years and watch owners throw or change original thing to many times to meet NCRS standards.

[Roy B.]

Re: However...TED

Ted just read your last post , Remember if the judging Manuel is different then your Corvette combination and you won't to have a NCRS Corvette , change every thing on the Corvette to meet that standard. OR join the Sportsman Class.

[Ted S.]

Re: However...TED

Part of my thinking was that since I just started the restoration process this is an opportuny to have someone with authority from NCRS to inspect the car/components for authenticity and potentially bring some new knowledge to the hobby. I figured it would be better to have that done prior to restoration than show up at judging with a "restored" car (aka like I believe the factory did it) and get dinked. When I exchanged emails with Tim Mickey over a year ago, he indicated that there had only been 3 "dark" '58s judged and they were all charcoal. Also none of them had charcoal interior.

I believe the other thing that the car claifies is the rear bumper brackets used on '58. There seems to be some controversy about this among '58 owners. It has the large brackets that bolt to the top of the frame verse the smaller L bracket and a separate bumper bracket like the '59 to '60 had. In looking at the '58 AIM it shows the '59 - '60 style bracket but it has a "revised and redrawn" date of 7/29/58. Since my car would have been built on 8/19/58 I believe that this change didn't take place until the '59 model year. This would indicate that the '58s would also have the large brackets with the large access panels on the sides of the trunk to seal off the cut outs.

I guess the question is how can I "prove" the configuration without having it inspected in it's current state?

[Patrick H.]

Re: However...TED

Ted,

Where do you live? It might help to find someone "in the know" who can help you. In addition, I'd discuss it more with Tim.

I'll stick my neck out, and disagree with Roy's statement. The JG's are mostly accurate, but not perfectly accurate, and as a result if you find you car originally had a black exterior and charcoal interior, then that's the way I would (personally) restore it. Despite the 46 years since your car was built, we still don't know everything about 58 Corvettes and continue to learn. If your car helps the NCRS learn when black was used as an exterior color, then do it. The only time I recommend restoring "to the judging guide" is when you did not have a chance to inspect the car yourself before disassembly.

Same with the bumper brackets. AIM revisions could be dated months before the production line changed if St. Louis had to first use up the stock of parts on hand and ordered. You only describe a few weeks. I'd bet the larger ones are original to your car.

Patrick

[Roy B.]

Re: However...Patrick

If more people would stick their neck out like you! we would all know more about our Corvettes SOONER then later. I did that when I started SACE . I admire people that feel that they are right about a part and get others to think and act on it. Because I have done that, about many items in the past, some people ether like or dislike me. If any one would checked the "DATES" when SACE was started and reading the book Straight Talk we put out , they would find that MANY articles written about , steel wheels,thermostats housing, headlight bulbs,soft and hard top latches,door handles, and how to determine original paint colors and on and on.They would come to realize SACE people knew these thing first before NCRS.To day people don't realize the arguments I and others that contributed to that information put up with.
So like I try to say , if you feel you have an original vett or part, just hang in there.Some day you may be proved right!

[Chris H.]

Re: However...TED

Not sure how it worked back then but today if you want a non allowed interior/exterior combination on a Regal or Century you could get it done if you know the right person. Most of the combinations are "over released" in the Engineering specs and we at Marketing choose which combinations to allow.

Why not offer all combinations? One reason is to keep the number of combinations down so that dealers have fewer combinations to stock. We pick the most popular combinations to offer.

But, if someone knows somebody you can get pretty much any combination you want. On the Engineering side you would write a spec change order (sort of the same thing as a COPO in this case) or on the Marketing side I could just make a phone call to the book manager and they would change it and then the plant could build it.

[Ted S.]

I live in KC Missouri, any C1 judges local? *NM*

[Dennis C.]

Re: However...TED

Ted... I would read Patrick Hulst's response several times. Therein lies the truth in my opinion. DC

[Wayne C.]

Re: C1 '58 Paint / Polish Questions

"The way it was explained is, the factory did not polish the paint after painting."

I worked in a Fisher Body Buick plant back in that timeframe, so I can't speak directly to the Corvette plant practices, but I know positively that Fisher buffed the paint out after the body was painted. I have to think the Corvette plant did that, also, to provide a shine on the somewhat dull acrylic lacquer.