[supersport#69]

I just got off the phone with widow of original owner. I got ahold of her to get some history on it. First off she’s gonna search for any original pictures from way back which would be cool.

I asked her why the car was painted red when it came from factory black on red with white vinyl top. She said it was red when she married him 42 years ago but remembered him saying California had a law that cars couldn’t be black with white tops because they would look like highway patrol cars. Anyone ever hear of this?

[nmoreilly]

Originally Posted by supersport#69

I just got off the phone with widow of original owner. I got ahold of her to get some history on it. First off she’s gonna search for any original pictures from way back which would be cool.

I asked her why the car was painted red when it came from factory black on red with white vinyl top. She said it was red when she married him 42 years ago but remembered him saying California had a law that cars couldn’t be black with white tops because they would look like highway patrol cars. Anyone ever hear of this?

Never heard of that one. The more I think about it, black / red interior / white vinyl top is stunning. Think you could also get away with red lines complimented by red interior

[supersport#69]

She claimed he said it was law but no idea if that’s truly the case. Maybe he just didn’t like it looking like a patrol car but who knows.

I considered white top but I really like the black vinyl top with black paint personally so bought black. That is a easy swap down the road if I decide to try it. I do like the red accent stripe idea too.

[OG68]

Originally Posted by supersport#69

I just got off the phone with widow of original owner. I got ahold of her to get some history on it. First off she’s gonna search for any original pictures from way back which would be cool.

I asked her why the car was painted red when it came from factory black on red with white vinyl top. She said it was red when she married him 42 years ago but remembered him saying California had a law that cars couldn’t be black with white tops because they would look like highway patrol cars. Anyone ever hear of this?

I don't think so. Never heard of that one. The state sold and continues to sell ex CHP cruisers without painting them. Kid across the street bought a 66 CHP Polara at auction back in 69. Still had the spotlights and whip antenna. We had a lot of fun sneaking up on people on the freeway.

[supersport#69]

Yeah didn’t much sense when the dealership was in Madera, Cal too. Why would they even sell it if it wasn’t allowed. She was married to him 42 years so he already had it. The title was reissued in 72 and had 1970 blue plates instead of black.

Patrol officer friend of mine did a vin verification on it for me and his assessment was it was probably stolen prior to 72 and painted red then to hide it. It was in an accident and maybe it got recovered due to the accident.

Widow had no idea it was ever even in an accident. She figured it went straight down the road the few times she went for a ride.

It was not registered from 1972-2017.

[geeteeohguy]

Originally Posted by supersport#69

Yeah didn’t much sense when the dealership was in Madera, Cal too. Why would they even sell it if it wasn’t allowed. She was married to him 42 years so he already had it. The title was reissued in 72 and had 1970 blue plates instead of black.

Patrol officer friend of mine did a vin verification on it for me and his assessment was it was probably stolen prior to 72 and painted red then to hide it. It was in an accident and maybe it got recovered due to the accident.

Widow had no idea it was ever even in an accident. She figured it went straight down the road the few times she went for a ride.

It was not registered from 1972-2017.

Hey there! I never (almost never) get on these forums! Glad to see you're making progress. Yes, the line about no black cars with white roofs is BS. Have seen other cars in this color combo since way back when, including a '65 GTO I know of. Not a common combo, but certainly not illegal! I've seen your car, and the way it was painted says : disguise me QUICK!" Looking forward to seeing it black again.
Jeff

[supersport#69]

No kidding!

They couldn’t have hid it fast enough the way it was sprayed.

I thought I’d solve the mystery talking to the widow but she really didn’t know too much about the car as it was just stored in their shop forever. About all she recalled was it being fast.

She was going to search for some old pics for me so hopefully she finds something.

[68gtoMN]

JUST FYI - I worked for Best Buy Corporate as a Sr. Mgr in Business Development & Strategy in 2002 - 2004. My first role was to purchase and integrate Geek Squad into Best Buy. As you may recall, they painted (then later wrapped) their VW Beetles like a police car see attached. We experienced this very problem in expanding to CA. The State would NOT allow us to use our Std color scheme in CA as it mimicked the Highway patrol color scheme. I was floored. We needed to alter CA paint scheme to remove the white doors or center section. White roof over black car was fine - just no white doors.

Don't laugh...I had many meetings with BBY legal about this as I rolled out Geek Squad in Hollywood in 2004. Whether or not CA would allow that on a 1960s era GTO is up for discussion; however, I have first-hand experience with this very issue in 2000s

[supersport#69]

Maybe it is and was a thing then.

I still think mine was stolen and disguised but interesting story on the Geek Squad cars. It’d b interesting to know if this was the case in 60s era.