Hey Guys,

Saw the post on the 70 TA about the primer undercarriage color and not being painted body color. Is this true in regards to 68 B-Bodys, particularly, my 68 Road Runner? My whole underside is going to be new: one piece floor, rear rails, and one piece trunk floor, and I'm undecided how I should finish it. My car is an an original 383 4spd car, and I will transplanting it with a hemi, keeping the 4 spd, and adding a Dana 60 rear. I'd like it to look as stock as possible, but I like the idea of the underside being clean and being the same color as the topside. Plus, I'll be practicing my spraying on the bottom to see if I like my results before starting on the top. So, what's really correct color wise? Thanks

Cheers

my 69-1/2 a12 roadrunner is original paint and my undercarriage is basically all primer as well.
but my other cars are primered with mostly body color,with more body color on the outside than inside,meaning no body color near the transmission hump area.

After the dip process and electro static primer only over sprays from the top primers and body color. The unit was on a paint "truck/dolly" about nine inches off the ground when the top primers and body colors were applied so very little overspray hit the bottom.

Also, the radiator support blackout was a thirty second job, shot straight at the support.

OK, gotcha . Anyone have a good picture of a 68 RR radiator blackout area? Thanks

Cheers

I can find some if no one posts first. The A12 guys have a lot of pics.

If you decide to do primer, please do not paint the bottom of the front frame rails body color.

a12

another

Got some decent pics of a 68 and a 69 Coronet core black out, got a 68 Satellite and a 68 Road Runner, I could get some pics of tomorrow but both are assembled, so I don't know what we can see.

Radiator Blackout area as requested.
i dont know if this will help? its my car after I took the front end off.


starting to take it apart







by the way, the car is coming along great, I saw your cardomain page!! great work you've done.

beepbeep, so are you saying to treat the front of the car like the floors and rear are done; primed with some light overspray? The second car cdp posted shows the primer pans and some light overspray that would be supportive of what was said about the car being painted on a dolly. Is that front overpainted then? His front rails are painted all around as well as the floor and everything forward of the torsion bar mount. That shouldn't be?

On the subject of the radiator blackout, thanks Pavell. Yeah, been working hard on it and I should be finished welding in August/Septemberish. So it's basically from the top part of the support down is what it looks like. Anyone have a clearer picture?

Thanks for the replies!

Cheers

Core Black Out
The basic theory of the core support black out was so that when you looked throught the grill you did not see a body colored back ground. I was performed very haphazardly and your car is the only one that can really tell you how it looked, if it is "unreadable" then use reference photos as shown and I will e-mail you what I have to add to the mix. It was sprayed after the body was assembled but before the grill was installed. Some say it was sprayed throught the grill opening and som say from the bottom at an upward angle. I believe both to be true from the cars I have "read". Anyway, different days, different shifts, different workers, different plants, etc. all add to the fact that there isn't one way something was suppose to be, just things we have commonly seen.

Panited frame rails, I do believe the car pictured is over restore, but only slightly and I do that myself, it just looks good. BUT again you could have had a conscientous painter the day that car went through who made an effort to cover the frame rails and lower part of cowl, again I have seen it very close on original paint cars and I have seen it were the guy looked like he was trying to save Chrysler money through the use of paint on the bottom of the engine compartment.

"Read" your car if at all possible, it will tell you the truth and then document that proof for those who tell you its wrong!

Undercarriage as well as the bottom surfaces of the engine compartment should have fairly light overspray over a fairly light grey satin sheen color - about "battleship grey" to "dove grey" in shade. L.A.-built cars used black instead of grey, according to some sources. Color was merely overspray from spraying the lower sides & rear of the car, and from spraying down into the engine compartment. The rad-support blackout appears to have been sprayed upwards, as though the sprayer was aiming from just below the car.

Some examples. Note the arrowed areas in the pictures.

.

..

...

You will never find any two cars where the blackout looks the same. As stated above the intent was to not show body color through the grill. Certain dark colors usually did not receive this treatment.

As I stated above the car was sitting very low to the ground and it was shot head on quickly. Black primer or organosol was used for the blackout treatment.

Some examples.

,

,,

The dip process.