Three Digit Paint Code?

[64thunderbird64]

This past week someone contacted me regarding a car they had just bought, It was a 1962 hardtop with "PM1" paint code.

It is on the data plate, and on the build sheet. I do not think this is an error as there are 9 other 1961-1962 Thunderbirds documented in the Thunderbird Registry with a 3 digit paint code, all ending in "1". Does anyone know what this means?

On the build sheet the one is in a box labeled "TU"?

[Alan H. Tast]

This past week someone contacted me regarding a car they had just bought, It was a 1962 hardtop with "PM1" paint code.

It is on the data plate, and on the build sheet. I do not think this is an error as there are 9 other 1961-1962 Thunderbirds documented in the Thunderbird Registry with a 3 digit paint code, all ending in "1". Does anyone know what this means?

On the build sheet the one is in a box labeled "TU"?

Hate to tell you but the ROT (and most likely your friend's car) has a 1961 serial number (1Y = 1961, 2Y=1962). The '1' code stands for two-tone paint with body painted one color (P-Silver Moss Metallic/Silver-Green), which was a Lincoln color and available by special order) and roof another color (U-Deep Sea Blue Metallic/Dark Turquoise). The '1' code was used across the Ford lines (full-size, Falcon and T-bird) starting in 1960 for full-size Fords, which were available in up to three two-tone combinations of (1) body/roof, and two 'Styletone' combinations for body sides-roof pillars/horizontal surfaces (hood/trunk/roof top) - the 'Styletone' treatment with different roof/hood/trunk color was never offered on '60 or later T-birds. By '61 this was dropped back to only one choice for two-toning. The codes dropped out of use after the beginning of the '62 model year.

The 'TU" stands for (if you haven't figured it out by now) Two-Tone.

Quite frankly, this combination of Silver Moss/Deep Sea Blue Metallic was not listed in Ford's charts for two-tones, making this somewhat of an oddball car. That it has a code '56' black vinyl interior is no surprise to me - typically a special-order two-tone only was sold with a black interior from what I've observed over the decades of tracking this kind of thing.