how green is my Cooper?

[Michael Edick]

actually, how gray is my Cooper's chassis?
I'm in the process of restoring a 1965 Cooper T76 F3 car, and looking for the "correct" color to paint the chassis. I have Doug Nye's wonderful book on Cooper, but couldn't spot anything on the proper color. The vintage formula cars I've seen have been painted anything from a pale (almost white) gray to a dark battleship gray, and everything in between. One very pretty little Cooper I saw had both the frame and the body painted BRG! What should I do? Thanks!!

Michael

[jamesholland]

I went into this when I wanted the chassis of my Mk VIII 500 repainted. I was told that Dupont primer/surfacer 30S grey is a good match for cars of the same period as mine but from other conversations I have had I suspect Cooper would have used whatever was available. Of course by the time your car was built standards might have been become stricter but my advice would be not be too fussy.
You will also have the dilemma of what type of paint to use. Old fashioned cellulose is hopeless at resisting brake fluid (and methanol) so do you go for two pack which looks too shiny? Stove enamel might be the answer but it's very hard to find someone who can do it the way it used to be. I would avoid powder coat as it can trap water. Perhaps the best answer would be to use two pack witha a dulling agent added - I wish I had now.

[Michael Edick]

Thank you for that insight, James. I keep forgetting about the brake fluid issue in that my other car is a monocoque...
I'll pass that color info to my painter friend Tom and see what he comes up with...I agree about the powder paint, plus it doesn't look quite right on these cars.
Do you still have that Mk VIII car, and are planning on bringing it out to the Monterey Historics this year? Not sure if they have a race for 500's lined up, but they're trying to do something special for them...

[jamesholland]

I do still have the Mk VIII and first outing of the season will be this weekend at Snetterton in the John Cooper Trophy.

There is indeed a race for 500s at Monterey this year and I would love to attend but its not possible for several, mostly boring, reasons.

[zefarelly]

You can mix 2-pac paint with varying levels of gloss surely ? I think theres acutally a scale rather than the old cellulose method of cheap thinners and a cold damp day !

[Michael Edick]

Here's a thought from my friend Tommy here in the states...he works on helicopters by day (including Harrison Ford's) and does incredible fiberglass and paint work in his "spare time":

"The paint we use is R-M "UNO-HD" single stage urethane. It's the cat pajamas to work with and fuel chemical etc. resistant.
Some of the parts require a flat, semi flat, semi gloss finish. We use a flatting agent and mix it with the paint. The stuff goes on nice on frame work and looks dyno! A little spendy, I will find out how much it would be for a Qt. kit in a grey. It can be primed painted in 1 day and take home that night"

[jamesholland]

That sounds rather useful.

The finish on my frame will dull quite quickly after the regular assault of methanol and Castrol R so it will look authentic eventually.

[rbm]

Fairly sure there are paint codes that came from John Cooper on the Cooper Car Club web site.

Shame my mk2 was Blue.