What colour for my Mk I?

[Bill Musarra]

Andy,
If you want to venture from the beaten path I would suggest going to a local Ford dealership and look through their chip sheets to find one that catches your eye.
If you want a true "original" color, then I have say as some of the others, that Linden Green is one that will be hard to beat. You have to be careful with this one because it is difficult to get the original chip sheet. The color came from a 1960-61 Ford Anglia. There are no more chip sheets that I know of. You can try Ebay and might get lucky.
When I decided to do mine, no one, and I mean no one, would give up the code or a sample of the paint. I tried the UK Anglia club and talked to the fellow that does all the mixing of colors and he, not only wouldn't give me the code(said he had to have a sample of the paint), but wouldn't sell it to me if I did, because I was "overseas" and they don't do that. I finally got one restorer who would go the extra mile for me. He was to meet an owner of an original at LeMans and would press him for a sample, as this individual was going to do some restoration work for the owner. While waiting for him to come through I lucked up and found one of 2 chip sheets remaining in an online shop. Got it and had it mixed. Was afraid it as going to be too dark compared to photos I had seen on other web sites(Glesco). My mixer assured me it would lighten up when sprayed, and it did. When my friend sent me the sample I compared it to my color and it was spot on. The interesting part was the price. Through my mixer, it was only $180 a gallon. Much cheaper than some prices I have seen. I am willing to send a sample if interested.

Bill

 

[Charlie Farley]

Bill, glad you liked it.
It took some effort to prise that paint sample from an original chassis.
No doubt he will ' get payback ' during the ongoing restoration of chassis
P 1***. Now this chassis is going to cause a stir amongst original owners...even Ronnie Mc Spain will be unsettled...heheh

 

[Chris Martino]

One of my fav's

Chris

 

[Paul fortin]

mine is blue and white however that green with some white stripes looks really nice.

 

[Allan Feldman]

1966 GT40/1017 was a light Blue like the Gulfs but it was more like Cambridge Blue. In fact when Scalextric release a model of it the younger people called it Gulf colours!! FAV team colours were for the 1965 season Linden Green. I quite like transfering the early MKII colours scheme of white body but with a dark satin Blue bonnet. If you want a different colour scheme try the unique tri colour bands of GT40/1080. Or if you want to be real 1966 try all over Silver like the MKI in the GT40 brochure.
Regards Allan

 

[Doc Watson]

I'm tempted with this......

 

[Jac Mac]

I'm tempted with this......

Yes, wouldn't we all, probably because at that price we could afford to repaint it!

Edit....wonder if anyone ever accepted the trade in offer?

 

[Randy V]

I'm tempted with this......

7540 pounds in 1966 would be equal to what today?

A bargain I am sure... Love the color. You could leave it naked like that for a while and maybe spice it up with stripes a few years down the road...

 

[Scott Calabro]

7540 pounds in 1966 would be equal to what today?

A bargain I am sure... Love the color. You could leave it naked like that for a while and maybe spice it up with stripes a few years down the road...

Some quick research shows the exchange rate in 66 to be about the same as today so, about $12k.

A bargain for sure.

 

[Mike]

I went back and forth between green and white for some time. I ended up going white but still think the green would look great! I have a gallon of high end paint in this green mixed up I'd make a good deal on if someone was interested.

 

[Jack]

That white looks great Mike. Very nicely done.

 

[Dave Hood]

Andy:

I think my favorite color is a darker shade of Linden Green, as it looks like a true period-correct car. The red color you're leaning towards is similar to mine, and I think it's a good choice as well. And if you drive your car like I have on a regular basis, eliminating the stripes and roundels draws a bit less attention. Although the car still gets more attention than anything else on the road.

Dave

 

[Mike]

That white looks great Mike. Very nicely done.

Thank you. Choosing a color is not that hard. Getting the right shade takes more work than one might imagine. I bet we sprayed out 6 or 8 different greens before arriving at the one above. Probably 3 or 4 different combinations of the whites as well. I would recommend that to anyone when trying to come up with a final choice as they end up looking differnt when sprayed out on a panel than they do as a chip. What kind of lighting makes a big difference as well. Fun stuff.

 

[Ron McCall]

I went back and forth between green and white for some time. I ended up going white but still think the green would look great! I have a gallon of high end paint in this green mixed up I'd make a good deal on if someone was interested.

Mike,

What shade of white did you end up painting the car?


Ron

 

[Mike]

Ron, I would have to ask my painter for the weight of the tints we ended up at. It was our own custom mix.

 

[Bill Musarra]

Mike,
I would like to add a word of caution here. Paint can only be reproduced with two options. One is the chip sheet of the original color from a dealer. I say that because the chip sheet is not necessarily the sprayed color. it is often the paint before it is sprayed(Linden Green is the best example I know of). Here is the chip sheet of the 60-61 Anglia. I polished it to see if it lightened up which it didn't.(more on this later).

And here is my color as verified by an original GT40 paint job. First in the shade.

And in the sun (under different and natural vs. unnatural lighting, the colors can vary as seen in these photos)

As you can see it shows up diferently when sprayed. The chip sheets are actually the same as when your painter mixes a paint and puts a smear on the paint can top. So it can be replicated under mixing conditions. Paints that sit for a time in a can will change colors. It also takes into consideration oxidation that occurs over time, so a color that has sat over time can be matched.
Now the other way to reproduce a paint is with the mixing code(s). This take the guess work out of what color you will wind up with. It in essence doesn't care what the mixed color looks like. It gives you the final result every time(assuming you put it on the same way). That stirs my mind and there is a third way as well. It matters how you put the paint on, I am sure a brushed paint may differ from a sprayed one.
This is not to criticize any ones choice of color, or whether it is an original, but to explain how some colors are different from others. It really comes down to what you want, and in the old saying, it is in the eye of the beholder. If you want original,,,,, get original. If you want green then get the one you like. Lord knows there are enough shades out there.

Bill

 

[Dr. Bob Woods]

As long as we are talking about colors, I have been struggling with the choice for my color for more than a year. I originally wanted a Guardsman Blue or some variation of it. My painter has supplied me with about a dozen samples. In the attached photo, the sample on the left is the Du Pont version of Guardsman Blue. It seems a little tame and too much green to me. The PPG version actually has more green. The sample on the right is a Ford Bright Island Blue.

When I see a GT40 with Guardsman Blue, it looks appropriate, but when I look at the paint sample compared to other blues, it seems too green. I really like the looks of P1043 and it seems different from a traditional Guardsman Blue (although he says it is exactly by the paint code, but that paint is no longer available). Right now I'm 90% for the Bright Island Blue. If nothing else, I should paint my car slightly different so when Sammy, Gary, and I are together, we can tell them apart.

-Bob Woods

 

[Paul fortin]

The green panel with the 7 on it is very nice looking. It says to me I am mature good looking but will kick your ass if yo try. Red to me says beep beep going by. The white is nice,I had a 71 trans am in white hard to keep clean looking. I my last thought is if the colour is the stage your at then grats your almost on the road in your car.

 

[Gary Sharapata]

Bob,

The guardsman blue on your left sample from Du Pont is the color that was on my Cobra and I agree it looks like a tint of green in the sample but looks pretty good on the car.

 

[Dr. Bob Woods]

Gary,

I agree that it looks better on the car.

-Bob