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As some of you may recall, I'm restoring a '63 Crown convertible that
was totally disassembled when I got possession and took over. Along
the way, someone had painted it black, but it was originally the
"Claret Red". The trim code indicates that it had a black interior.
OK, so it was originally red car, black interior. What color do you suppose the top was? It has shards of white top fabric still embedded in the top header, but I don't know if (a) it was once black but the pieces have bleached out to white over the years (b) someone replaced the original top, and this is shards of the replacement top, which I suppose could have been either black or white (c) or some other color of top, if they even make them in other colors (d) this is shards of the original top, which was originally white. The paint code on the car shows "TT1". According to Cars & Parts Magazine's Catalog of American Car ID Numbers 1960-69", "A three-digit code indicates the top and bottom colors respectively. A number follows which designates two-tone, sports-tone, convertible top, etc." (This section of the book is not limited to Imperials, by the way - it is Chryslers as well. So if it were, say, a 300, it might have a 2-tone paint job. But I believe all Imperials will have the first 2 letters the same). Well.......... what *COLOR* convertible top???? I can't find anything that indicates that. I am under the impression that the original top was either white or black. I could be wrong here..... anyone wanna correct me? I looked in the "1963" section of the club. I looked at the sales brochure. The only convertible I see is red with a red interior, and a red convertible top boot, which hides the entire top. I don't believe I have ever seen a red convertible top, however, so I'm thinking under that boot, it's some other color. So..... what if I take it back to factory specs? I paint it Claret Red Metallic and stay with the black interior. If I put on a white top, is that too many colors? Do I really HAVE to put another black top on it here in Texas? Black top / Black interior = not fun in the summer, especially with no R12 anymore. :-( For the record - yes, it's an air conditioned car. Suggestions / comments / ideas? Am I making this too hard? --Brooks in Dallas |
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