78 paint detail

[Mitchell Holbrook]

This is the first Corvette that I have owned so needless to say it is my first Corvette restoration. I am starting the process of preparing for paint and I need to know if the underside of the hood on a 78 came body color or black. I would think it should be body color but it is now black and I can't tell if someone has changed it over the years or not. It doesn't look like it has been painted underneath the hood but the car is now white and the exterior has been painted. thanks for the information!! mitchell holbrook

[Joe L.]

Re: 78 paint detail

Mitchell----

The underside of the hood was semi-flat black.

[Mitchell Holbrook]

Re: 78 paint detail

Thanks Joe, thats what I needed to know! mitchell

[Tom R.]

Re: 78 paint detail

Michael:

There were several other areas that were "black-out" areas the underside of the hood was but one. Depending on the degree of authenticity you seek...you may wish to become familiar with the other black-out areas as you do the "black-out" once you've painted. You can comb the archives and pickup up a few tidbits which were essentially unchanged throughout C3 until the move to Bowling Green.

"Black-out or flat black was sprayed to the underside of the hood, engine compartment areas, windshield wiper trough, fender coves, leading edge of the two doors, the windshield header and pillar, rear window opening, front and rear wheel housings and underneath side of the removable roof panels. In 1978, the Assembly Instruction Manual indicates flat black paint (9981646) was specified in later years for the black-out procedure."

For example, a mask was used for the hood with the hinges in place but not the hood support. So hood hinges got blackout but not the support. And there was a definitive line break where the hood closes and the gutter crosses over to the other side. Kind of detail you may wish to understand as you proceed with replication of the black-out procedure.

[Mitchell Holbrook]

Re: 78 paint detail

Tom; Thanks for the extra info. While I was familiar with some of them, I was unaware of other places you mentioned. I have been looking at photos for most of the detail I needed but I know that is not always accurate. This is not going to be a frame-off resto but it will have an extremely nice interior, exterior and engine compartment. Thanks again for the info, I will do much more searching now. mitchell