So what's the best way to tell if an early (say '68) C3 has it's original paint? I think the factory was a bit sloppier painting back then. But does anyone know for a fact that the early C3's were NEVER painted on the chassis? Is there any characteristic of the factor paint that would show right away that an early C3 has it's original paint?

Steve

If the car is the original color it will be difficult to tell. However, I believe the body was painted seperately from the frame, so there should be no overspray there.

Alex

Anything that I have read says the body was painted separately for the frame, There should be no overspray on the frame components if it is original. One possible way of telling is to look at the paint shine on the front end right above the front spoiler. It should not be as good a job as the rest of the car,GM was lazy and didn't pay much attention to eveness or shine under there. I know that's where the NCRS looks when judging. Good luck.

|UPDATED|12/9/2003 5:57:22 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

There should be no paint on any of the frame. I have an original paint '71. There should be evidence of yellow glue applied to the weatherstripping on the doors on top of the paint, usually not neatly applied. Hope this helps.

Take up either the right or left sill plate. Then you can start sanding down a little bit and see if there are several layers of paint. If not, that will tell you what the original paint looked like. Then you can start tracing it up into the cowl area,door jambs etc. and determine if you see a different tint.

Just for more info, two coats of primer were applied prior to the color coat. The first was red, the second was gray. An original maroon car had a third coat which was red. Also, white cars had a third coat which was gray.