Paint combination for 1933
 

I am close to begin painting my 1933 Tudor. Prefer to use one of the original colors but they all seem too dark. From my sources (v8 club restoration, the Antique Ford Repaint Manual and others) there were only 5 color on that year: black, duncan blue, maroon, emperor brown and chester gray. None is a light color and have almost no contrast with the black fenders, except some with Emperor brown and Chester Gray. I have seen pictures of 1934 Cordoba gray with vermillion red wheels that seems a beautiful combination and I am tempted to use. Does anyone know if Cordoba gray was ever stock color in 1933? May be at the end of the year? Any other light color cars ever produced in that year? Please post pictures if you have of your Chester Gray and your Emperor Brown cars! Thanks Ford experts. Manuel :)

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

I don't believe cordoba grey was available in '33 but I love my '34 cabriolet in cordoba grey.

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Manuel,

Emperor brown is a handsome color and not dark. I'll send you a photo of my '33 coupe with this color when I get the chance.

David

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

How about just posting a picture of our coupe here? Would love to eyeball it.

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Thanks. Anyone else can post a picture of a Emperor Brown or a Chester Gray car? any body style. Just need to see how it is in a real car !

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Manuel,

Here are some photos of the '33 color Emperor brown - medium on a coupe body. Note that the front fender apron in the one photo is also in this color. The coupe depicted was built in Canada where the extra-cost option of body-color fenders, etc. was available. This option was not available in the U.S. and as the manufacturing source of your car was the U.S. you are limited to black fenders, etc. (if your goal is originality).

I have no idea where you gained the impression that this was a dark color. To each his own, but to me, this color is richer than the '34-'35 Cordoba gray.

David

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Sorry, but I forgot that I removed the front fender aprons when I installed the engine.

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

DavidG .........................
Due to lighting, it is almost impossible to tell a color, from a photograph.
If you will notice, this same car, at the same time, seems to be different colors in each photograph. In direct sunlight, it would seem to be a different color yet. I don't think that you can get away from it.
MIKE :)

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Very nice, no, super nice. Thanks for posting.

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Thanks for the pictures! FL&WVMIKE seems right. Light makes it look different. DavidG´s coupe looks more sand color on the first picture but gray on the second. I got the impression Emperor Brown is a dark color from the reference book "Antique Ford Repaint Manual". It shows the Ditzler paint chips (PPG lacquer). The # 1295 is Emperor Brown and it just looks much darker than DavidG´s coupe. My problem here in South America is that the paint shop can not mix up paint using the old paints formulas and codes, which I have. My only choice is therefore to give them my paint chip or any painted sample and they will reproduce it faithfully....but this paint chip just seems darker than what it really is!!

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

Manuel,

I picked those particular photos on purpose because they differ in tone from photo to photo, but do capture the extremes so that you would not be misled by a single photo.

The last photo (the one with the engine in the chassis) is the most representative of what the color looks like. It matches the period color chips that I have. I suspect that the chip in the "Antique Ford Repaint Manual" may not necessarily be the same color that Ford used on its '33 models. Two different Emperor brown shades (light and dark) were used in late '32 as a replacement for Winterleaf brown, light and dark, and they both differ from Emperor brown - medium, the color used on '33s.

I can send you a sample of the paint that I used when you are next in S.D. that your local supplier could use for matching purposes. Please send me a reminder after you arrive.

David

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

This is gennie Old chester gray on a 33 . Fenders - aprons etc are black . Added a couple more pics to get the contrast & also to my dad on .

Re: Paint combination for 1933
 

I can never understand why Ford painted all the 33 inner fender panels black when the body was a different color. This leaves the lower "revel" changing color as your eye moves from the door, to cowl and then to the inner panel. Just looks odd to me. Guess it reduced the number of parts in inventory.