Paint Question?

Hello All....I have been researching information about my 73 for a couple of months and I must say that everyone here is very helpful and most of my answers and ideas have come from this site..so thanks .
nuff said.. anyhow I am in the process of cleaning the 304 and have bought all the stuff to do so but from what I have read here is that you want to paint it as soon as you clean it..is that true? Also is it a lot better to take the engine out? and of course what paint color should it have? here is a pic of the color it has now...

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Second what color is the paint of the body...is it Omaha Orange??

Here is a pic of the body ..

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Hopefully the pics will appear ...having trouble with attachments...

and last thing...is it ok to grind the paint of the body to get it ready for painting ???

thanks

 

The paint code is on the VIN plate. Do you have a '73 manual?

This site has paint colors: www.autocolorlibrary.com

Looks like Butterscotch Gold to me.

Ideally you'd want to prime and paint one right after the other. In Los Angeles, you don't need to worry too much because of the low humidity. If the original paint is still solidly bonded to the body, you can just sand it smooth and paint over it - no need to take it down to bare metal. If the Jeep has been repainted a few times, you'll want to sand off most of the top coats, but again, no need to sand to bare metal unless it's rusty.

I'd choose a primer and spot prime the areas where metal is exposed. With epoxy primers, you'll need to scuff them up before you top coat if the primer has hardened more than a few days. Match the primer to the paint, and follow the manufacturer's directions.

 

Another comment - one advantage of keeping the same body color is that you don't necessarily have to paint under the hood. How much work are you willing to do and how important is a 'perfect' job to you? Pulling the engine to paint the firewall the same color seems like a lot of work to me.

If you want to paint the inner fenders and grille, the front clip is easily removed. Then maybe mask around the engine, remove what you can from the firewall, and shoot most of the firewall with color.

Some have gone as far as stripping the body entirely, removing it from the frame, and respraying top and bottom. You could buy or make a rotisserie to hold the body, or get a few friends to help you move it.

 

HI Tim .. yeah I am trying to do a whole restoration.. but I have never done any of this and never remove an engine before so I am trying to do everything the right way ..bolt by bolt...I think I will attempt to paint the engine without removing it.. in regards to the paint.. this grinder I bought at home depot is working really nice to remove the paint.. I think I can take the whole paint off in one day if I WORK the whole day on it...
I also looked at that site you sent me but it does not look like butterscotch gold.. this is more orange I think.. I will try to put some pics here and also some of the restoration I am doing so far....
I have thought also about the rotisserie ...taking some welding classes during the summer at my local trade tech school just so I can do some fabrication work.. like the cage to the frame.. stuff like that...it seems the more I get into it the more it pulls you in !! Any idea how long restorations take ??
Oh yeah and in regards to the VIN .. I have it .. but have match that with VIN # de-coders and the paint # does not appear there.. I read here that it shold be on the left passenger side of the firewall but could not find it.. thanks

 

In regards to the manual .. I have the one posted on this site..

 

The paint chips on that site aren't very precise. I've seen a lot of these Jeeps, and from your avatar pic, it looks exactly like Butterscotch Gold to me. Omaha Orange was available as a fleet color, but it's waaaayyy more orange than that. Have you seen a CalTrans truck lately? That's Omaha Orange.

The number is on the VIN plate, but not in the actual VIN number. It'll have a 3-digit number, "490" if Butterscotch Gold, or "135" (I think that's right - it's hard to read it) for Omaha Orange.

 

Ok .. so I guess butterscotch gold is a bit orange ?? and I will look at the vin area to see if I can see that.. thanks..
what about the engine Tim.. any ideas ??

 

Re the engine, how ambitious are you, and how much will it matter if the underhood paint job isn't perfect? I sort of addressed that in my second post above. Not sure what your question is now.

 

My question is color of engine.. any ideas on the 304 ?? or should it have the same color as body ?? from my original post tim -below

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anyhow I am in the process of cleaning the 304 and have bought all the stuff to do so but from what I have read here is that you want to paint it as soon as you clean it..is that true? Also is it a lot better to take the engine out? and of course what paint color should it have? here is a pic of the color it has now...

 

Oh, ok. I thought you meant removing the engine to paint the body.

A '73 should have a dark aqua-blue metallic engine color. I don't know what the name or paint code is ... Jim (jpflat2a) sometimes has that info.

You can spray the top of the engine pretty easily with it in the chassis. Spraying the lower part of the block will be harder, I think.

Pulling the engine isn't that hard if you know what you are doing and have a cherry picker. Harbor Freight sells one for about $150 that works pretty well - my brother has one, and I think several people on these boards have one too. You can yank the engine, transmission and transfer case as one unit - especially easy if you have the front clip off (recommended).

I think you'll have a serious problem with mission creep once the engine is out though, if you know what I mean. The "might as wells" pile up pretty fast.

 

Well.. .that is where I am. after removing engine.. I was going to remove tub .. than to frame.. and well you guys know the rest//
right now I just want to get everything in regards to what I need.. like paint colors and go from there.. I know once you get started than you can;t stopp.. very addicting..

 

thanks BKD.. that is what I am doing.. zip.lock bags and tagging everythign and lots of pics...its a process but to tell you the truth I am enjoying it...the wife will tell you different though.. if you know what I mean

 

Ricardo, Jeep used red for engines too, at least for V8s in Wagoneers in '70-71 and maybe '72. Your engine may be the right color now. You're sure it's a 304? The displacement is cast into the block near the driver's side motor mount. There's also a tag on the valve cover with a build date and ID code.

If you like the red, you should keep it - hardly anyone will question the color, and even fewer will care.

 

It is a 304 as like you said its on the block.. so I guess red it will be than...even though I also saw signs of that orange .. so that is why I wanted to know the color specifically for that year. the vin states its a 73...
Tim, as fas as you know ..did AMC hardtops have double pane sunroofs .. with handles on the top near the rear .. .. ??

 

In '73, as far as I know, there were no fiberglass tops like you have. The factory or dealer/customer installed hard top was the Meyer Cab, made of steel.

I'm pretty sure that your top was added to the Jeep later in its life. AMC/Jeep dealerships may have sold these tops at some time, but they are aftermarket - not AMC. Whether these were available with a sunroof, or some one added it, I don't know. If it fits badly, it's probably some PO mod, but otherwise, who knows.

 

To tell you the truth it fits really nice.. and it does say AMC on it. I am pretty sure like you said it was added later. I have to take pics of this .. I think the sunroof must be an addition but whoever did it they did a hell of a job on it.. looks very nice ..

 

It's too warm in LA to need the fiberglass top...If you'd be interested in selling......

 

No not at this moment.. still deciding to see what I do with it.. family gets cold with anything that comes thru.. might though but price will be a bit a up there as in perfect condition..no cracks anywhere and like I said it has nice double pane sunroof .. its nice.. i will keep u in mind if I do..

 

Thanks!