"Special Paint" 91001LG

[KevinK7]

Relatively new here, and I've searched, but haven't found an answer.
Currently looking at a '68 with "SPECIAL PAINT 91001LG" on the SPID.
Can the color be decoded from the 91001LG?
The truck still has it's original paint (White roof, and sort of a faded beige gold exterior and interior( that looks something like Saddle Fawn or Diamond Green on the attached chart.
(Haven't been able to load pics yet, but will shortly)

Thanks for any information,

Kevin

[jocko]

Kevin, I haven't seen that code before and I don't know how to "decode" one of the special paint RPOs - other than finding one of the same code that is a known original. Saddle Metallic was an option, but it's also a standard color code for a 68 of 525 (which is listed as a commercial color named Saddle Fawn in your chart for some reason (with the same 525 code) - but I've never really heard saddle and fawn used together in the same name of a color, hmm. The color charts I have do not list it, but they do list the 525 Saddle Metallic for light duty trucks. I normally have associated Fawn with a 67 and earlier interior paint color, but I believe you could get it on a truck also. Note Diamond Green is a Ford color. Post some pics and folks can tell you what the color is.

I think it's time to start a Special Paint thread...

[KevinK7]

Jocko,
Thanks for the reply. I added a pic of the SPID and nose of the truck in first post, but here are a few more.

I think it's just lighting (as nothing was ever repainted on the truck), but with these two interior shots, the driver door seems to look more gold.
The engine bay color (being out of the sun) seems to match everything else.
I deal a lot with 1st Gen Camaros and the color looks like something between one used on the '67 Camaro called "Sierra Fawn", and "Ash Gold" used in '68.











For the record, here's "Sierra Fawn" color on a '67 Camaro:

[special-K]

My first impression is Saddle Poly on the outside, but with less fade could be the gold used on 50th Anniversary trucks, which starts looking more brownish as it fades. My hunch is it got the medium gold poly of the 50th Ann trucks with fawn interior trim. Not an anniversary truck but with that color.

Commercial on that chart just means truck colors. The rest of the '68 selection is on the prior page or '67 chart

[jocko]

I agree Tim, outside definitely looks like saddle metallic 525. But that's a factory color for light duty in 68, so I'm still stumped. Also agree the interior looks like a very faded anniv gold.

[KevinK7]

Thanks for the replies.
A general question on special paint. Does it imply the color is simply a non-standard 'truck' color, but would have been an available (Chevrolet) model year color?


Thanks again,

Kevin

The Fawn color does seem to resemble that on the interior chart.

[Keith Seymore]

Special paint process, per author/illustrator/historian Eric White.

This was written specifically for Pontiac Motor Division, but you get the idea:

Originally Posted by Eric White

The procedure for getting a special-paint car ordered went like this:

• The customer (or dealership) determines what color is desired.

• An "All Series Special Equipment" order form is filled out.

The information required for a special-paint-request on this form is:
• Lower Color Paint No.
• Upper Color Paint No.
• Make of Car & Year Paint Used.
I am guessing that obtaining the correct paint no. would be left up to the ordering salesman/dealership paint department.

In the '60s and early '70s, before colored plastic/fiberglass trim parts became common, any color paint could be ordered, as long as the dealer could supply the paint formula no. on the S.O. form. After the mid-'70s when the crash-bumper fillers became common place, special order colors were phased out except for large fleet orders.

Several codes were used on the Fisher Body trim tag to indicate a special-order paint. Codes varied between the years and between Fisher Body plants. Some of the codes used were:
1= Standard GM paint, not a Pontiac color
2= Special Pontiac color. Sometimes offered a half-year "springtime" color.
3= Cadillac FireFrost color. This paint was not normally allowed on a Pontiac build because of the special processes required to apply this type of paint.
4= Body in primer
SPEC or ** would indicate a paint color from a source outside GM (Ford, Chryco, AMC, John Deere, International Harvester, etc.) Colors could also be ordered to match school or business colors. As long as a formula no. could be identified by the dealership just about any color hue could be specified.

• The order was then routed through the Pontiac Zone office, which then routed it on to the Central Office.

• Central Office then entered a request to the paint supplier, usually PPG/Ditzler, for the appropriate paint.

• The paint supplier shipped a quantity of paint to the appropriate assembly plant.

• The special-order build was scheduled and coordinated between the Fisher plant and GMAD or Pontiac assembly.

• Build was delivered to dealership with a quart of touch up paint in trunk.

I would add that, back then, GM would paint one car using this process, if requested.

For Pontiacs the cowl trim tag will indicate the vehicle received a special paint color but will not designate what that color was; It is not documented anywere including through Pontiac Historic Services. The only real way to determine is to pull off rubber trim or otherwise disassemble the car and look for remaining splashes of the original color.

These days you have to have a minimum of 10 or so, and it is not available to the general public but more specific to fleets and special orders (police, Mary Kay, Grand Trunk RR, RCMP, etc).

[Keith Seymore]

Additionally, when we painted special colors or fleet orders in the assembly plant we did not use the regular paint supply system.

In Flint they had a separate and distinct setup with smaller paint "pots" which could be loaded with the specific color, used, and then purged with less waste than the high volume production system.

Some of the other locations did not have this and would run special colors through their paint repair line in the paint shop.

K

[KevinK7]

Thanks for the reply, ...good info

[Keith Seymore]

Providing a link to Jocko's Special Paint thread, so that the two get hooked up.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...47#post8195347

K

[tommys72]

Keith always has great information. Now that i do bodywork and paint for a living, i wish i could timewarp back to the line and paint the trucks.....it really must has been a cool process painting them as brand new trucks