I have a 30/31 coupe body that had been painted in latex house paint prevent further rusting, per the previous owner. It's peeling off relatively easily which is nice and it does seem to have saved it from rusting any further than it was. Anyone have any idea if black/red oxide/orangey-yellow paint I am uncovering is at any point original? It looks neat and if it's original I'd try to keep it. However if it's not, I might still keep it but I guess it won't tell as cool of a story? This was before any peeling started, note the wheel well is black: After some peeling: The quarter that is primarily black is no longer the thick latex paint that on top. This is what was underneath.
No, it looks like a car that needs some love and attention. But that is just my take, I like em one color and shiny....and no rust
Pretty sure that there is nothing "orginal Henry" about the yellow. Maybe original '60s high school. The black and and whatever primer is under it could certainly be original. I got an idea that it is not anything to brag about. A solid original paint job is cool, but original remnants are really just paint that should/could be removed when you repaint.
Thanks, I assumed the yellow was nothing worth saving. However the black/red oxide look, I was unsure. Sure, it may be nothing to brag about. But it tells a story and if it's original, I'd be less inclined to just sand it down. I can always strip it and make it straight and shiny. But if it's original, I'd keep it as it's only original once. Right? Isn't that what this forum is all about
My coupe was originally maroon with black belt line and possibly roof. There was maroon in the wheel wells and have also found it on the backside of the firewall. I would scrape some paint there and see what you find.
No this forum is about building traditional hot rods. Contrary to popular belief they actually got painted hence the yellow paint on your old Ford. My thoughts are this and this is as much opinion as not. There is a lot to be said for finding an old hot rod or even an old car and preserving it. Most of what we find cannot be preserved. The look of your rod is a direct reflection of who you are. Even an uneven coat of primer says that you care about your car, rust and decay say that you really don't. Like I said this last little bit is just opinion and may not be worth the time it took me to type it.
The wheel well appears to be black under the yellow. But its definitely not the same latex type paint that is peeling easily. It is much thinner and its on their pretty darn good
Looks like a Hot rod aftermarket chassis going under it? Why have a NICE frame and a shit looking body !
look a the places that have had some bodywork on them in the past (if there are any), they will tell you something about the originality of the primer. I'd also be trying to figure it out, if it were my car. But yeah, it all needs to come off and be replaced....once you figure out what you're going to do with the finish, in the end.
That frame is not for this body. This will go on an original 32 roller I have. Thanks I appreciate the input. I haven't found many areas that have had bodywork done, just some where it was rotted and the previous owner cut them out to prevent the spread.
Cut out to prevent the spread. Reminds me of an adventure me and the wife had in the late '90s. We drove 4 hours across Kansas to look at a '56 Chrysler Windsor. I talked to the guy on the phone and he said that the car had zero rust. I probably could have found some rust if I tried but it did pretty much have zero rust, someone had cut all the rust out. So it did have some panels cut out but he was right there was no rust. We seldom find a rust free old car any more and the fact that the previous owner painted it with what he had to protect it actually says a lot for the man and the pieces that he sold you.
100% agree. This body sounded too good to be true, but when I saw the exterior and then took a look at the subrails, I couldn't buy it fast enough. The windshield is intact and has the NJ reg sticker from 1969. He kept all the original wood, labeled it. Likely not usable but he took the time and it showed throughout. The whole car was covered in latex house paint to preserve it while it sat stored in a warehouse for years.
That is actually pretty cool. If you don't replace the wood with steel and don't want to spend the cash on a new wood kit you can use the old wood for patterns. Sycamore makes good wood on the cheap by the way, we say henry used oak but I have found sycamore pieces in an old A from time to time. Henry was not a purist. LOL
I love all the comments with no relevancy to my question. It was always the intention to paint and in stripping it down I found what I posted. So sure I'll probably end up painting it, but I wanted to hear if anyone had some input on the originality of what is underneath. Thanks for those who have helped. I don't pretend to be an expert here, looking to learn. Thanks for those who provided some helpful insight.
in your first post you said : It looks neat and if it's original I'd try to keep it. However if it's not, I might still keep it but I guess it won't tell as cool of a story?
It looks like a great start for a nice car when it is done. Having spent my whole life wanting a really nice rod or custom and not getting there yet I have to really wonder about the guys who claim to love crappy old paint and rust.
I tend to agree with you. I'm into it if its a survivor/original in some way but even then in needs to solid without major rust issues. If it has some crazy history, I get leaving it as is. However if it's a crappy repaint/rust all over, thats not my thing. I feel like the consensus is pretty heavily that this is NOT anything original. In scraping it down further last night, it seems like the yellow/orange is the first layer on the roof, however not on the wheel wells. The wheel wells have black underneath. So who knows, but seems like at some point it was stripped down to bare metal for a repaint of said yellow/orange color.
The Jalopy Journal
