Body color or ?????

1973 roadrunner

What color is the underside of the Body?

Body color? Black? Primer?

This may not be helpful as I don't have experience with the early 70s models, but in 68-69 for example, the undersides were primered a grayish color. The body color was feathered in on each side a bit beyond the rocker panels, but the majority of the underside was primered.

This is how I did my 69 roadrunner, similar to factory.

Same way I did mine, overspray.

Your 73 would have been done the same way. Primer with body color overspray. If your car came with underhood insulation, the underside would have been completely undercoated. Undercoating and hood insulation were part of the same package.

Thanks for the info. The owner is a gm guy and adamant that the proper color for the underside of all vehicles is black. I've already had to back him off painting the engine bay black......

Primer with overspray

More examples of how Lynch Road '69 B=bodies were underside color over sprayed with the bottom center dip gray (primer?) corrosion bath left unpainted body color.

This is a low mileage survivor Super Bee, you can see the Bahama Yellow on the outside and the gray dip still inboard.





There's more examples but can't get to them right now. I'd do a gray epoxy paint, not primer, then over spray it on the out side in body color if I was looking for O.E. but really I think it's best and less time and prep to just do the bottom body color and be done with it.

Unless it's a 100% OE concourse restoration, that you want judged, I'd paint the entire underside body color. I know it's not correct, but the primer just looks like the painter didn't try. And the purists don't need to jump my comment, I know it's harder to replicate the OE look.

I caught someone on their hands and knees looking under my '68 Road Runner for what I don't know but I said to him "hey if I hand you a wrench could you check a couple of muffler clamps for me while your down there" It was something stupid and if someone is checking out the underside of your car and they're not an OE judge then just ask them what they found so interesting and to also check a couple of muffler clamps too.

Mike

Disagree. Instead paint it flat grey. Resto Rick sells a paint to do this. Then you have the protection of paint and the right look.

Some of these folks crack me up...had one call me out at a show...told me all 69 big block motors were orange.... "Uh...its a 68".... he scampered off.... lol

Just ask "Where is your car, I would like to critique it?

I was selling my '68 Road Runner and got the same thing from a guy and his "Mopar Expert" too on the engine color being wrong. Got real cocky and wanted me to knock the price off by $5k or more for that mistake and the fact it may not even be a RR engine.........before I could say anything my friend (a real Mopar guy) said "you know it's a '68 and even if it were a '69 this ('68 RR) is an original A/C car and the '69 RR A/C engine it turquoise too. I had no interest in selling the RR to this guy even if he offered more then the asking price.

Do a sprayout with primer and have the shop color match the primer with regular paint.

I painted the whole underside same as body hemi orange. i think it looks better the OEM.

You will only be here once so why would you do anything but restore it the way the factory did. Painting the undercarriage body color is as bad as painting the trunk with spatter paint or the engine compartment black. It's all WRONG!
There are plenty of products that will protect and have the appearance of the original correct look from the factory.
To the OP. If you have a GM guy restoring your Mopar you will have a ton of problems unless you watch him like a Hawk! Do your research and make him do it the way you want or on completion you will be disappointed.

I have a '65 coronet and a '69 coronet r/t. both have the original underbody paint. looks to be a flat black to me. both have some body color overspray showing.

Wouldn't by chance both are LA assembly plant cars?

None of the underbody colors were truly "Flat", all had a dull sheen to them, just nothing like the paint did. The factory dipped the cars in a rust prohibitive sealer/primer bath up to about the armrest pad level, then the cars were baked in an oven which hardened drips you see on the bottom contours of the floor pans and caused the thick hardened bubbly residue inside the cars trunk floor and interior floor pan areas. The cars were then shot with primer and paint and baked again. The dip coating they received was a medium elephant grey color for most plants, the Los Angeles plant used a much darker colored material that was close to black but was actually a very dark bluish grey. The duster example shown here shows the proper Los Angeles dip primer color, before and after restroation.

I think it's way easier to paint the bottom side of the car in the factory primer overspray method. It IS how they came new! No time consuming masking, and heck of $ savings in paint materials! I want to puke everytime I see a car full painted body color underneath. The ironic part is after restoring it incorrectly they add paint dabs and parts tags to detail it up. Why bother, it's incorrect from the get-go!

EXACTLY! Well said!

Good to see no shortage of strong opinion on this thread, do you boys feel the same about ALL the other incorrect feature you place on your cars?? Clear coat paint, electronic ignition, radial tires, how about the felt on rubber window stoppers or clamps with original markings. See, now I want to puke!!
Good to see nothing less than perfection is what you all drive

My car does not have any of things

Niether does mine.

The body and paint of a car is it's foundation, if you get that part correct you can change most anything else that bolts on fairly easily, whether that be a small item like hose clamps, or a major item like an engine swap, it's easy to go back to stock if you want.

What hemi70se said makes sense, when you have a car with a major incorrect item like a perfectly painted floor pan (which is not original, it's custom), adding a bunch of production line detail items, inspection markings, paint daubs, etc. is a bit silly.

If you want a customized car, build a custom car, if you want an original O.E. correct car, build it, nobody is knocking either one. But if you mix the two together you can expect mixed reactions and opinions if asked, just the way it is.
.02



Before you get too worked up about the responses here keep in mind it's a restoration question on the restoration forum.

Scott, I do understand, and no argument that the correct way to finish is as described with primer and overspray. I think what gets me most is todays anonymity that comes with the internet and everyones over the top opinions and lack of civility. There are ways to express an opinion without adding a touch of 'rude'.

I see nothing rude on this thread. It's pretty straight forward. Like already said it's either original correct or it is custom.
AAR#2 Yes I do have original down to the correct markings, nuts and bolts on all the cars I build. They are as correct as humanly possible and if someone can prove I am wrong then I change it to the most correct it can be.
I appreciate all Mopars no matter what the condition. But if you are wanting information about these cars on the restoration forum, that's what you are going to get.

I think the point is being missed, I realize it’s the restoration forum, I realize right from wrong and not only support it but live for it. But I also realize that voicing an opinion that forces a violent body reaction (such as puking) to what one would choose to do, or not do to their car may be a bit extreme.

Final post on the matter

the '65 coronet came from LA. the '69 coronet r/t was lynch road,...I think?

On a related note, most Mopars received undercoating in the wheel well areas after paint. The exception being most Los Angeles plant cars which only received undercoating in the rear wheel well areas, the fronts were typically just sprayed with some matt black paint to mask the body color from showing around the front wheels when viewed from the side, similar or the same paint as used to mask the radiator core support behind the grille.

my 65 coronet doesn't have undercoat in the front wheel wells but my 69 does.

A little late to the party here but a follow up undercoating question....If a car was undercoated, was it done after the gas tank was installed? Should the bottom of the trunk floor just be the dark gray dip/primer color, regardless of the undercoating originally done?

Mine had no undercoat above the tank.

My brothers 70 Charger was grey dip coat above the gas tank.

Thank you, folks.

I'm pretty sure the undercoating was sprayed right before "body drop". (where the suspension, engine/trans, exhaust and rear end were installed) The brake/fuel lines are covered in undercoating as well as exhaust heat shields on E-bodies. There would most likely be undercoating overspray on the sides of the gas tank. I think Dave Walden's Valiant had undercoating on the seat track bolts/nuts indicating that the interior was complete before undercoating and body drop.