1956 Mercury color code help

T

The Motor Pool

Junior Member
Hello all. I have a '56 Mercury Monterey. Currently it is a kind of Seafoam/ dark blue color. The original color seems to be Niagra Blue. The body tag says 205 as the color code. According to the manual Niagra blue is 05. There seems to be no code for 205, either as a single colour, 2 tone or 'Flow tone' (top and bottom one color, middle different color).
Can anyone shed a light on the original color? Maybe I'm reading the tag wrong, or is 205 a special order combination?
Thanks in advance
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I have a copy of the 1955 Mercury body parts manual but it only goes up the 203 on the special or two tone colors. You will need to find a 1956 Mercury body parts catalog or someone who has one to find out what the 205 code means. Same with the interior trim 655 code.
 
Hi Mercman from oz. That's the Ford colours I think. I have the Mercury one. My car was definitely Niagra Blue, which has the 05 code. Just wonder what 205 means! I will look for the 56 Mercury body parts manual as suggested by rotorwrench. Cheers!
 
395934

Sorry about Posting the Ford Colour Chart instead of the Mercury. Try this one, it is the correct one this time. I hope that it helps.
 
The COLOR CODE you show is a 3-Tone 'FLO-TONE COMBINATION', i.e. each of the three characters in the COLOR CODE calls for a specific color each, specific to MERCURY only.

The charts being shown as examples are PPG-DITZLER and for whatever reason, 205 is not shown. You need to refer to the actual 1956 MERCURY SHOP MANUAL for the correct code(s).

Example page shown below-
 

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rotorwrench"s comment about the Service Bulletins sent me looking thru my Merc info.


Kultulz is barking up the right tree as the three digit paint schemes that all had prefixs starting with "2" were all Flo-Tone color combinations.


There is no 205 listed however.


Perhaps it was just meant to be all 3 colors were to be Flo-Tone and Niagara , although I do find that rather odd!


Oldmics
 
Codes could be changed for special orders. They may have modified some of the Flo-Tones over the course of the model year. There were a lot of different Flo-Tones listed in the PPG Ditzler info. It might be Delta blue & Niagara blue and somewhere along the line it was changed to code 241 or the dark blue was a different color other than Delta blue but there is no other dark blue listed.

1956 Mercury Bulletin #7 is listed as a source on the Ditzler charts.
 
rotorwrench said:
1956 Mercury Bulletin #7 is listed as a source on the Ditzler charts.
Click to expand...


rotor-respectfully the Service Bulletin is #6 for the charts (and more).

That is followed up by a "Special Paint Bulletin" (not numbered) of 14 pages consisting on instructions to Flo-Tone vehicles by dealers.


Hope this helps.


S.B. #7 is about air conditioning. Still no answers for the 205 paint code?????


Oldmics
 
Oldmics said:
Service Bulletin is #6 for the charts (and more).

That is followed up by a "Special Paint Bulletin" (not numbered) of 14 pages consisting on instructions to Flo-Tone vehicles by dealers.

Oldmics
Click to expand...

Do you actually have this bulletin? Does it ID PPG as the factory supplier of the period? Any chance of a scan and post?

Again, the CODES should be found in the 1956 MERC MAINT MANUAL. If the CODE(s) description was later modified, it would be corrected in later PUB DATES of the Manual and/or be described in subsequent SERVICE BULLETIN(s).

SPO and/or FLEET PAINT SCHEMES were either marked or not stamped.

No one here has a manual? Until you have the correct manual, everything is conjecture and confusing to the OP.

395991



The Chart below right is PPG. While the Paint Code will be described correctly. the paint part numbers are PPG. Same with DUPONT or any other supplier. Those PPG charts are for the repair aftermarket.

The MERC page is just a partial shot. MERC would have issued charts which would have been used mainly for NEW CAR SALES.
 

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KULTULZ said:
Do you actually have this bulletin?


YES


Does it ID PPG as the factory supplier of the period?


YES


Any chance of a scan and post? - Certainly - Well a picture anyways.


As requested-Oldmics


And I have the 56 Merc manual and there is no reference to 205 (except as a refinish reference to the steering column)
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Oldmics said:
KULTULZ said:
Do you actually have this bulletin?

YES

Does it ID PPG as the factory supplier of the period?

YES

Any chance of a scan and post? - Certainly - Well a picture anyways.

As requested-Oldmics

And I have the 56 Merc manual and there is no reference to 205 (except as a refinish reference to the steering column)
Click to expand...

...hmmpf ...

The car photo shows an unmolested paint scheme to me anyways. No 205 in the BIBLE?

What is the DATE on those letters? PUB DATE of the MANUAL?

Being as you are out of the BAL FREE-FIRE ZONE, I may just have to make a trip over there to see what all you have. Is the invite still good or has the cage-rattling affected our relationship?

May have to search new car ordering or build sheet info to find the code or it may be SPO. Usually is ID/d by an asterisk or such.

BTW- You must not have seen my reply regarding the 8V ACL you found. Did you actually buy it ot just come across it?
Click to expand...
 
One Ditzler chart for 1955 listed bulletin #6 but the other for 1956 listed # 7 so that was a Ditzler typo on their 1956 chart. My 1955 Mercury Body Parts Manual has the stuff listed for part of that year anyway. 203 is the highest number in it so anything further would have come later than that book pub date.

FoMoCo likely used Dupont and Ditzler depending on supply and demand. They always seemed to hedge their bets on stuff like that. Both companies had about the same product available but were marketed under their own trade names.

FoMoCo did have different pubs dates on certain manuals and other documents. They would have initial publication for a model year start up and then there was usually another follow up to cover changes leading into the next model year. With code number 205 it should have been relatively early judging by the other numbers if you look at it from a linear perspective.
 
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OK ...

Think I might have skirted the problem ...

If you look @ FLO-TONE # 241-


DELTA BLUE PLOY - DITZLER - 11406 (SINGLE CODE 02)
NIAGARA BLUE - DITZLER - 11396 (SINGLE CODE 05)
DELTA BLUE POLY - DITZLER - 11406

Check The Color Chip Chart For Visual -

Maybe 02 and 05 Combined Into CODE 205?
 
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Well, thank you all for your posts. Lots of input here. The original color as found in the engine bay and inside the trunk is definitely Niagra Blue. The car has been overpainted in a more turquoisy colour (you can see the paler blue underneath where the top coat is flaking off. Again, the dark blue is like Delta blue, but this must have been applied when it was re-sprayed. On the roof, where the dark blue has rubbed off, you can see Niagra blue underneath. I guess cars were painted all over in the main body color, then the roof and lower sides sprayed in the second color if a Flo-Tone paint job was ordered.
It seems possible that 205 is a combination of 02 and 05.
I will try and do a little archeology and see if I can find what was original under the dark blue.
 
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