I have a 68 Road Runner with the decor package, so it has the trim piece between the tail lights on the trunk. The trim piece that is there is pretty beat up, so I decided to order a new one to replace it. It arrived yesterday, and it looks great, but I was surprised at the color of the stripes on it. They are a very dark red, I would say closer to a maroon color then anything else. On the current trim piece I have, the stripes are a much brighter red, more of a fire engine red. Can anyone confirm what the correct color is for the stripes on the trunk trim piece? Thanks in advance for your help.

This is my original panel. The flash makes it look much lighter than it really is. The part closer to the right tail light is a more accurate example.This has not been repainted and is pretty dark.
This is the only pic I have on this computer.
Mark

IMO I think the trunk finish panel "red" should match the dark red of the tail light lens during the day. I (my opinion) think that's what was intended but didn't always happen by restorers or originals faded over decades to a brighter red.

This is my '68's rr's trunk finish panel after it was restored by someone that was, at the time, considered one of the better restores of finish panels and trim work. While he had it I emphasized the fact that I had three other originals that I had collected and they were all dark red or maroon in color and that more research that I had done seemed to confirm the original color was a dark red or maroon. I got it back and IMO it was too red and not dark enough. I was p!$$#d but nothing I could do as I waited, and waited an extremely long time to get it back from this person.....and he is no longer in business. The color should mimic the tail lights so it looks like they are completely surrounding the finish panel. Kind of like the old Thunderbirds and current Charger and Challenger, etc.,

Mike

They were indeed a dark red/maroon shade, as A12 points out to closely match the color of the unlit tail lamp lenses. It's been a common mistake for many years to paint them incorrectly.

Thanks for the input. The new piece will be going on shortly. Great looking Runners too! I love those old birds!