Thread: Special Paint
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Old 03-21-2017, 03:34 AM
StealthBird StealthBird is offline
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An extra cost color was a color available on a particular model, but the manufacturer charged an extra amount to apply it. These colors were usually marked with a "*" in the dealer albums and listed as "Extra Cost". For instance, Carousel Red was an RPO color on the 1969 Firebird, but Pontiac charged you $12.64. Some of the confusion here is because on invoices Pontiac lists an extra cost color as "PAINT-SPECIAL" and people think that means special paint. But it's not, it's an extra cost color, not special paint. These cars would have a regular paint code on the invoice and trim tag.

A special paint car is a color not available on that particular model. For instance, Carousel Red on a 1969 Firebird was extra cost for $12.64, but Carousel Red on a 1969 Bonneville was a $115.85 charge because that color was not available on the Bonneville. The same $115.85 charge would apply if you wanted your 1969 Grand Prix painted Dodge Hemi Orange. It was for a color outside the normal operations for the manufacturer. A special paint car would not have an RPO paint code on the invoice and would have a "- -" on the trim tag (some exceptions, like with 1965 Tiger Gold, so it depends on year and model).

Steve, just an FYI (and it's not relevant to the discussion here), but the cost of a special paint was much higher than $79.01 in Canada in 1972. That's the cost to the dealer, not the MSRP charged to the customer.

A few special order black Firebirds made it through, including this special order 1970 Formula 400 in Starlight Black. Car was built with manual brakes, manual steering, no radio, M21 4-speed, and 3.73 gears. It has around 433 original miles on the odometer. Watch for a full feature on this soon in POCI's "Smoke Signals" magazine.
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Last edited by StealthBird; 03-21-2017 at 03:41 AM.
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