Monday, April 30, 2012

Two Colours, Two Seats, One OECC Event




Okay, about a month ago Steve (Duncan's owner) and the OECC (Old English Car Club) guys came out to see Aaron and my van. For Steve (seen in the photo above) it was the first time he had see it since 2008. On the whole, I think he was impressed with the "modest" progress since then. Nevertheless, I still cannot get him to part with some badly needed parts. Oh well.

I was asked earlier this week about my van's livery. I'm not settled on anything. If I could find out the original owner-company, I'd paint it that colour in a heartbeat. But since I don't, a sensible thing is to paint it somewhat faithfully to the past. In the first photo above, one can see the layers of paint that were on my van. They were revealed when we rubbed back the paint.

The first was a grey primer, I think. Then a maroonish-red, black, tan and finally, black again. Aaron bought a 1946 paint swatch thingy for another project he's working on (see inset in first photo). He matched a hue called Sumac Red that, when applied to that other project, looked really good, like a patina-finished maroon. It had an aged quality to it. I think I'd like to use it on the top. In the same colour swatch there was another colour suitable for the bottom called Catalina Tan. They're not matches for the "original" colours, but they're good enough.

One of the ways I rationalize the expense of the van is by thinking about driving my kids and their friends around in it when they're older. This week, I think I've figured out the seats. I think I'll use the ones pictured in the third photo above. They're from a Land Rover Series III. Pretty inexpensive, I think, overall. I'll secure them lengthwise in the back against each inner wing. There's lot of structure there.

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