Customs '56 Chevy 3100 project - hard time choosing paint color... See RENDERING:

AT SoCal open house 2012 had this beutiful green paint that was on this truck.

OH Yeah, ditch the moon cap but keep the rims.

 

i like solids or simple two tone. do like the dark green though. maybe just ghost flames.
words of caution , buy extra paint. watch being trendy. the harder to find the right shade the harder to match.
squirrel may be right , sometimes the best color to be different is the factory color.

 

LOL Jim, from what I can tell about you, this doesn't surprise me one bit.

Honestly, I have considered going to the original '56 Pinecrest Green, but not sure I can live with that color the next 10 to 20 years.

 

I've been using Photoshop for over 20 years now, so it's kind of second nature for me. Do you have photo editing software?

 

Bill, I remember when you put up like 10 different 1969 Dodge Chargers in ten different color combos on a different forum ten years ago! Indecisive much?

Good luck picking!

 

Why not go with the stock color and add flames?

 

I heartily DISAGREE with this! That makes it look like something's missing or unfinished.
But, a nice pinstripe on the wheels or caps might make a nice accent.

~Alden

 

Look at some import car colors,the last paint job we had done we chose a pearl burgundy type color from 'honda' & it still looks modern (painted 12yr ago) Just my 2 ¢

 

UPDATE: after nearly 40 hours of welding, body filler, sanding, filler primer, sanding, body filler and a little cussing along the way, I have a firewall that is somewhat presentable. It's currently in primer and I hope to have it painted this weekend so I can get the engine back in and get her running and mobile once again.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

 

Your going about this the same way I did my 55. The firewall was the first paint shot after filling holes and hours of smoothing all the wrinkles. At that point, I had to decide the color (or go with an underhood color like black or white). That was when I finally decided red but almost 10 years later I still think about lots of different colors. No regrets really, just need about 10 more cars to put other colors on!

 

if you're looking for a custom effect in your paint, I rexcommend you check out the Shimrim 2 line from House of Kolor. You can get a kandy looking paint job from a mixture of base coats now. John Kosmoski has some videos on You Tube explaining the versatility of this new system. It's worth checking out

 

I love green. HOK Kandy Organic is my favorite. That said, what about throwing a massive 1 3/4" wrench into the gears? Did ya think about white? A nice almost "dirty" white as the main color. Something sorta "vanilla" in hue, not tan, not cream, not yellowy, something like french vanilla ice cream. Now start layin some green kandy flames on that (with the chosen metalic base for the flames). The right pinstripes around the flames pop em huge w/out having to do fades and such, also about as old timey as it gets for a truck that era. If you could find it within to ditch the smoothies and go OEM chromes and maybe a piner or even fat WW, done deal. Just sayin. Did I say I love green? I do...



FWIW, I didn't read all the replies. If white was mentioned, oh well.

 

the last two of them firewalls I did all that work to, ended up turquoise. Never did finish the rest of those trucks, though

 

My decision on the firewall is to go Chrysler Vanilla (think 2006 Charger, 300, etc). There are a couple reasons for this. First, a lot of old school rods did it this way...white or off-white firewall. Second, the firewall isn't perfect...it's good, a lot better in fact, but not perfect, and vanilla will not show the imperfections as much. Also, vanilla will bring some life and light into the engine bay and make the freshly painted engine pop. And last, I can do this in a single stage in an industrial grade that will resist gasoline and oil better and won't have to worry about trying to get pearl to lay down uniform on an erratic surface.

To pull all the colors together I plan on using the vanilla as my pinstripe on the flames and as the main color for my upholstery inside.

 

I'll admit that I'm a little worried about that, but I'm pretty motivated to finish it.

 

That could work....

 

I finished cleaning up and painting the front half of the frame this weekend, installed the rebuilt steering column and installed the engine. I have about 15 hours into the frame, 30 hours into the firewall and 8 hours into cleaning up and repainting the engine, bellhousing and trans. I figure another 6 hours into getting her running and then I'll clean and repaint the inner fenders and reassemble the front group.

Hoping to be onto the interior by the first week in October and having the interior repainted by the middle of October. Man these things take time...

 

I guess for me it comes down to what era are you looking to build it to (or just do not care and building it to a personal taste).

picking a factory vintage color is usually safe unless you want that "stand out in the crowd" color but that can look outdated quick. I like two tones on those trucks, base color and white roofs if going with a stock body appearance.

here are a few color ideas I like and think would work on your truck depending on the overall look you are going for.

a lavender/ lite purple for a 50s look



a clean two tone if you want to paint your roof white



A copper with black roof



the basic flame job..

 

Hell, I can't even find that color online. It looks a lot like this green:

 

I've gotten a few things done in the last couple of weeks.

Attached all the new brake lines and had one of the bleeder valves rusted so tight that I stripped the nut trying to open it. Finally got it out and installed one-person bleeder valves on all 4 corners.

Got my wheels painted and tires mounted all around. The front tires are 26 inches tall and the rear are 29 inches tall. The total track width on both the front and rear is 72 inches, which allows 1 inch clearance inside the wheel wells. The rear fender will hide the top 5 inches of the rear tire, the front tire sits 1/2 inch below the front fender opening.

The front tires have 1/4 inch clearance to the tie rod. It's tight but I don't think I'll have issues unless one of the front tires goes completely flat.

My plan for this coming weekend is to install sound-deadener in the cab, sandblast and paint the inner fenders, and get the radiator and fuel lines installed.

Feels good to make a little progress...

 

man im dammn sure not looking forward to the firewall on my apache. looks real good tho. im going with an off white variant on mine as well. cool build man. looks real clean

 

Also have a new rendering adjusted using colors closer to the ones I've picked. The flames will fade from body color to flame color front to rear. Of course, I did this rendering before choosing to go with painted steelies wearing spider caps, trim rings and beauty rings, but you get the idea.

 

Thanks, it's funny you say "clean" because that really is one of my main goals...along with as traditional as possible (except for the front discs and radials - for safety)

 

yeah i have a camaro clip under mine ( it came like that when i bought it ) so its not really "traditional". but it will be my daily so discs up front isnt a bad thing at all. ill be going with firestone bias tho. and i hate firewall clutter so i totally understand where your coming from there

 

Here's the battery box that will be going under the cab. The notches you see at the top back corner will sit on top of the frame. I sprung for a red-top Optima since I won't be able to easily get to the battery to check the water level. Putting it under the cab makes my positive cable all of 20 inches long and my negative cable is about 10, and most of that is so I can drop it down without yanking the cable.

 

Man your build is very similar, i was gonna take the battery access door from the older 47 to 54 and use that to get access to a battery mounted under the cab. And i have a red top in mine, and have used yellows and blues before on other things. There beasts

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

what size tires are you running on the front? They look pretty wide

 

The front are 245/60R15. They are pretty wide, but the truck has had that same size on the front since the late 70's. I bought them a year ago before I really thought it out. They fit and there is plenty of clearance, but I know it's going to be a little harder to steer than 225's or 215's. I bought 6 degree shims to angle the front axle back a bit...not sure if that will help with steering, but it will help with forcing the steering wheel to return back to center.