To paint the radiator support or not

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Sedanman

Sedanman

67-9 Valiant specialist
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You decide. I decided to go flat black like the factory did so my grills stood out more and I didn't have to look at all of the wiring and etc.
 

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No. I have had many 67-9 cars that had the whole rad support painted and even in to the headlight bucket area on the fenders. My car hasn't been apart since it was built
 

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It is your car so if you like it painted then leave it that way. It does make the grille stand out better.


I personally have never seen the top of the core support painted black on 67 through 69s. I have 8 here now and all but two are wearing the original paint so I guess I will have to look at them.
 
I have always liked the look a lot better with them blacked out, since it contrasts the grill and hides all that busy stuff.
 
Paint it. Like you and Oakie said it makes the grille stand out. It looks unfinished if you don't. Check out the Mopar Muscle Valiant. Cool car but I don't like the look. tmm
 

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A lot of it depends on what plant the car came from and how the persons doing it felt that day.

Do what you think is best for you.
 
I supplied the rear glass set up on that MM Valiant and the hood mold for VFN to make 67-8 Valiant hoods that MM later installed on the car.
 
I too always black them out. light body color paint just looks tacky and too busy IMHO plus most were blacked out from the factory unless they were black or dark green (so ive read) although pretty hit and miss and somewhat sloppy.
 
Mine looked like it was brushed on at the factory which would explain the sloppyness.
 
Stock restoration, paint it black...Hot Rod or Racecar, let the body color..or even better yet, white show through. Totally screams Factory-issue Badass.
 
Saw a red Dart with red supports through grill, distracting to me.
 
dano said:
A lot of it depends on what plant the car came from and how the persons doing it felt that day.

Do what you think is best for you.
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Word I got was the dark colored cars- green, blue, black, etc. got body color and the lighter colored cars had it blacked out.
This after being called out for saying that they all came with the support painted in body color when someone asked why mine was body color. Mine's black now.
 
It was actually a crude process. Some lucky dude got to stand in a pit for 40hrs, spraying the radiator support area from underneath. Sounds like fun.
 
Black out painted...as it should be...the only way it should be....I believe only two colors did not receive the black out treatment, Black and I cannot recall the other but it could be red?
 
Sedanman said:
Mine looked like it was brushed on at the factory which would explain the sloppyness.
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I heard that the spray wand looked something like a weed sprayer. It didn't need to be high tech just functional. It didn't look like high quality paint either. It was more like thinned down undercoating. tmm
 
looks a million times better black.

Totally visually distracting to leave it white. Looks like crap.

I was at a very highly regarded Mopar customizer with multiple SEMA awards... he actually painted the inside of a bumper black bedliner spray so as not to distract your eye.
 
Johnny Dart said:
It was actually a crude process. Some lucky dude got to stand in a pit for 40hrs, spraying the radiator support area from underneath. Sounds like fun.
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There is a red '74 Dodge Charger with 14,000 miles on it at Route 65 Classics. All original car and it must have been hour number 39 for that lucky dude in the pit. I've seen the car in person and it's worth your time to take a look at the radiator support photo of the car.
 
I always thought the radiator support was painted body color and THEN someone srayed some flat black sorry lookin paint on front side of support where if you looked at the grill, black showed thru NOT body color.....
 
barbee6043 said:
I always thought the radiator support was painted body color and THEN someone srayed some flat black sorry lookin paint on front side of support where if you looked at the grill, black showed thru NOT body color.....
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That's correct, you'll always find body color under the black-out paint. The "light colored" cars were supposed to be blacked out at the factory, but like almost every other thing about Mopars, anything is possible. If it were me, I'd black it out. It just looks better.
 
Most B body cars were blacked out as well. And , yes, they usually did a very sloppy job of it. Black paint looked thin and runny. The 68 RR I did was untouched, and that was how it was. The untouched 68 GTS I have is the same way, and it is GG1 dark Green. I think that they always look better blacked out. Shows as better detail from the front view.
 
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