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wmckusick

wmckusick

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A while back someone posted pictures of what a "proper" bottom side looks on a 66 cuda. At the time I was going to (sorry) do a total black under coat but as the rebuild has now gone full restore to original I'm flipping back and forth on total coverage of color vs. factory over spray. She is currently sitting on a rotisserie and fully covered front to back, rocker to rocker, with epoxy primer. Looking for good example of what would be worth more to a purist. Me, I'd like full coverage but this is my first mopar too!
 
I'd be interested in seeing "proper" bottom-side looks on '66, '65, and '64 Barracudas. I myself have a '64 and am getting it ready for full strip down to metal on rotisserie. I hear you on the issue of "total coverage of color vs. factory overspray." Would love to see some pictures of undersides with markings that would have occurred on axles, or various other components, etc. Undercoating vs. color coat coverage......
 
the factory dipped these cars in a vast of primer. that's why those holes with the rubber plugs are there. when it was painted, the guy got a little spray under the undesides of the bottom toward the edges, as he was just trying to be sure the rockers etc got painted.
the markings on stuff like the rear varied by which rear and pumkjn. also other nuts got a dab of paint indicating all was tighten down. a search might give you info on all these markings. there could have been lots of markings originally, like value covers,, etc.... this is why for the true restorer, an unmolested original car offers so much info.

these guys that paint the entire bottom side of their car, that is NOT OEM, and is generally referred to as over restored. they figure doing this will either yield a trophy at the local show, or help the car last longer on the road?
 
Any idea on how high off the floor was the car and how high the spray was, angle? Did they have it up above say waste high and a midget was the sprayer? The mmcdetroit site looks like it was done at a set height for long periods because the angle looks pretty steady and coverage complete. I amy be over restored but to some of us, it looks better than the under paid factory worker that "sprayed a little over spray"
 
the last 5 or 6 pages are on primer/paint. I do not know if these were hand sprayed at the factory or done by machine.
But if done by hand they didn't have cups on their guns and were most likely sprayed from pots.

http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/dealerships/1966PlymouthDealershipDataBook-08.shtml

picture of paint booth. i cant make out much from it other than, yeah it is a paint booth.
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/misc/paint_booth_dodge_main_600.jpg

primer dipping
http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/misc/dipped.jpg
 
It would be gray with body color overspray at the sides where the rockers were body color. Check out 65 Dart Charger in the resto threads. His Dart is exactly how it should be.
 
You can find cars that were almost completely painted on the underside at the factory, and you can find them with just overspray as mentioned above. There is no "right" or "wrong" way. I'd paint the entire underside. It makes keeping it clean so much easier than the rough/porous primer.
 
I w figure it like this: if you are completing for that treasured $5 trophy at a show where you are is being judged as " like it left the factory OEM stuff" and if they have knowledgable judges, then I would do it as CORRECT??

its your car, if you like the bottom cleaned and painted to shine like the rest of it, then its a NO BRAINER,

I drive mine, so I clean off the bottom and undercoat it. just me. that's what I WANT.
 
barbee6043 said:
I w figure it like this: if you are completing for that treasured $5 trophy at a show where you are is being judged as " like it left the factory OEM stuff" and if they have knowledgable judges, then I would do it as CORRECT??

its your car, if you like the bottom cleaned and painted to shine like the rest of it, then its a NO BRAINER,

I drive mine, so I clean off the bottom and undercoat it. just me. that's what I WANT.
Click to expand...

lol So true. Mine has the factory undercoat still on it.
 
Weld in a set of frame ties and torque boxes then paint it
any way you like.
Your car may not win a concourse showing, but fifty years from now the owner will be thanking you for your foresight.:coffee2:
 
longarm said:
Weld in a set of frame ties and torque boxes then paint it
any way you like.
Your car may not win a concourse showing, but fifty years from now the owner will be thanking you for your foresight.:coffee2:
Click to expand...

Frame ties, torque box? examples?
 
chryslerfat said:
lol So true. Mine has the factory undercoat still on it.
Click to expand...
Scraped and sand blasted clean

barbee6043 said:
I w figure it like this: if you are completing for that treasured $5 trophy at a show where you are is being judged as " like it left the factory OEM stuff" and if they have knowledgable judges, then I would do it as CORRECT??

its your car, if you like the bottom cleaned and painted to shine like the rest of it, then its a NO BRAINER,

I drive mine, so I clean off the bottom and undercoat it. just me. that's what I WANT.
Click to expand...

It's my car now, and I don't give rat a$$ about trophy's BUT I do like to do things correctly to an all original car. Probably won't do the "drips" but in the end, the bottom will get a flat clear coat for protection. Now, when I do my next cuda for MOD...she'll get full color to go with all the things I have sat and dreamed of while just looking and smiling at what I have done and how at this point, she's going back together.
 
correct would be primer with overspray.Wheel wells were all undercoated
for sound control and cosmetic reasons.Trunk extensions undercoated as
well depending on the plant
 
ir3333 said:
correct would be primer with overspray. Wheel wells were all undercoated
for sound control and cosmetic reasons.Trunk extensions undercoated as
well depending on the plant
Click to expand...

Now THAT might be why the under coating was so freaking heavy! Sound control!
 
Here's mine after hours spent cleaning. Based on the drips the shell was dipped in a vat of grey primer then painted. Different plants & bodies had different levels of overspray, I've seen some original B-bodies that had a lot of paint underneath, so much that it appeared from a quick glance it looked like the underbody was painted. Needless to say I didn't do a correct resto on mine.

underbody%20cleaned%20temp_zpscrxhycep.jpg


underbody%20painted%20temp_zpssknfh4cn.jpg
 
So I've seen the VAT dip color that "looks" like a light grey?
I've also seen what looks like a reddish color primer (I think mine has that up under the dash but the rest of the interior is original car color)
Anyone have a detail info on primer colors and stages?

Body guy is talking about a green expoxy primer for shell. granted it will all be covered but, thinking I've gone this far to put the right stuff on/in/under...

Thanks
 
I like what barbee said about it being your car and doing it the way you want. A few years back someone asked about drips and runs and other factory defects. This was for a 64 "B" body.The photos are from a un-restored 12,000 mile 64 Belvedere.These are just a few.There were many more plus how thin the paint is.Other defects were a dent in the roof from the inside where the line worker slipped installing the dome light along with much mis-aligned trim.So I guess what I'm saying were do you draw the line as to what is factory correct and what you want your car to look like when it is finished.Again this is food for thought and just for reference.
 

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lets face it. the average guy restoring his old mopar goes to WAYyyy more trouble to make the car nice than the assembly line workers back n the day!????/

if the goal is to restore a car and compete at shows where the standard is " as it left the factory" OR take it to the local show where Joe Chevy" is the judge. (joke here)... or restore it where hopefully it will last another 50 years or................. whatever. whatever makes the owner happy is the goal and should be. IMO
 
this is a hi end B body being restored...
 

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I had a '70 Road Runner and the entire underneath was nicely painted. The car was not restored (this was 1975) and it only had 27,000 miles on it. Like I said before, there really is no "factory correct" when it comes to this subject.

Primer color varied too. I heard that a lot of leftover "paint" made its way into that vat of primer, so while basically grey, it could be tinted too. GM cars exhibit this variation too.
 
Tadams said:
May not be original, but looks amazing.
Click to expand...

Definetly awesome! The only this is, I'm trying to understand why you would paint the underside of a car? What about rock chips and road grime, leading to rust? Is it just going to stay in the garage as a monument? Are you going to invite people to lay down to appreciate your work?
 
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