[GARYKOLBE]

I am new to the site so I hope I do this correctly.
In 1966 I purchased a new GTO from Weidner Pontiac in Mansfield, OHIO. I did not realize it at the time but the color (I think it was called Cordovan brown) was not standard. I remember there was another GTO the same color, purchased from the same dealer, in a town nearby so mine was not the only one. I also remember that I received a quart of the paint in a plain can with the color written on a piece of masking tape.
Needless to say, I wish I had never sold the car.
Now I am trying to trace the history and find out more about how this color came into existance. I would like to know if a 1966 GTO this color would be more or less valuable? Would there be a reference to the color that is traceable in the VIN number or on the body plate?
Of course, the ultimate goal is to find or paint a 1966 with the color once I know how it will effect the value.
I have already learned that there were special color options in 1966 but do not know what they were, except for Tiger Gold. I also have been told that a dealer could order a car with primer and then paint it themselves. If that is accurate what would the paint Id have been?
Any help is appreciated.
Gary

[Jeff Hamlin]

It's my understanding that you could pay extra and get any GM color.
The Paint code on the Trim Tag would/could be blank, stamped with a Dash (-) or (SP)
I've never heard of cars leaving the factory without paint.
I'm sure others can/will add way more to this.

[Cammer-6]

I would agree with you Jeff.
Never heard of a primer only car
it doesnt make any sense because alot of areas that are painted couldnt be accessed when assembled.
They did sell bodys in white to certain race teams.

As for the special color you are out of luck with any record of it,except for the initial dealer order.
PHS will only show paint as special,no color ID.
If you saved the build sheet or body broadcast it will have reference to that color.

[steve v]

I had seen a mid 60's vette at a show a few years ago that was claimed to have been special ordered in primer only, not sure if it was up to the owner or the dealership to get it painted the color they wanted upon delivery.
It stuck in my mind because that's how they restored & showed the car in the primer finish....it looked a little strange to be honest.

[geeteeohguy]

Hopefully some others will chime in here. In the mid '80's I was given a nicely equipped '66 GTO that was the color of a tarnished penny...almost an exact match for Ford's Emberglow or the '64 Chrysler turbine cars. A copper-brown metallic.. Really nice color. I ran the code, and it came back Martinique Bronze, so that's what I thought it was. When I looked into it after I had sold the car, I found that Martinique Bronze was a pale, washed out gold-ish color....not like my car had been. Stranger still, this '66 was an original paint car and had never been redone. I've heard that "0" was used on the trim plate when a special color was ordered, and I've seen '67 GTO's that were special order painted '68 Verdero Green. I also saw a '65 that was special ordered a kind of pinkish coral color...it was on ebay recently. Good luck with your quest.

[Uncle Judge]

Originally Posted by GARYKOLBE

I am new to the site so I hope I do this correctly.
In 1966 I purchased a new GTO from Weidner Pontiac in Mansfield, OHIO. I did not realize it at the time but the color (I think it was called Cordovan brown) was not standard. I remember there was another GTO the same color, purchased from the same dealer, in a town nearby so mine was not the only one. I also remember that I received a quart of the paint in a plain can with the color written on a piece of masking tape.
Any help is appreciated.
Gary

On a 1966 GTO you could have gotten one of 8 different Special Pontiac paint colors at an extra cost of $83.20. These were not considered regular production colors and involved additional production and delivery time. These Special Pontiac paint colors were: Copper Blaze, Ramada Bronze, Tiger Gold, Cadet Blue, Fathom Turquoise, Pinehurst Green, Sierra Red, or Plum Mist. Yes, you could also get non-Pontiac special colors but if your dealer ordered the car that you are referring to it may have been one of these Pontiac specials?

[Uncle Judge]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hamlin

I've never heard of cars leaving the factory without paint.
I'm sure others can/will add way more to this.

Actually, There was a very small dealership in Iowa that a reputation for ordering AND GETTING some very obscure performance cars in the day. He did order and get a Super Duty Trans Am delivered in black primer. All of the plastic/fiberglass trim (spoliers, bumper covers, etc.) were still the molded red color. The body was black primer. That is a fact and he has original day one photos to prove it. He jumped through many hoops but knew how to get things done!
Other than that one, I have not seen any others with proof.

[eaglesan13]

I have seen a 65 GTO built in Fremont that had a special paint code --. I crawled all over that car and I'm 100% sure it was originally orange.

[PaulatFast]

No one has addressed the value issue... it may make it rarer, that doesn't always equate to move valuable. The Tiger Gold would add value as it is very popular. My guess is the Special order paint in bronze/brown would not add one dime to the value.

[JKGTO]

Welcome to the forum. I live about 10 miles from where Weidners used to be. My 69 Judge and 74 LeMans GT were sold new at Weidners. I would agree with Paul that color would be rare but would probably not add any value. It seems strange that a car with special order paint would be sitting on the lot and not customer ordered/already sold. What other options were on the car? Good luck with your search. Do you still live in this area? Jim

[Cactus Goatster]

Hey Gary, from your memory could this possibly have been the color? If yes it is Copper Blaze.

[Jeff Hamlin]

I forgot about some with with "0" code.
Pontiac did have a list of off line colors, but you could also get any of the GM colors if you asked. Case and Point My Buddies Chevy Green 65' GTO & remember years back the Hot Pink 67' GTO on the cover of Smoke.
So anything was possible I guess.

[valkyrie9901]

That color brown was a 1963 chevy color..........JB.

[66GTO Jim]

Here is the back page of the 66 Pontiac Color chart showing the 'special colors" listed above and the paint codes. Along with these, Pontiac would paint a car any color you wanted for a charge. On the data plate you would see:
-- (dashes) or blanks, no paint code, 0 (zero or zeroes). There were many identifiers for non-standard colors.

I agree, other than Tiger Gold, I don't think there is a premium paid for non-standard colors when buying/selling a car today. Jim

http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.asp...ntiac-pg02.jpg

[Ragtop Man]

For years, as noted in parts of this thread, GM believed (!!!!!!!!) that the dealer and the customer were right, the end.

You want a special color on your car? No problem. You pick it out, and if it is in the GM system, we'll order it, and if you can wait a while, we'll paint it.

This was done of necessity for fleet and municipal use, but about an hour after someone saw their first black and white cop car, the light went off in their head... "aha!" and then you could get it in any color you wanted.

It was not widely advertised, because it was a major PITA at the plant level (Keith Seymore, jump in here). The guns in the body shop were equipped to shoot all the standard colors, so a painter could squirt aqua, black, red, whatever without breaking stride. Doubling the complexity was the fact that Fisher was a separate operation and separate building for all intents and purposes from rest of the assembly operation. Fisher did the cab, the marketing division did the front clip, and even though great pains were taken to ensure a dead match, in reality, there was an almost constant war between the two over who was responsible when they didn't match.

The body shop in the plant would have to buy a couple gallons of the paint, mix it up, and then have a painter follow the darn thing around with his pressure tank and gun through the paint operations. And if the paint got rejected, it went into a repair hole until enough MORE could be located to finish the job after a thorough sanding and wash down.

There are some cool colors like the Chevy Aztec Copper, the Plum Mist and several of the Cadillac Firemist / Firefrost colors (such as the silver used on the Swiss Cheese Catalinas) that look great on our Pontiacs that were special order, or not widely available.

I suspect "XXX" color codes would only be used on sold retail orders from a customer; can't conceive of a dealer spending the money unless it was going to be parked in the showroom for a while.

[geeteeohguy]

Cactus, thank you! That is the exact color my '66 was. Copper Blaze. It had a black interior, and a black pinstripe. 4 speed, rally gauges, console, map lights, early production car....had the full headliner. Sold it in '85 for $700 to a guy who never paid the final $400....he got thrown in jail and the car got impounded and disappeared. Car needed some body work, but was rust free and drove great. Been wondering about that weird color for decades, now I know. Thanks again.

[HaloMedic]

Were the promo cars from Tom Mcanns this Cordovan Brown

[Old Blue 66]

It was talked about in thread here that the paint codes stamped on the cowl for a car that was orderd with special paint may change based on the plant the car was made from. I would assume thats still the consensus here?

[bdk1976]

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...8&postcount=32

[goatmanmitch]

Originally Posted by Cactus Goatster

Hey Gary, from your memory could this possibly have been the color? If yes it is Copper Blaze.

That copper blaze looks great! Could you start another thread with more pictures? Is this the car you've been putting together? Mitch