Exterior colour changes on classics?

Exterior colour changes on classics?

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Discussion

Claret Badger

Original Poster:

214 posts

167 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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Ive always been under the impression that originality is best, to the extent that a change of exterior colour would probably negatively affect the value of the car.

Very interested to hear what you lot think as now Im not so convinced. For example, that DBS on For the Love of Cars had a complete colour change both inside and out and sold for a fortune. Ultimately the original colour can always be reapplied, and whether original or not, certain colours seem to appeal more than others.

Thoughts please!


Toma500

1,219 posts

252 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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There must be many more silver birch Aston DB 5s than what came out of the factory as an example .

Yertis

18,015 posts

265 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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Some old-boy TR owners get a bit 'off' with me for having had my car restored in a subtly pearlescent version of Triumph Sapphire Blue. Before I had it restored it was black, blue and red, and rust, originally blue and registered as black (never a TR6 option). Since I was forking out for the work I'll have it whatever colour I please. Since the car was/is never going to be honestly original I can't see the point in trying to pretend it is. A truly original TR6 is fairly crap anyway.

Old Merc

3,486 posts

166 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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People always say originality is always best,but how many classics are 100% original ?.
I have no experience with Aston`s but my thoughts on the subject would be :-
The colour would have to be the exact Aston shade used during the year the car left the factory.Also the colour/interior trim match should be "Aston".In other words models were produced the same.Then of course it has to be a full bare shell respray with no hint of the original colour left anywhere.
Mind you after saying all this.If you have a lovely classic,the original log book says "silver",you have old paper work,photos,memorabilia showing it as "silver".Then when you put it on show or advertise it for sale and it's "Red" what then ??

castex

4,935 posts

272 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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My brown Boxer was painted red by the purchaser. I'm sure he knew what he was doing...

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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It depends entirely on what we're talking about.

Are we talking about a full bare-metal bare-bodyshell resto on something worth a couple of hundred grand?
Are we talking about a quick blow-over on a rubber-bumper MGB GT?
Are we talking about an individual vehicle with specific and direct historical significance?

There were thousands of DB4/5/6s built. I couldn't give the first flying fig if one started off as silver or whatever colour it is now. If an MGB GT started off as limeflower, is it condemned to wear that shade for life?

OTOH, if you've found, say, one of the London-Sydney landcrabs, it'd be a bit of a shame to restore it to normal road spec and paint it beige.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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castex said:
My brown Boxer was painted red by the purchaser. I'm sure he knew what he was doing...
Your dog?

alancb

48 posts

172 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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My Mgb roadster was resprayed in 2001 in Bmw Topaz blue and had a V8 engine and 5 speed gearbox installed i get a few negative comments from people but its what i wanted something a bit different.

Claret Badger

Original Poster:

214 posts

167 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
quotequote all
I was asking about classics in general, really. Just used the DBS as an example.

For example, I have a Mercedes Pagoda which was originally maroon and is now blue. Is it worth less? Im also considering changing the colour of a 70's Porsche to a cool 70's colour rather than the original silver.

vixen1700

22,668 posts

269 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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My Vixen started out orange, it was red when I bought it, I recently found out it was white in the '80s.

It's now a rather nice silver. Can't say I've ever lost sleep about it. hehe

finishing touch

808 posts

166 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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With a change of colour at least you can see nothings been missed.

ChasW

2,135 posts

201 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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I can see the logic if you are going to the trouble and expense of a comprehensive restoration why not spend a bit more and get your perfect colour.

Slidingpillar

761 posts

135 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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My vintage car left the works in black over cream, ie cream lower parts. From documentation I have, the car was repainted to green all over quite early on. The chap I bought the car off repainted to blue with red bits.

I gave serious consideration to painting black over cream when I rebuilt the car, but decided to go with green, and got a brushing paint matched to Bentley brunswick green (the colour Stanley Mann used).

As long as the paint used is of a suitable colour for the period, I doubt it has any effect on the value of a vintage car. Most after all are sprayed these days, and pretty well everything not mass produced was brushed pre-W2.

williamp

19,213 posts

272 months

Thursday 12th May 2016
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Its also a fashion thing. Colours which were popular in the late 90s (gun metal grey, etc) are a bit passé these days. White was popular in the 70s, had a brief resurgence but now you don't seem so much.

My Aston was white when it left the factory, Lamborghini red when I bought it and BMW blue when I sold it. It can always be resprayed (and as an old Aston, it will be needing some bodywork by now!)


castex

4,935 posts

272 months

Friday 13th May 2016
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TooMany2cvs said:
Your dog?
No, someone painted her ginger although she calls it Fox Red.

T70RPM

475 posts

235 months

Saturday 14th May 2016
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I have the same dilemma with my Mercedes 220 Seb Convertible. It was built new in white with a black interior & hood. Since then it has been black & is now silver. I cannot imagine it looking good in white TBH. I am spending a load of money on restoration over the next few years, and really two things become apparent. Firstly if I paint it a colour I don't like, that's not going to please me, and secondly, I can't ignore the exit strategy (with the expense involved) and duff colours don't look good on the car. Classic factory colours of the time seem to look great on the car, metallic grey, dark bronze, midnight blue etc, white sucks in my opinion.
Thus, original colour if it's a good one, change it to a good one otherwise for me....

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Saturday 14th May 2016
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T70RPM said:
I have the same dilemma with my Mercedes 220 Seb Convertible. It was built new in white with a black interior & hood. Since then it has been black & is now silver. I cannot imagine it looking good in white TBH.


Oh, I dunno.

And it'd be popular for weddings...

aeropilot

34,297 posts

226 months

Saturday 14th May 2016
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Claret Badger said:
For example, that DBS on For the Love of Cars had a complete colour change both inside and out and sold for a fortune.
But......if it hadn't have been the subject of a TV programme.....would it have sold for the same amount wink

MarshPhantom

9,658 posts

136 months

Monday 16th May 2016
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Originality is best, but my car was a nice colour anyway. No issue with colour changes but ideally the new colour should be one that could have been specced when the car was new. Metallic doesn't work on some classics, that's for sure.

craigjm

17,908 posts

199 months

Friday 1st July 2016
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My view is that you should do what you like as long as it suits the car it is being applied to and if done well should not negatively impact on the value. I am repainting my Jaguar XJC in Mercedes Obsidian Black. I think that is appropriate. If I was to spray it in Porsche Lime Green then maybe not so much.