CORD WHEEL COLORS

Thanks for the nice words. 50 posts is plenty for one thread so I am going to lock it after this post.

I think we can all agree that this club is the place to get the most accurate information on restoring ACD cars.

I am currently unemployed so we'll see some real improvements coming up in 2007.

eStore, and online registration to name a couple of things.

OK, so now that I have had the last word, this thread is now locked.

wow!! fifty posts. bill, this has got to be an all time record. is there going to be some kind of award or something for starting this thing!!! if so, it should go to you for taking care of this site. its just amazing what you have done for all of us. thanks a million.

and to think, all this just to figure out my wheel colours. gee.

thank you all for posting. some very interesting views in those posts!!!

i am driving my cord and loving it.........

everyone thinks its a kit car..... or a ford....no its a cord damit!!!

sounds like good reasoning , I like Cord history thanks Tom

Hi Tom:

No, the tag shows the original FB series engine. I'm traveling right now so I can't go look, but I recall earlier conversations about this car, and apparently the FC engine number is a very low one - just above the last known engines in delivered cars. I don't know what this means, but the speculation was that this would indicate at least a very early installation, and possibly by the dealer at the request of the buyer in order to make a sale. I suppose under those circumstances, they wouldn't make or install a new tag. Since the original owner (Ed Van Kleek) sold the car in SC form to Harrah's, then it had to be either him or the dealer who did it.

Hi Mike,
You got a real good Cabriolet there. Since it was a renumbered Cord, did the serial tag indicate the FC supercharged engine number? If so, I think it would have been installed at the factory. Also will we see your Cord at Auburn this year?
Thanks
Tom

Hi Tom:

Yes, this is the car that sat in the ACD museum for years. The door panels were original, but the seats had been covered in flat dark red leather - but the original pleated leather (same as the door panels) was underneath. I tried to save it by restitching, but it was dry rotted and literally crumbled. Also, the curtain behind the seats was missing, although I've since replaced it.

Mike Fairbairn

Gents- For further confusion let me tell you what my car 2241H of late July '36 was colored when I got it. It was a tired original car, a black '36 Phaeton, dark maroon leather interior (which I have pieces), maroon dash which looks like an after manufacture spray job, (although the overspray ran under the windshield and onto the hood, go figure), cream '36 steering wheel, black knobs on the window and door cranks AND GRAY WHEELS, which were a little rusty. Top fabric is a light gray, tattered and dirty.

Pete

Yes, my mother Sally owned it for awhile. Then I bought it from her.

I am embarrassed to say that my first Cord was purchased more for tax reasons than for the joy of owning one.

If my Grandfather were still alive he would reprimand me for fooling around buying these things rather than focusing on my everyday job. I can just hear him now ...

Hi Mike,
Your Cord Cabriolet I believe sat in the ACD Museum for a number of years. I looked it over many different times for some details in restoring my own Cabriolet. As I remember the door panels were pleated in what I would call a faded Maroon but the seats did not seem to have any pleats in them but seemed to match the door panels. Also, behind the seat there was not a curtain but a piece of plywood inserted in behind the passenger side and the spare tire was exposed. I believe I was looking at Vogue tires. I believe the carpet was original to the car but I would call it Maroon, not dark red. My guess is that this body was black from the factory, had a maroon dash at one time to match the interior. Also steering wheel and column would be black as the body is. Other open cars keep this theme and are well known. Such as cigarette cream with a red interior and red dashboard. Also a ivory having a black interior with a black dashboard and an ivory steering wheel and column and shift stalk.
Bill this is a little comment for you. I understood that your mother owned this car. Is that correct?
Just wanted to add to the 3 pages that everyone has added to. Thank you very much.
Tom Dudley

Hi Mike,

I understand what you are saying and I agree with a lot of it. Many of use look at the original cars, old photos, etc. and make notes of the differences we see. When those differences pop up a few time then we start asking the question was this the way some cars originally came. In several cases this has changed what we think we know about the cars.

You are on one side of the restoration process...
you have a car that is well documented since 1959,
you are taking the time to ask questions and research how the cars were made and their history,
you are carefully looking for clues as you take the car apart.
In short you are interested in learning about the car.

Too many times I have seen the restorer that is more interested in getting the job done...they will do a minimum amount of research to get a correct body color (or something close) and will put the car back together the way they think it should be instead of the way it was when it was new.

The same is true of some owners who just want the Club to "tell them what is wrong with their car so they can correct it" Most of the time what they are really saying is they want to come back next year, win their trophy and then they are off to their next car and another set of trophies. They really aren't interested in learning about the cars and the history.

I understand what you are saying on the acceptance of non standard items during judging. We do try to grant some lee way there, but we also have to draw a line. One of the biggest arguments I've gotten is on the body color. The argument usually goes something like this " It well known that for $100 you could have the factory paint your Cord any color you wanted...So why can't you accept my FIRE ENGINE RED Cord? It could have been painted that way from the factory!!!" If we, as a Club, start accepting these things we will start losing the original aspects of the cars. The future generations won't know what's authentic. We can' open it up to whatever a person restoring a car wants to do as long as they can make a good argument that it might be correct (I have heard some pretty interesting arguments since I've been Chief Judge).

What a lot of it boils down to is people want standards of what it should be, but an exception for the way it is on their car.

I guess it's all part of the hobby that keeps it interesting and gives us things to talk about on this forum and at the meets.

Good luck with your restoration...I look forward to seeing it when you're done. Just don't forget to drive it...that's when the REAL FUN begins!!!

Jim

Hi Jim:

Thanks for your input. I, too, have seen many cars with changes made early on. For example, I believe that this car has had its top changed, despite the fact that many have said it appears original.

In this case, I've looked at a lot of original cars, and the carpets - in particular - definitely have an "original" look to them. Add to that he fact that we have documentary evidence that nothing was done since 1959 by a reliable source (Harrah's records) and the fact that the carpets are clearly quite worn - more so than most 50,000 mile cars I've seen. The weight of evidence makes it highly unlikely that the carpets were changed earlier, then worn to the degree that they are today.

Personally, it doesn't really matter to me. I'd be just as happy - maybe happier - with black carpets. I just feel that we are often too quick to make knee-jerk judgements and alter (and lose) originality simply because we have a discrepancy between what the factory documents said was standard and what the physical evidence clearly indicates.

I'm not interested in pursuing accolades in judging. I'm far more concerned about doing the right thing. The only reason for carrying this on so long is that I've seen too many interesting original features erased by well-meaning restorers who are slavishly followng the dictates of 70+ year old documentation produced by a company much more interested in selling cars than adhering to written option lists. Customer requests are only one possible reason for variations - others include intentional changes in specification that remained undocumented, changes in supplier shipments, and a host of other possibilities.

I think it is a shame when we force individuals who (unlike me) are concerned about judging results to erase interesting historical evidence of what was going on at the factory in order to be "safe" and avoid losing precious points in judging.

If someone has reasonable evidence of originality, why do we care if their carpet is red or blacK? I'd rather err on the side of allowing it and reducing the chances that we are losing historical evidence.

However, this is all just opinion, and nothing more...

Regards,
Mike

Since you asked Josh I'll chime in and put my two cents into this discussion.

The ACD Club judges to the standard of "as the car came from the factory." We have a pretty good documentation of what the standard factory color combinations were.

If someone is restoring a car to try and win Best of Class and Best of Show it is best to stick with the standard combinations since there won' t be any questions. Any other colors or combuinations should have documentation that show that is the way the car came from the factory.

If paint the car non standard colors or combination you probably won't lose enough points to knock you out of a first place trophy unless there is a lot of other things wrong.

I think we have all seen or heard of a lot of "original cars" that are not per the standards set by the factory. While some of these were done at the factory for various reasons many were done by early owners. During the 1940's and '50's these cars were nothing more then used cars that people were trying to keep running. Cars were repainted, engines and trans swaped out, interiors redone or swaped out, etc. All in the name of keeping the car running and in decent shape. Even though you know what was done to the car since 1959, there is still over 20 years of undocumented history there. The restoration process and careful inspection only reveals so much, the rest is speculation on our part.

mikefairbairn wrote: Hi Bill:

I emailed the photos as you suggested.

Cheers,
Mike

I will post them in the PICTURE GALLERY. Send any more that you mght have.

I hope you bring it to Auburn next year. I want to get a ride.

Hi Bill:

Sorry, I've referred to the interior as red, but it is in fact a dark red, or burgundy. And I do remember meeting you that year in Dean Kruse's driveway!

I emailed the photos as you suggested.

Cheers,
Mike

Josh Malks wrote: Also, does Bill Hummel remember anything about this car?

I remember the interior but I seem to remember it being maroon. I forgot about the black dash. My new Cabriolet is black on black. No offsetting colors.

Mike, I didn't put ANY miles on it. Never started the engine.

I only saw the car during the day of the auction in 1984. Sat in it for 10 minutes. Never saw it again until 2002 when I passed it on the long driveway heading into Dean Kruse's house in Auburn.

Shouldn't have sold it, it's hard putting these things back together ......

Hi Josh:

Harrah's might be a possibility except for two things - first, all the carpet matches, including all the way up in the trunk, and it is all quite worn. According to the paperwork from Harrah's, when they got the car it had about 2.000 miles less than it does today - and I've done a CCCA CARavan in the car since. Hard to imagine it could have gotten worn in a few hundred miles - though it certainly could have in the first 50,000+ miles...

Secondly, when I bought the car, I wrote Harrah's and they sent me copies of all their records, including all work done on the car. No carpets, or other restoration, for that matter - just servicing and a little mechanical work. As a bonus, I got a bunch of photos, including one glossy 8x10 of Bill Harrah and Gordon Buehrig standing next to the car in front of the main entrance to Harrah's museum! They also had the original keys to the car.

Regards,
Mike

P.S. How do I post a photograph?

I'd be the last one to say that as-delivered interior material colors [i:1acfa7kr]always[/i:1acfa7kr] matched the factory charts. Still, give some thought to the possibility that Harrah's shop replaced the carpets. They could have done it, in those days, with bindings exactly matching the original.

Let the Chief Judge weigh in on how this will affect judging. What say you, Jim? Also, does Bill Hummel remember anything about this car?

Josh:

As you know, I'm restoring/preserving the ex Harrah, Bill Hummel Cord Cabriolet. When I got it, it was completely original interior, with some original paint, and a very old (original looking) black top.

The dash, steering wheel, remote stalk are all black. The carpets are clearly original, red with canvas binding. There was some evidence of maroon paint (could be primer) under the black dash.

Seems to me it is pretty clear this car had red carpets, not black, and black dash and steering wheel from the factory. This seems to conflict with what I've seen in writing, from Cord and from you.

What do you think?

Regards,
Mike Fairbairn

PS. I'll post a photo of the original interior if you can explain how to do it - I tried ctrl-c and ctrl-v, and that didn't work.[/img]

All the contributions to this thread are great. But let's put this in perspective: only about 15% of the cars that show up at Auburn are there to be judged. The other 85% are to be enjoyed by the owner, other members and the public. Now I am all for authenticity and history. But if you are one of the 85%, choose colors that seem reasonable and likely correct, enjoy them, and don't make yourself crazy about "points". (Oh, yes --- and drive 'em!) Just my opinion.

mike

take lots of pictures so you can prove your original colours, just in case you or the next owner ever wants to have the car judged at an ACD meet. everyone keeps telling me you have to paint them factory colours in order not to lose points and that if you can't prove the original colour with the original order paperwork and its different than stock that they will dock you.

before your input i am sure if someone showed up with red wheels they would say it wasn't stock and dock em!

now trying to figure out what they mean by stock. thats a whole other ball of wax that i am trying to get through before i repaint my car, only to have some judge tell me its not correct in his eyes.

personnally, i think this whole thing about docking points if its not exactly the correct factory colour combination needs to be reviewed when we aren't even sure what the heck they were doing at the factory with the colours. your case is a good example of why this should be scrapped. as long as the car is in colours that would be reasonable i think there should be no deductions for choice of paint!!!!

this might discourage some people from showing up for judging with cars they have painted a great colour but are not "factory correct" because they can't win with a "wrong" coloured car.

brent

josh

just received a note from Jon Bill on september 6th. he did a little research and found some more answers on page 2 of the Cord Paint and Upholstery booklet.

paint colours for the Supercharged (convertible Phaeton Sedan and Convertible Cabriolet models) were as follows:

palm beach tan maroon leather 35
ganges green green leather 36
cadet grey blue leather 37
rich maroon brown leather 38
black brown leather 39
black maroon leather 40
cigarette cream red leather 43
ivory black leather 44

the only difference between this list and that in your book on page 267 is that you list cool orchard green 47 as a possible colour and suggest this replaced ganges green, however you did note that this was a guess. seems according to the information jon dug up that ganges green was still being used. or do you have some other overriding info that concels jons info.

also interesting is that your book indicates in the notes that a black top was available on ivory convertible cars at an extra cost.

however the exact note in the Cord & Upholstery booklet that jon got his info from reads as follows:

note:- Black tops are available for the Ivory Convertible Phaeton Sedan and Convertible Cabriolet models at extra cost.

Josh, being the best one with the written language, does this wording mean that black tops were available only on ivory cars or that black tops were available on the ivory convertible phaeton sedan and all the cabriolet cars????

the latter interpretation would open up some new options in top colours for those of us that own supercharged cabriolets.

note to all readers that the above discussion appears to apply only to supercharged models. if you have the supercharged westchester or beverly, there is another list of colours and cloth. and if you have a non-supercharged car there is yet another list. check with jon for details at the museum.

brent

From your description, I would guess that the sequence of events is as you describe. And I have seen original cars with red wheels.

I would go for the scheme that you intend. Sounds nice, and it sounds original.

Good luck!

Hi Josh. My 812 Convertible Coupe is the one Bill Hummel used to own. It is black with a black dash, steering wheel, shifter stalk, maroon interior, and red wheels. I have photographs of the car in 1959 when it was sold by its original owner (Ed Van Kleek) to Bill Harrah. The car had been repainted, but the upholstery is original. The red wheels are definitely very old, and there is no other color below the red. The steering column and shifter stalk also have no other color under the black. When we removed the windshield we found dark red underneath the frame, but black painted over that, with the cut line under the windshield, which appears to never have been off the car. In other words, it looks like the car was built with a red dash, but before assembly, it was changed to black. I am now repainting the car, but leaving most of the trim and upholstery original. My question is, based on the above, it looks to me like the car was delivered with a black dash, wheel, and column, and red wheels. What do you think? By the way, the car is one of the "crossover" cars built in 1936, but renumbered as 1937s.

Regards,
Mike

The Cord was originally finished with paints from Acme Paint Company, and 29 years ago, when Acme was still in business, you could still get the paint formula from their Jobber's books, and get the lacquer mixed up in the original colors. That's what I did, interior and exterior. When it was time to touch up the stonechips (repaint the front end) the RM was a bit too clean; Had to tint it.

Acme was absorbed by another paint company in another round of corporate consolidations. So was RM. Acme's gone, RM's still out there as a BASF brand but the lacquers are mostly gone.

I'd do as GDwow suggests, start collecting nonmetallic maroon chips to take with you.

tom

thanks alot for the info.

i will follow up with the acd museum next spring when i get down to auburn for the kruse auction.

brent

Hi,
the ACD Museum in Auburn IN has an original color book with upholstery in it. I have seen it. The colors and upholstery have been well protected and are quite accurate. Ask for Jon Bill - he is the archivst. He will be glad to show them to you. You can do what I did, take all the leather samples you can get. For example, browns if you want brown. If you want maroon paint, get some color chips from your automotive paint store and you could use those to match up as close as possible. they do have formulas for the colors. I did have the maroon made. It seemed to look too muddy brown rather than maroon. I don't know of any sources to match up the dash panel. But you can't go wrong matching it to your leather. Also as a note, if you look in Josh's book at the factory photos of black cars, you can see some wheels are black and some are a light color. I am assuming this is the gray. Hope this helps.
Tom

cbs

glad you agree. i think maroon would look sharper than brown with the grey dash. now the next issue is where the heck do i find the correct maroon paint and leather colours. any ideas?

brent

Sounds like a real snappy combination! You'll never get tired of black & maroon , very elegant but sporty.

jim

thanks a whole bunch for the info. i really appreciate your input as it will save me and hopefully others, some costly mistakes and repaints.

what you have written is exactly what i needed to know. if anyone has any other comments please put in your two cents worth as it looks like for my 1937 cord thats already black, i will be going with black wheels, maroon interior and maroon dash unless there is any other feedback to the contrary.

the car currently has a beige/tan material which seems quite a bit lighter than the orginal brown and probably doesn't cut it in terms of trying to match the original factory interior.

brent

WOW!!! I'm away from the computer for a week or so and you guys really open up a can of worms. From the judging side I'll try to add my two cents to all this.

First - don't get to hung up on the correct shade of the color. Any paint chips from back then have probably faded, the colors they use to mix the paint have changed and the paint itself has changed. The judges are pretty lenient on the shade as long as it doesn't get too wild (just look at all the different colored "cigarette cream" Cords out there).

If you are planning on having the car judged you are better off sticking to a standard combination from the factory. Any other combination or colors need to be proven to the judges as the way the car came from the factory. I haven't seen any documentation yet that a Cord was ever painted hot pink or fire engine red. The argument that anyone could have paid a few extra dollars and had the car painted any color is true but the owner has to prove that the car came from the factory that way.

In looking at the information I have the correct combinations for a Black 1936 Convertible coupe would be a black body and fenders, gray wheels and instrument panel and either maroon or brown upholstery.

For 1937 would be black body and fenders, black or gray wheels, gray or maroon instrument panel and maroon or brown upholstery.

The steering wheel and steering column is aways black.

Please remember that in judging we are looking for how the car came from the factory. Anything that is out of the ordinary, it is up to the owner to prove that is the way the way the car came from the factory. Arguments such as "for $100 they would paint it any color" or "that's the way it was when i bought the car in 1960" don't make it. Also be carefull, not all written material has been as carefully researched and checked as Josh's book, jus look at the november issue of Hemmings.

Jim O'Brien

I asked my Dad about the Cord Sportsman he sold back in the early sixties.

Note: Sorry to some of you for calling this a Sportsman. We called it a Sportsman back then, so I'm calling it a Sportsman now.

Anyway, as it turns out, this particular example isn't a good one to use for authenticity. My Dad said the car had been repainted at one time by a previous owner, however, it was originally a black car. The wheels were a light grey color just like his 36 Beverly, but since the car was repainted, the wheels may have also been repainted, but maybe not. Either way, the grey color may have been the original wheel color on this car but can't say for sure.

As for the interior, this was something I wanted to mention earlier, but didn't. I remembered the upholstery as being black and sure enough, my Dad said it was black. However, the interior was not correct. The previous owner had the interior redone in white leather. My Dad didn't like that and used leather paint to make it all black.

It was originally a supercharged car, but the engine had been changed at one point in time to a non-supercharged engine. The car still had the side pipes on it, though.

If anyone has a black 37 "Sportsman" with black interior, it might be this one.

Sorry that this won't help with the color verifications.

-Maurice

josh, thanks alot for the new information. we are looking forward to clarification in your next edition.

tom, thanks for your clarification. so it looks like maroon interior with a maroon dash and black wheels will work. to add a tan steering column with that combo seems a bit wierd. maybe i should stick with the black steering column. i will try to get in touch with rick hulett.

maurice, looking forward to hearing what you find out about your fathers car.

thanks alot for everyone's help. never figured such a simple question would be so difficult to answer, but its great that we are making such excellent progress. our work to resolve these issues will save alot of people who own black 810/812 cords (and there are quite a few of us) who want their cars to be judged a whole bunch of grief in the future.

brent

In the early sixties, I believe it was 1962, my Dad sold his black 37 S/C Cord Sportsman. I remember the car, but was young. I turned nine that year. I don't remember all the different colors such as the dash and wheels.

In the next couple of days, I'll ask my Dad what the various colors were and will post his answers here.

(He should have kept that car)

-Maurice

Hi everybody, the color combination for the 1936 Cord was always confusing to me until I talked to Rick Hulett. He has the original patterns, does upholstery work for Cords and is very concerned about doing the Cords correctly. I always thought on the open cars, dash panel should match trim (trim is upholstery). Because some of the maroon cars were getting done with a tan colored dash and either brown or maroon trim. After talking to Rick Hulett he pointed out to me that on p. 23 of the Engineering Changes Manual at the top of the page, it states instrument panels in all cases to match interior trim. 12/19/35). I believe in the listing in Josh's book for 1936, he lists the wheels, instrument board, garnish moldings, and upholstery as being light grey. I believe this is correct for the 1936 closed cars. I do not think they intended this combination for the open cars. I think Rick Hulett would be willing to clear up any questions you have. He has always responded to me by phone or mail.
Thank you.
Tom Dudley

Actually, the information is quite old. It was listed in "Engineering Notes", a document located at the factory by club member Joe Knapp in the late 1950s and first published by the ACD Club in July 1960. The original was comprised of pages typed up as changes were made, and kept in 3-ring binders. Not very organized, and sometimes leaving infuriating gaps.

The color material in my book was taken from the official Cord salesman's color book. I neglected to annotate the changes. (Next edition will )

The changes were obviously made a month or so into 1937 production. Why? Who knows. Since Buehrig was long gone, maybe Tremulis preferred these colors.

A club Authenticity Manual, long in the "talking" stage, looks like it may actually begin this year. Issues like this will be addressed.

Judging ain't my thing, Brent, so others will have to chime in on that subject.

b

nice post on the red wheels. thanks.

that looks like a pretty old picture. i am beginning to think that red/maroon wheels and a maroon interior with a maroon dash would look pretty good. hopefully we can get some agreement on the correct factory colours once the senior emeritus weigh in on this issue.

brent

josh

this new info you are presenting for the black 1937 cord is different from that outlined in the appendix on your book on cords. is this something you have discovered just recently?

you mentioned in an early post that if we are to be judged we should stick to the factory colours. but based on this new info, who knows what "factory colours" really are?

it looks to me like grey or black wheels should be ok. maroon or brown interior. and grey, palm beach tan, maroon or black dash all seem to have been "factory" at one time or another.

any place we can find these "factory colours" to copy for our cars?

soooooo. if you were bill and I, what do you suggest we paint the wheels, dash and cover the interior with assuming we want to be "factory correct" can you go out on a limb and make a suggestion.

wow. what a muddle.

we really need some other folks to weigh in here on their view as this is a real predicament! we need to get some consensus on the colours that are ok to paint the dash and wheels and cover the interior of a black 1937 convertible coupe assuming it is to be judged.

by the way, thanks for investigating this for bill and I. we really appreciate your time on this josh.

brent

Check out the color of this cars wheels, painted red at some time.

Here's some more water-muddying. On October 16, 1936 the factory decided on the "official" color combinations for the 1937 Cords. They apparently made some changes from the 1936 models in the stock colors on BLACK Cords. Road wheels went from grey to black. Instrument panels went from grey to maroon. Steering wheels changed from the 810's "body color", or black in this case, to Palm Beach Tan. Upholstery is listed as Maroon, and it isn't clear whether this refers to the broadcloth interior on closed cars or also to the leather interior on open ones.

Clarification, anyone?

josh/maurice

i get it. don't shoot the messenger right.

maurice or josh, you don't have the paint code for that greyish tan do you.

or can you point me in the right direction. i need the leather colour too.

the brown and the maroon so i can see which looks best.

or anyone else know who has a correct factory colour car with black exterior that might have kept the grey paint and brown or maroon leather codes that could help me out here.

thanks in advance

brent

Hi Brent,

The color of the wheels on my Dad's black 36 Beverly that I pointed the link to would be correct. But I wouldn't really call it grey, it's more of a greyish tan. I would say it's more grey than tan, though.

The dash is the exact same color as are the metal frames around the windows on the inside.

-Maurice

Hey, Brent. The rules ain't mine. All I can give you is factory info. Red wheels on a black car was a common repaint combo in the post-WWII years. Especially with red upholstery! But that wasn't the factory practice.

maurice

thanks for the link. much appreciated. glad someone is alert. i missed that post.

i think the grey looks very good. if we could just get josh or someone else to confirm where to find the correct colour of the grey paint and the leather swatches we are good to go. grey wheels and dash are coming up on one 37 convertible coupe!

most folks seem to paint their wheels black so i bet not too many know about the fact that to be correct from the factory they actually should be grey.

brent

bill

those red wheels look very nice. i can see why you say "its the one that got away". but based on your picture the paint on your new cabriolet looks like glass. very nice. i am sure when you are done it will be just as good. too bad josh won't bend his judging rules so we could paint some more wheels red eh!

thanks a whole bunch for calling chris and speaking with his wife. when you speak to him don't forget to ask him how he came upon the car, how long he owned it for and why he decided to sell it etc. etc.

its so amazing that so many of E.L. Cords grandsons have had a cord cabriolet. this has got to be totally unique in the automotive industry to have grandsons still involved with the cars their grandfather made. i bet ford is about the only other american manufacturer to be so lucky. we are very fortunate to have the privilege of your enthusiasm.

its been very nice corresponding with you.

brent

i have never seen a black cord with grey wheels in all the shows i have attended. have you seen one and how did it look? are you sure this is correct to paint the wheels grey?

Go to this message thread ...

forums.phpstack-1081784-3880776.cloudway.../viewtopic.php?t=954

... and check the photo of the black '36 Beverly. Notice the color of the wheels.

-Maurice

dryesandno wrote: i have never seen a black cord with grey wheels in all the shows i have attended. have you seen one and how did it look? are you sure this is correct to paint the wheels grey?

if you could set bill and i straight on this we would both really appreciate it. thanks again in advance.

brent

Have you ever seen one with RED wheels? This was my first Cabriolet. A 1937 S/C purchased from Harrah's in 1984. I sent it to the ACD museum immediately and never drove or sat in it again. Sold it in 2001. It's the one that "got away". When people ask me about it, I mention the black Cabriolet with the red wheels and they remember it.

Like Josh said, people do strange things over the years and after awhile fiction slowly becomes "fact". It was a good #2 car with a maroon interior. I forget the color of the dash.

It's kind of a coincidence with several of the grandsons having black Cabriolets ....

Well, I haven't talked with Chris today, but I spoke for quite sometime with his wife Katrina.

She says they did in fact have a supercharged Cabriolet some years back. I sent her a picture of the Cord from the auction results.

They also had an L-29 which completely burned up. It was quite upsetting to say the least.

So it looks like you have the real Mccoy. I will probably hear from Chris in the next day or so, but according to Katrina, they did have a Cabriolet.

bill

if you could call chris that would be amazing. i would really appreciate it.

don't get too stressed about your car. it is going to look great. i know your car has got some issues as i have been following your posts, but i really respect the fact that you want to put it back together the way it should be. i totally agree with that and your determination and dedication to see it through.

i am pretty sure my tan interior is not correct. it looks pretty good with the tan top that i have, but its not brown or maroon. i think i might switch if josh can help me find where to obtain the correct colours. its a shame to have to do so since as i recall my interior is pretty near perfect. if i do decide to switch and you want to make a deal on my interior that might work for both of us.

lets wait and hear what josh has to say. then i can source the material and the cost and see if i can afford to proceed. you are in texas right? i am in toronto, canada. we would have to figure the distances out. maybe we could meet next year in auburn if you can wait that long.

brent

josh

thanks a whole bunch for weighing in here. so the obvious question for bill and I, which i am sure you have been asked a zillion times, is where do we get the correct paint colour for the dash and the wheels and where can we get a swatch of leather for the interior. would we be able to get them at the ACD musuem or can you recommend someone else that might have them.

also, i have never seen a black cord with grey wheels in all the shows i have attended. have you seen one and how did it look? are you sure this is correct to paint the wheels grey?

if you could set bill and i straight on this we would both really appreciate it. thanks again in advance.

brent

The color combinations listed in my book were taken directly from the factory paint/interior books used by Auburn-Cord salesmen.

Over the years cars have been painted in combinations that weren't original. And it is true that Auburn would paint your car in a non-standard color if you paid for it. I venture to guess that such orders were relatively few. But this provides a loophole for anyone who wants to vary from the original colors.

If your car isn't to be judged, paint it any color you like. If it is, you should probably stick with the factory combos unless you have documentation to the contrary.