Vermillian red common for 40 coupe?

[Gumpy]

WAS VERMILLIAN RED COMMON FOR 40 COUPE? it was a common color

from 1937-48.....but I haven't seen a 1940 painted ford red....have

you?

[redfor40]

i think mine was grey when it arrived in ind

[19Fordy]

No, to my knowledge vermillion red was used only as a "highlight" on the chrome pieces like the hood latch, script lettering, trunk emblem,hubcap lettering. It was not a passenger car color. But Mandarim Maroon was. Are you thinking of painting a 40 Ford vermillion red? Be careful, it might end up looking like it belongs in a fire house parked next to the hook and ladder.

[Milt/Las Vegas]

White was another color that was conspicuously absent except for police cars maybe,but for good reason it didn't look good.

[TJ]

Vermillion red was found on 40 convertibles ( had a friend who showed his red convert on the V-8 concourse for years). Never saw it on a closed car. Knowing Ford I suspect you could order it on any of the body styles

[19Fordy]

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According to the book THE V-8 ALBUM published by the Early Ford V-8 Club of America "Ford Vermillion" was available for commercial vehicles, but not passenger vehicles. Of course, Henry may have changed his mind as the model year progressed..

[Gumpy]

ok--i agree and am a retired fireman--that red would be a bit bright for a passenger car---especially if i'm doin 60mph thru town!!

[Kube]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

According to the book THE V-8 ALBUM published by the Early Ford V-8 Club of America "Ford Vermillion" was available for commercial vehicles, but not passenger vehicles. Of course, Henry may have changed his mind as the model year progressed..

Vermillion red was never offered on '40 passenger cars as a couple of fellows stated. No how, no way.

[mj40's]

[sturgis 39]

There were a couple of 39 and 40 coupes painted red when I was a little kid. I think they were owned by hoodlums. I liked the red color. One of them is still running but has been painted turquoise. Do not know what happened to the other one. There was a 40 Pickup panted red too. They would cruse through McDonalds all the time.The pickup had a gray primed front fender. I heard he hit a deer. Those were the good old days.

I often wonder if people with "old timer disease" are living in a happier time. If I get it and I hope I will be in the fifties and sixties.

[alanwoodieman]

one thing I have learned working on Fords, never say never!! As stated before, Ford would not have turned down the sale of an auto due to a color "war". Ford would paint the fenders a different color for $1 a fender, and any color as long as it was in the color library. I pulled a Merc engine out of a 40 Sedan that was painted RED, originally and I am pretty sure it was original paint as it was on the firewall and under the rear fenders which had been removed. Could have been a fire chiefs car but ???

[Kube]

The paint chart shown in an earlier response does not depict the entire 'truth' as to what was factory applied to 39 & 40 Fords but the entire range. Some may recall the Ditzler catalog from the late 1970's. Many guys used that catalog to choose the color for their 40's Fords. Unfortunately many of the colors were not available back then and some folks ended up with beautiful but quite clearly inaccurate restorations.
I can supply the authentic colors offered on 1940 Fords and / or Mercury's to those that so desire.

Alan, I'd like to see documentation that shows Ford would have painted a fender for a $1 in order to not loose a sale. I could use that in my book project. Please email that to me at [email protected]
Thanks much.

[jerry grayson]

Originally Posted by Kube

Vermillion red was never offered on '40 passenger cars as a couple of fellows stated. No how, no way.

People who think that Ford was in the custom car business just don't understand that the company was in the mass production business. The company had a list of standard colors and that was what they wanted to do. To understand how a car was painted in 1940 would help to see the problem. The fenders were painted in one place, the hood sometimes in another, and the body including the doors and trunk lid in another. To stop this and paint in a non standard paint color was a problem. I suspect that when it was necessary to paint in a non standard color the car was pushed off to a repair station and painted maybe over a standard color. For a plant to do this very often would be a BIG problem.
I worked at a Ford plant in 1953 in the body dept so have some knowledge of how things were done.

[alanwoodieman]

Kube, I gave that service letter to Benny Bootle when they doing the first book, he had a gray coupe with maroon fenders, maybe Wayne Moore has it. I know Dennis Carpenter ended up with the NOS parts Benny had acquired. Maybe Dennis ended up with that also. I do have an installation guide to put a 41 style heater into a 40 auto. I got that letter from Clark Reid who Roy N still communicates with.

[Gumpy]

Jerry.. I can understand to change the production cycle of painting the car would slow the line down...very interesting ....do you have more details on a car was painted in 1953? thanks gump

[Kube]

Originally Posted by alanwoodieman

Kube, I gave that service letter to Benny Bootle when they doing the first book, he had a gray coupe with maroon fenders, maybe Wayne Moore has it. I know Dennis Carpenter ended up with the NOS parts Benny had acquired. Maybe Dennis ended up with that also. I do have an installation guide to put a 41 style heater into a 40 auto. I got that letter from Clark Reid who Roy N still communicates with.

Alan, Ford did offer as a Spring 1940 option a couple of multi color schemes. Folkstone body and black fenders was one option. Folkstone gray with Mandarin maroon fenders was another. Still, another was Mandarin maroon body with Folkstone gray fenders and lastly Cloud Mist gray body with Acadia green fenders.
As Jerry Grayson pointed out and as surely you know better than most... Ford was not in the business of customizing cars. Way too cumbersome (read: costly) to do so.
I have all the service letters from Carpenters and there is nothing amongst them that suggests a deviation from the colors I've mentioned was ever considered. Vermillion Red was only offered on commercial vehicles in 1940.

[jerry grayson]

Originally Posted by Gumpy

Jerry.. I can understand to change the production cycle of painting the car would slow the line down...very interesting ....do you have more details on a car was painted in 1953? thanks gump

Send me a PM
Jerry