paint for 55 Commander hardtop

[Guest]

I will be painting my 55 Commander hardtop soon and have a few qustions. (white over coraltone.)
1. What were the interior colors choices? dash board, seats, headliner, rugs, door panels, etc.
2. What color was the inside of the trunk painted?
3. What color were the wheels painted?
4. What is the correct color for the air cleaner and valve covers? Is ther a source for the correct color?

Your help is appreciated!

Mike

[Tom Bredehoft]

4. What is the correct color for the air cleaner and valve covers?

My 55 President had gold valve covers and air cleaner. I don't know if the Commander had the same colors or not.

[StudeRich]

1. Paint on Interiors vary by Trim level, Interior Color and Exterior Color and ordering options on each car.
A '55 Salesman's showroom book may help if someone here has one.
If you do not know what the interior color seats/door panels ARE, due to someone gutting it & trashing it or a interior fire, you will need the Production order from the Studebaker National Museum.

2. The major body color would be in the trunk.

3. Wheels are the major body Color

4. The Air Cleaner on '55's matched the Valve Covers which were SILVER on Commanders. No one sells the correct colors, you have to match to a known sample from another car. The 1955 Alberta Blue Engine enamel for the complete engine is available at Studebaker Vendors.

[N8N]

You didn't ask, but if you didn't know, the color of your engine *block* (and heads, etc.) depends on your car's production date/serial number... not sure of the break, but early cars were Alberta Blue, later cars were turquoise.

nate

[StudeRich]

Nate, I have to laugh every time someone mentions that they actually saw one or two '55's with Turquoise Green '56 Engines, because no one knows when they run out of '55 engines and used some of the '56 ones being readied for the changeover or ran out of the paint. Important no fit/incompatible, improved or replacement correctness, changed parts were noted with serial number breaks, many trivial ones were not.

So no judge would ever know what serial number should have the '56 color, so it will be, and SHOULD BE ignored.

The same thing happened on the '57 to '58 changeover, there were a handful of '57's with Silver '58 engines. Since MOST are turquoise, that is all that matters.

[ceecab]

If it helps, my Canadian '55 Regal coupe was originally Pima red and Black, as is my cousin's South Bend 'Deluxe 55 in New York [ his is still the original colors] and the dash in both is /was main body color [ Pima red ]
His has all white seats[ vinyl] with a black and white door panel
Mine was a dull red seats with black, white and red door panels
My Regal has an off white steering wheel and column, his Deluxe has grey wheel and column
But- having said that-- I've also seen them with greyish tan dashes and steering columns, with greyish tan seats [ coupes mostly]

I'm not even going to get into the engine block colors, although mine always was and still is Turquoise, his was and is Alberta Blue
Black generator, starter, oil filter could be engine color [factory]or orange with a black top and bracket [ dealer installed], fan either black or engine color
Fan shroud is black, and the hood latch plate is black also [ the latch mechanism itself is natural color]
Fuel pump natural color

Confused yet?

1955 is a tough year to ascertain exactly what color combos were used, since there are so many variations and changes along the way

Rich is right-- try to get the production order and remember that the two tone combo layout changed during the year