'62 Galaxie Progress Report

[CDXXVII]

That is the factory primer on the underbody? What color is it?
I want to restore my Dallas built '62 Galaxie to a 'correct' level by referencing original survivors. Thanks!

[mbrunson427]

I'm not sure how to tell you exactly what the color is, there is really no documentation on this (as you may have already figured out). My car also came from the Dallas assembly plant, so it's safe to say that yours should be painted the same color. It's a tan color with a hint of green in it.

You can see where the underside had overspray on it. I showed all of these pictures to the body shop that is painting our '60 Starliner, they aren't going to mask the bottom side when spraying color on the car in hopes that it oversprays similarly.

Let me see if I can grab you a paint chip from the wheel well area, because I'm going to paint both of the wheel wells black.

[BruceS]

CD, Bud Potter of budsclassiccars.com may have some insight for you.  I realize he supports '63 and '64 only but might know what underside primers were used in '62.  My Dallas-built '63 Galaxie was sprayed underneath with a red primer from the factory.  It was also undercoated probably by the dealer but I've been able to remove a lot of it and was able to see what color was used. 

[Val406]

Hey Mike, sent you a PM when you get a chance. Thanks, Val.

[CDXXVII]

I've read on the Mustang forums that the SPI red epoxy primer is a popular method on their underbody restorations.

I bought a quart to experiment with. Maybe not as 'correct' as the tan but adequate?

Image attached:

[mbrunson427]

It seems like the red oxide is the "can't go wrong" approach. That's what we're doing with the '60 Starliner because we didn't have a good idea of how the car was from the factory.

[mbrunson427]

Things went a little overboard over the last couple of days. The underside of the car has been cleaning up well enough that we decided to go full-tilt and pull the frame. This should make a few things easier in the long run, such as painting the frame, securing the fuel lines, and boxing in the spring perches for Cal-Trac modifications.

Oh, and my cousin brought his new puppy down while working on the car. Trying to teach him young to be a garage guy. 

[66FAIRLANE]

Good lookin' pooch.

[CDXXVII]

Jealous of the clean condition of your car. Look on top of the right frame rail aft of the firewall. My Dallas built '62 has 2 VINs stamped where they are only visible when you take the body off. The 'official' VIN is on the frame just forward of the firewall (you probably knew that!).

[mbrunson427]

I looked this weekend, I found the 2nd VIN stamping. About half way back on the passenger side. Interesting, I had never heard anybody talk about that one before.

[CDXXVII]

Your recent photos got wiped due to server problems. Maybe repost them?

[mbrunson427]

Reposting some pictures that were lost:

[CDXXVII]

I really like the tan underbody, especially since my '62 project is also Dallas built.
Unfortunately my car spent so much time in the north there might not be enough primer left to analyze and match.

[machoneman]

was the underside sand blasted or another method was used? Very clean!

[mbrunson427]

was the underside sand blasted or another method was used? Very clean!

The method was me in a rain poncho spraying kerosene underneath it and scraping/brushing off undercoating. Was a total pain. Worth it in the end, but it took way too much time. Every time I gowned up and worked on it my wife would come out and take a picture of me and send to our friends....."my husband is nuts".