paint codes

[gregfield62]

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to the forum just wanted to say hello and I have a question. I recently acquired a 1956 which was a "barn find".... It hadn't been registered since 1980. No Rust Just many different coats of paint and a wild vinyl hardtop probably done in the 60's or seventies. My question is about the paint code it shows on the plate EK which from my understanding is colonial white and fiesta red. The body shows colonial white under the hood and inside the trunk, but in stripping the top I found fiesta red. Here is my question, I have worked on many antique cars over my lifetime and I have never seen a colonial white body and a fiesta red top. Do they exist? I've never seen one. I could use some help from the experts. I'm just starting to strip her down for media blasting. I'm a purist when it comes to restoring pieces of history. Thanks in advance

[Haz567]

Greg:

I have a 56 that was born as colonial white with green top (say what?) so it certainly is possible (best estimate is that 7 cars were produced that way).

You may want to email David Tulowitzky. He is the keeper of a great deal of information on our T Birds and may be able to tell you if he shows any Colonial Whites w/ Fiesta hard top in his records. From David's numbers you may be able to estimate the number of 56's that were produced that way. He would also be interested in receiving your info on your car if he doesn't have it in his records.

I would also suggest you look for other remains of fiesta red on the interior, seat trim, behind the dash, under the dash cover, etc.

Hopefully it's appropriate for me to show David's email: tulobird@aol.com

[Sicklesd]

Greg,

My understanding is that early production 1956 models with a top color different from the body color had the number 1 or 2 following the body color. Starting in Nov., 1955 the color codes for 1956 models contained one or two letters. If only one letter is present, the exterior and hardtop colors were the same. If two letters are present, the first charterer is the body exterior color and second character is the hardtop color. In your case, E = Colonial White (8103) and K = Fiesta Red (70618) . Not sure if the same rule applies to soft top, but I think so. My 56 has just just one code "A" making it Raven black, with Raven Black Hardtop. My soft top is also black.

Hope this helps.

Dan

[55blacktie]

Unless the back of the dash has been repainted, it would be red primer. Unfortunately, I repainted mine, thinking that red primer looked like surface rust. Now, I wish I had left it alone. No doubt, Ford was cutting costs. However, other than a judge, who is going to contort their body to look at the back of the dash?

[gregfield62]

I just want to say thank you for all the input from everyone. I will also e-mail David and get him all the information he needs. Thanks again for all the places to check .

[paul2748]

I wouldn't seem to be that unusual that a TBird had a colonial white body with a fiesta red top as these were standard colors and you could order a car with almost any color combination.

Soft top colors were very limited in 56. I believe only white and black were available, but I may be wrong. It wasn't until 57 that many other colors for soft tops were available as I remember.

[1957Birdman]

Yes, your color combination is possible and I saw one with that combination at Hershey a number of years ago. For it to be completely correct it should have a red and white interior.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

[paul2748]

My understanding is that you could order any color interior regardless of the exterior, unlike today where interior selection is very limited or non-existent. theoretically, possible to order a green interior with a black exterior ????

Yes, your color combination is possible and I saw one with that combination at Hershey a number of years ago. For it to be completely correct it should have a red and white interior.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White

[1957Birdman]

There was a salesman's book that told which colors went with which interiors. In this case a Colonial White car with a Fiesta Red hardtop would have a red and white interior. Were there exceptions? I would assume anything might have been ordered and built, but I doubt that the dealer would happily order some odd ball color combination unless they had assurance that the buyer would actually purchase the car. I doubt that many dealers deviated from the salesman's book when ordering a car.
As for soft tops, the only two available for 1956 were white vinyl and black rayon. For 1957 they added tan and blue rayon.
There were more "odd" color and interior combinations in 1957 toward the end production. I think that was because the factory was trying to use up the last of the interior pieces they had on hand and didn't want to have to order more upholstery. For example, Dave Tulowitzki has records of several 1957s that were Seaspray Green with a Flame Red interior. That combination was definitely not an approved one in the salesman's book.
Lew Bachman
1957 Colonial White/Flame Red interior