Black A's were rare?

C

connecticut mike

Member
Good evening,

The "Paint & Finish Guide" published by MAFCA reads on page 22 of the 3RD Edition, "Ford built bodies were rarely painted black."

Is this a correct statement? I think that I've seen more black A"s than other colors.

Mike
 
My understanding is that black was pretty much a special order color. Many A's were probably repainted black as they aged, since it was an easy color to obtain.
 
I know that black was offered on the 1930 Standard Coupe-mine is black. And also the Standard Roadster if I am not mistaken. So it was available as a "color" in standard production.
 
My September 1929 Standard Coupe was Black and not Andilucite Blue as some think.

It was the original color and was never repainted along the way.

Pluck
 
Black was uncommon in 1928. FoMoCo downplayed the color. It was available as an option from start of production until the 1930 models were introduced. These cars through end of production were offered in black as a standard color.
 
My "barn find' 1929 De Luxe Delivery still has the factory black paint for the body and a faint pinstripe. The body has not been repainted and this light commercial was acquired from the family that bought it new in 1929.
 
CT Mike, I misread your initial post. The statement in the Paint Guide means that bodies supplied by outside builders like Briggs and Murray were more likely to be black as opposed to bodies made in house like roadsters and phaetons.
 
My 160c was offered in black with a Apple Green Stripe and wheels...To which i have having mime re-done as we speak in that color combo!
 
Oddly I found read thru this post today. I have always assumed my unrestored car to have originally been one of the '29 blues. Today, in a box of new parts I bought recently I found an old but very presentable data plate. Mine although still intact was just a metal plate with no information left. I removed the original data plate and low and behold underneath it was Black. Other that wiping it down, I did nothing to disturb Henry's original paint. I will take pictures and put the data plate back over it.
 
My Deluxe Phaeton[Mid 1930] was black w/ the red wheels from the start and that's the way i restored it. But hard to keep clean. :>( Now i am starting on a early 1930 Briggs standard fordor and that too was Black from the start.[but i think i'll pick a color other then black...]
 
My 1930 standard coupe was originally green which I found at the bottom of the firewall. It was painted black many years before I got it .I painted the coupe black with English Coach vermillin red pintripe when I restored it(my avator).Ray in Duckroost.
 
From reading the Judging Standards and the Paint & Finish Guide, I was given to understand that black was NOT a standard color on '28 & '29 models, but could have been special-ordered.

From 1930 thru end of production, black became a standard color.

From what I remember reading , I don't recall seeing black on any of the color charts in the JS or P&FG for '28 & '29 models.

I think initially, Ford was trying to shake the "you can have any color you want as long as it's black" stigma...

( NOT saying there were NO black '28 -'29's, just that they were probably uncommon.)
 
[QUOTE
( NOT saying there were NO black '28 -'29's, just that they were probably uncommon.)[/QUOTE]

Thus my surprise when I found black under the original data plate.
 
I read somewhere that the color black was commonly associated at the time with the older out of date cars (Model T) so Ford was trying to shake that with the Model A.
 
So my question is...how did they determine what color to paint the non-special ordered bodies on the line?

Did they alternate every color as each body style came in? Did two coupes in a row get painted the same XYZ color combo? Did Joe Blow, working on the line, get to decide "nah, I don't really like the greens, today I'm only painting cars blue and brown?" Or, did they work against an all-mighty Ford production list?

Something I never thought about until I started reading this thread.
-Tim
 
black is the predominate color on cars and junk i have seen with some bits of original paint left. i always thot that was because it weathered better
 
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