What Color Should I Paint a 1972 tii?

[tyjoja]

I vote for sahara, I had a 75 in the 80's that was immaculate. Trust me the color will grow on you, and you'll love it. Plus it will go forever on a wash and look great and show no dirt.

[gwb72tii]

you know what, there are so few of these tii's around any longer and so few made, if it were me i'd keep it the original color and as stock as possible.

tii's, especially the '72's are appreciating cars and valued higher when kept original. sahara is a really cool color. you'll learn to like it lot, especially when its fresh and new.

that being said, if you do a color change, the only way to do it right is a complete interior/windows/engine removal where every nook and cranny is painted. this is a BIG job and will set you back some serious dough.

then you can paint it COLORADO, voted the best color of any

hahaha

like this

[Delia]

There is, of course, only one answer: What color do YOU want to paint it?

Color can be the glue that bonds the owner to the car. If you don't LIKE Sahara, don't repaint the car Sahara. Paint it a color that you LOVE. Paint it something that makes you turn around and look at it after its parked, not something that makes you go "I guess I did the right thing keeping it the original color." Tell anyone who gives you crap about originality to go, uh, paint their own car. When Ralph Lauren was having his Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic coupe restored, he had it refinished in black. It was originally sapphire. Mr. Lauren reportedly "likes black."

Funny thing about Sahara. I sold my last tii because it was a) not a color I loved (Sahara), had neither sunroof nor a/c, and c) was not totally rust-free, though it was close. If it had gotten a passing grade on any of those three points, I probably would've kept it. When I called about this tii that you wound up buying, I could feel my interest level deflating when the owner told me that it was Sahara (had it been Turkis I would've been on the Merit parkway and crossing the GW before the phone hit the ground), and that it had no a/c. My loss. Your gain.

You're asking the question because you don't love Sahara. Trust your feelings, Luke...

--Rob

Rob, I believe that a self-proclaimed "Hack Mechanic" and Mr. Ralph Lauren (Lipschitz), a self-proclaimed "Fashion Designer" are two of a kind when it comes to automobiles.

Now, I'm not a purist, but I've gotten my hands dirty putting things together properly. I've saved my "hack mechanic-al" skills for roadside repairs -- usually somewhere in the middle of nowhere on some ill-fated spontaneous roadtrip.

I've also likely inhaled more than my fair ration of paint-dust, bondo-dust and dust-dust in bunches of environmentally-challenged sweatshops in an effort to help make somebodys automotive wet dream reach orgasm. Labor to make a color change and do it right ain't cheap. Add a few hours and/or days of nuthin' but sanding/scraping and you'll wonder why you're doing this.

Color changes may be the stuff that aging ego-centric and self-indulgent "Fashion Designers" do to their cars with a wave of their pinky-ringed hand as part of their daily rountine. And, such blatant corruption of an automotive icon by a guy whose birthname is "Ralph Lipschitz" may perhaps, some day in the future, actually enhance its value.

But not today, and not with a '72tii by a guy who should be spending his discretionary income on rebuilding his K-Fish pump.

One final comment. Since you say you had the chance, why didn't YOU buy this car and take on the task of changing its color???

Hmmmmmm????

Delia

[thehackmechanic]

Delia, I didn't have the chance to buy the car. I spoke with the previous owner by phone When he said that the car had been rear-ended and had its front fenders off, I asked him to send me some photos. Boston is certainly close enough to the North shore of Long Island that I could have dropped everything and driven down there with a box truck and a trailer -- and probably would have if the car did not have this asterisk -- but when I learned that the car had been hit and had the fenders off, and that it had no a/c, and that it was not a dream color of mine, I elected to wait for photos before deciding whether to make the trip. Photos never came because, not surprisingly, the car (and all the parts it came with) were sold, apparently the next day. So it goes.

I completely agree with you that one should expect extra expense if one wants to change the color of a car, and that that should be weighed against other project needs.

But it was the new owner -- Anschauer in Noo Yawk -- who started this thread. He titled it "What color should I paint a 1972tii?" His original post said "It is 006 Sahara which is frankly not my favorite color. I am not a young guy anymore so this is probably my one and only project."

So when I offer my opinion to "paint it a color that you love," it's not like I'm the bad angel on the shoulder of the young man in Animal House offering evil coercive and unsolicited advice.

:^)

--Rob

[Delia]

So when I offer my opinion to "paint it a color that you love," it's not like I'm the bad angel on the shoulder of the young man in Animal House offering evil coercive and unsolicited advice.

:^)

--Rob

In your earlier post you referenced Darth Vader asking Luke Skywalker to come over to the "Dark Side" -- a different and equally anachronistic pop culture moral schism.

How silly of me to not know the difference.

D

Edit: I now propose to change the paint color to "Lipschitz."

[bueller]

a little OT, but any time i see pics of these cars at shows on hills, ESPECIALLY beside a pond, i get nervous!

matt

[tjones02]

As much as I'm generally opposed to color changes, I am not against period correct or very tasteful complete color changes. I personally like Sahara and that's what is on my Sister's wish list (a Sahara sunroof late '71-73 2002 or Tii). But, go right ahead and change the color. Two of my very favorite '02 colors are not the norm, I like timeless colors on the "Model 71" 02s, and those that are most timeless are also very rare. The metallic colors of Baikal blue and Tundra green are among the most rare colors seen on our cars. Tundra is generally accepted as a Euro only color. And there is also one more that was only rarely optioned on an '02 and that is Nacht Blau metallic. They are all stunning colors that show different aspects depending on the light. Baikal can have a slight purple tint or be almost gun metal blue. Tundra shows yellow/green in some lights while can also show slight blue tint in others. Nacht Blau is generally a simple dark blue.

I have also seen round light cars turn out very well in the '74+ color Arktis Blau metallic.

I have two examples of Baikal, both of these are correct, just shot in different light.

Tundra Green metallic....

Nachtblau metallic:

[jgerock]

a little OT, but any time i see pics of these cars at shows on hills, ESPECIALLY beside a pond, i get nervous!

matt

For those of folks who parked around the pond (or on an incline), we were told to use a rock or bring a wheel chock. Unfortunately, the angle of some cars (leaning toward the right) made gas pour from the filler neck onto the paint. Even though my car wasn't near the pond, it was on an incline, so I brought a folding chock from home and had a hard time releasing it at the end of the day (LOL).

As for colors, how about the rarely seen Riviera (Matthew Cervi's 73tii next to my car)

[Anschauer]

Hackmechanic, Mosholu & All :

I owe it to you to show you the car and parts as I bought it.

[schwarz75]

BMW 2002s look good in any color.

[thehackmechanic]

Thanks; I was in fact highly curious.

--Rob

[Scott Sislane]

so many choices..........

[graham73tii]

OEM Sahara!

[Guest]

...had it been Turkis I would've been on the Merit parkway and crossing the GW before the phone hit the ground...

Rob--

I'm getting ready to paint my bare-metal restoration of an early '72tii that was originally Chamonix, which is an okay color but kind of bland compared to the possibilities. For sentimental reasons, I was aiming for turkis, but...

Question: would you have had the same reaction if the car was turkis but not _originally_ turkis? Would the color change have been a turn-off or a "doesn't matter" issue?

Great discussion!

-John