I've read that during the chrome bumper years, cars from the factory routinely came with paint oversprayed onto other engine parts, etc.. Is this true? If so, where did the factory usually get sloppy during their painting? I would have thought all the bodies were painted off the frames, but perhaps the overspray occurred during touch up painting?

I just bought a '68 roadster that has some light overspray on the headlight vacuum actuators. Original owner says it was there when he purchased the car in '68.

Steve

Overspray in certain components was common on C3's. The rally wheels come to mind first, but not confined to them. The '68's were notorious for quality control problems as well.

I do believe the bodies were painted before being assembled to the chassis, and had a reputation for occasional orange peel and uneven coverage, particularly at the bottom of body panels and inconspicuous areas.

I don't know if it was common for overspray on the headlight actuators, but it could have been touch up. It was not uncommon for new cars to receive damage when being unloaded from the delivery trucks and jockeying around at the dealerships and need repair. I used to work at an auto service center during the '70s and more than once would see new cars at the adjacent Ford dealer being damaged as they were being backed off the delivery truck.

Hmm...so I've seen overspray on the muffler brackets, on the drain hose from the fuel tank and at the front headlight vacuum actuators. Original owner insists the paint is original. So I guess maybe not all '68 bodies were painted off the chassis? Mine appears to have been painted ON the chassis, or else there wouldn't be overspray in these areas.

Any other '68 owners out there with overspray in these areas?

Steve

Did you buy this car from the original owner, or are you just talking to him about it? I would look closely at all gaskets contacting body (door locks, door pulls, rear window) to look for paint traces on them. Also see if you can find small chips that are body color. It sounds like your car has been re-painted, to be honest.

Yep I've looked closely at the rubber and locks and handles. No overspray on them at all. Not even a speck.
All the chips show a reddish brown color underneath. Looks like the primer maybe? Anyone know what color the original primer was on '68's? It's definitely not paint.

Steve

I believe primer was a two-coat process, black first, and red second coat. What is your trim tag paint code? Does it match color? Some cars came through in primer-with "Special" as the paint code.

Cars could receive paint re-work at the factory, I am sure, and some were damaged in transit or storage, so in those cases they hand paint work before sale. I am quite sure none would have received full paint on the frame in the factory.

Aha. So I'm seeing the red primer in all chipped areas. That's a sign that it's the original paint then.
My paint code matches the paint color. Lemans Blue -976.
The overspray is at the front on top of the headlight vacuum actuators and at the rear (a tiny bit on the fuel tank drain tube and other small areas). So perhaps it was damaged at the front and back. Would make sense.

Steve

Yeah, that could be the scenario. Is there any cracking, crazing, or fading to the paint? There should be some. Are the bonding seams along tops of fenders showing up distinctly? They should be. You might want to pull one or both rocker trims to see if there is overspray on the frame.

IF a car has a top-notch re-paint, it will be stripped to glass and then get the two-part prime just like factory, so what you see is still not a guarantee. I hope it is original. I would clean up the overspray on unpainted surfaces with acetone.