Original paint scheme?

[Praxiss454]

Hi all, here's a pic of my 65. A PO painted her white, but I believe she was originally Light Red. I'm curious what the rest of the truck looked like originally. Was it a single color paint job w/ the ivory bumper and grill? What about looking into my grill and nose - would everything not on the surface have been painted black?

Would *love* if someone had a few nice pictures of a Light Red GMC restored (or original) so I could get the look right.

[bigblockv6]

Behind the grille should be painted satin black and same for the hood grille including the bridge piece in the center, that gives it the appearance of one big air intake and distinction over Chevrolet models. Here's a factory pic.

[Praxiss454]

Thanks, that is perfect. Hey you're not too far from me, do you ever go to any of the car shows around here? There is a "Cars and Coffee" in Novato on the first Sunday of the month, I have yet to go.

[rusty66]

hey 454

I will try to post a photo of my 66. It is painted the original " flame red."

[jbgroby]

Here are a few close up pictures of the nose clip.

The black paint is specific to the GMC trucks. The Chevy trucks had a white band around the clip on some models.

Notice where the black stops.

[bigblockv6]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Thanks, that is perfect. Hey you're not too far from me, do you ever go to any of the car shows around here? There is a "Cars and Coffee" in Novato on the first Sunday of the month, I have yet to go.

When ever I get a chance I do check out local car shows

[gmccollector]

Here's a few pictures of my red 1966 GMC. Truck has 18,000 original miles. I bought this from the original owner and it has never been repainted. Behind the grille is Red , not black. Its almost as if they painted the entire grille surround. When they painted the front ends on these trucks , they painted individual pieces , not assembled. Painting of your truck also depends on where it was built. If it was a GMC only plant , your bed will have Black rear inner fenders. Those beds were also painted in pieces and all the assembly bolts are cad plated instead of painted like a Chevy. Chevy beds were painted as an assembly. Yes the hood center bar was left in factory black primer. I believe they used some sort of quick stencil to cover it during the paint process as there's over spray , meaning no sharp tape lines. The bottom of the hood is also red where as Chevy is mostly black. Lots of differences between the two trucks but you need to research which plant your truck was built at to get it right. Here's some detail shots of my truck before I cleaned and detailed it. Look close at the grille, the only black paint you see, is the grilles mounting bracket.

[jbgroby]

I wonder IF, when the truck had the custom chrome package ordered, they painted them a bit different? Most of this info is lost to time I suppose. However, we have many original unchanged trucks that have survived (such as GMCCOLLECTOR's) that give us a great foundation to build from.

[gmccollector]

Originally Posted by jbgroby

I wonder IF, when the truck had the custom chrome package ordered, they painted them a bit different? Most of this info is lost to time I suppose. However, we have many original unchanged trucks that have survived (such as GMCCOLLECTOR's) that give us a great foundation to build from.

Hi Jake , well the answer has more to do with the assembly plant. GMCs were not all made (painted) the same. I have a 1966 GMC Panel truck with 6433 original miles that is not a custom , white grille , etc that the entire grille surround is white , the entire background is white. I'm not convinced that all were done to these extremes but the main body color definitely drifted , overspray , behind most of the grille. GMC did not mask these areas but most I have seen are completely painted. The deception to this is that the GMC grille fills the cavity and in many pictures , especially brochure photos , gives that black shadow.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by rusty66

hey 454

I will try to post a photo of my 66. It is painted the original " flame red."

That is different from the 514 - Light Red color? I'm not actually certain but I think mine was originally Light Red based on the unrepainted areas. Is there a way to tell for sure? It might be the darker red and just faded.

Were chrome grills more common? Seems like most people with GMC have chrome grills.