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Posted By Discussion Topic: Undercarriage colors 1940 cars     thunder road 03-17-2018 @ 2:02 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 212 Joined: Dec 2016 I have been under the impression that the under side floor pan of a 1940 ford passenger car, could be the exterior color of the car, or red oxide, or gloss black. Is this info correct? What about the frame, and suspension parts? aren't they suppose to be a gloss black, and not satin black, or flat black. Domenic Domenic kubes40 03-18-2018 @ 9:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3371 Joined: Oct 2009 Domenic, The floor pans of our '40 Fords were painted much as you had suspected. Body color, left with (only) primer or over sprayed with black - most likely during the chassis "touch up" near the end of the assembly line. One other way has turned up on occasion, albeit infrequently. How? The floor pan was painted a completely different body color than that on the "outside" of the respective car. Most likely, or so the theory goes, paint was "used up" from a previous car on the underside of the next one. I have witnessed these cars - it did in fact happen. I think it necessary that one remember these cars were built quickly for the masses to enjoy. They were never intended to be "show cars". I'll be the first to admit that the floor pans on my restorations are far beyond what Ford ever produced in terms of finish. Your question of frame color is a bit more difficult to answer. Why? Well, basically it's because there were no names like "gloss black", "satin black", and most certainly no "chassis black" etc. used by Ford. Rather, there were codes that identified the color specifications. Now here's where it may get "tricky"- what you perceive as "gloss" may not be the same as what I perceive as "gloss". What I can assure you of is the frame a and miscellaneous chassis parts were painted what would most commonly be referred to nowadays as "gloss black". Those of us who have been fortunate to own one or more extremely well preserved '39 - '40 Fords would surely attest to the fact the black had quite a glossy sheen to it - especially those areas "hidden" well from the elements. There are of course those that possess decently preserved cars and believe that the dulled black remaining on their frames, etc. was the authentic (or close to) sheen applied at the factory. This is where it is necessary to understand that the frames, etc. were not painted for aesthetic beauty but rather to offer a (limited) protection against corrosion. As such, the paint, what there was of it, would most certainly fade and / or simply "flake off". Mike "Kube" Kubarth TomO 03-19-2018 @ 8:43 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7244 Joined: Oct 2009 Mike, You and I agree that the original frame paint had a gloss to it. My understanding is that the frame and other black parts were painted with a black enamel that was a lesser quality than the body paint and that there was no primer coat. Just after WWII, my uncle gave me a quart of black enamel that they used to paint stationary engine parts at the utility company. It was a thin enamel that had a nice gloss to it and flowed out nicely. My Uncle said that they used this for dipping part, brushing parts and spraying parts. I painted my bicycle with it and you could not see any brush marks. The paint stayed glossy for the 5 years that I had the bike. I believe that it was similar to the chassis paint used by Ford because the chassis parts on my 53 Lincoln that still have the original paint have the same gloss and it does not look like there is a primer coat. Tom 42merc 03-20-2018 @ 3:42 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 125 Joined: Dec 2010 One thing is certain, base coat-clear coat & buffing was not part of the early Ford process. thunder road 03-23-2018 @ 4:15 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 212 Joined: Dec 2016 So is it true that their were three ways that the under side of a 1940 ford's passenger car's floor pan left the factory . One" body color", two" red oxide", and three some form of" shiny black". Is this correct? Plus possibly what ever color the previous car on the line had been painted? Domenic This message was edited by thunder road on 3-23-18 @ 4:21 PM

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