71 Mach 1 paint color choice help

[Electric Wizard]

I would go BLUE without hesitation. The Blue will make the car stand out while the white will let it disappear into the crowd.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I originally had fallen in love with a '71 Grabber Yellow/Ginger Interior 302 Mach 1 when I was 14, but of course was in no position to have one of my own. I joined the Air Force out of high school, landed at Holloman AFB, NM as my first duty assignment, and made friends with a couple of folks in the barracks - 1 with a Red '71 M-Code and another with a cool '72 Sprint Coupe (didn't even know what a Sprint was at the time). I hadn't seen very many 7173s in any other colors until Spring 2010 when I saw this awesome Grabber Lime car in Mustang Monthly:




Wow. That is THE car I've always wanted... even though it's not yellow, it was green... and it was a cool green. I'm thinking it's time to get one of my own at that point, which had me picking up the rusty pile in my avatar pic. What the Heck color was THAT supposed to be, anyway.

Well, as I was disassembling the rusty pile of... project I'd just bought, not even really thinking about what color to paint it, I pulled back the carpet and found some Light Pewter on the transmission hump. Hmmm... that's pretty cool. A ton of Google searches later had me convinced that the right thing to do was go back with the Light Pewter, because it's not only original, it's very cool and plays to my fondness of gray scale (since I'm a bit red-green color blind).

I got pretty close to the pic above (although, no stripes & spoilers with Cragar S/Ss rather than Torque Thrust IIs, and my Ram Air is factory legit, therefore my TuTone hood black out is proper for the car). In fact, just about everything on mine (cosmetically) is 'as was' from the factory, aside from the wheels and louvers. I don't know that I'll ever add stripes & spoilers because it seems like almost ALL 7173s seem to have them these days. I just need to get the nose down another inch or so and I'll be happy. One of these days I will finish off the urethane bumper and reinstall it, but I actually like the chrome just fine - it goes well with the little bit of factory chrome bits and the Cragars nicely.




On a car that's fully intact, it's a LOT harder to change colors. Mine required a LOT of sheet metal replacement, so I literally could've changed colors quite easily at that point, but I agree that there's just something about sticking with the original color that just feels right.

 

[jimcuch]

White is everywhere...and some might consider boring.

Blue is bold and your project deserves to stand out. So between the two...id go w blue/argent.

With that said, im a green guy. Have a 73 fastback and it has that green 70's interior (complete w shag like rug). Looks like Elvis' jungle room. People say they love it.

The pewter one always stops my heart. Something about that color on a 71-73 transports me to Fall weather. However, by far, the most compliments i ever got was on my 73 ppg 2-stage burnt orange stang. People would take pictures of it like the thing was Johnny Depp.

 

[kcmash]

I like the grabber colors. Grabber Yellow or Grabber Lime with black stripes, or like mine Grabber Blue with Argent Stripes.

 

[tpj71mach]

That's the color scheme mine was when I bought it only not nice like yours. Its hard to see but the hood was argent just worn away from time. I really liked the color combination but I thought I would like the black stripes and black interior better. My PO reupholstered the seats silver to match the argent stripes. It looks like your interior is black with the argent interior and that looks good.

 

[tpj71mach]

That's the color scheme mine was when I bought it only not nice like yours. Its hard to see but the hood was argent just worn away from time. I really liked the color combination but I thought I would like the black stripes and black interior better. My PO reupholstered the seats silver to match the argent stripes. It looks like your interior is black with the argent interior and that looks good.

I meant to say your interior looks black with argent stripes outside looks good

 

[DaveMT]

I agree that white is everywhere. It seems that on new cars, SUV's and pick-up trucks, white and silver are "the" standard colors anymore. My company buys nothing but white cargo vans and pick-up trucks for our business and that's because they are are more readily available than any other color. But a classic muscle car is definitely different and I totally understand it. Now that being said, I really do love seeing a white or a platinum silver 71-73 Mach-1 Mustang at a car cruise or a car show. And everyone has their own preference, but if you want to stand out in a crowd choose something other than white or silver. And even though, my 73 Mach-1 is Blue Glow (and kind of very average), I actually prefer an orange, yellow, or red as a color on a Mustang (or any brand of late-60's or early 70's muscle car for that matter). I think those colors really "pop" because you don't see that many of them (exclusive of red of course) too often. Those "Grabber" colors are especially unique I think. And even though my Mach-1 could definitely use a fresh paint job, when that time comes I will be sticking with the factory Blue Glow on mine (for now anyway) because it would be too expensive to switch. Make it your own. You are the one that will be driving it after all.

 

[tpj71mach]

I agree that white is everywhere. It seems that on new cars, SUV's and pick-up trucks, white and silver are "the" standard colors anymore. My company buys nothing but white cargo vans and pick-up trucks for our business and that's because they are are more readily available than any other color. But a classic muscle car is definitely different and I totally understand it. Now that being said, I really do love seeing a white or a platinum silver 71-73 Mach-1 Mustang at a car cruise or a car show. And everyone has their own preference, but if you want to stand out in a crowd choose something other than white or silver. And even though, my 73 Mach-1 is Blue Glow (and kind of very average), I actually prefer an orange, yellow, or red as a color on a Mustang (or any brand of late-60's or early 70's muscle car for that matter). I think those colors really "pop" because you don't see that many of them (exclusive of red of course) too often. Those "Grabber" colors are especially unique I think. And even though my Mach-1 could definitely use a fresh paint job, when that time comes I will be sticking with the factory Blue Glow on mine (for now anyway) because it would be too expensive to switch. Make it your own. You are the one that will be driving it after all. View attachment 65730

That is a beautiful car! I am a big fan of blue, that is why I have narrowed it down to the Grabber Blue or the Wimbledon White. White is because of the 73 Mach I had as a kid, and the Grabber Blue because I like the color on it's own merit.

 

[mrgmhale]

I would like the First generation Mustangs in pretty much any color. But, I usually prefer the factiry colors offered originally. That said, for a 73 Mach 1 we restored we went with PPG Sunset Orange, a fine grain, translucent metallic shot over a white base for the candy effect. The black surfaces were shot in PPF Hot Rod Black Satin.

When we initially purchased it the car had been repainted using Valspar Sunset, a slightly lighter hue metallic than the Sunset Orange we went with (photos attached). The original color was Saddle Bronze Metallic.

The restored result:


Despite not being a factory offered color, the Mach 1 gets a lot of attention and compliments for the color. It definitely stands out...

 

[machcrazy]

Bright Lime was a rare color.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Yeah you will notice Wimbledon white is what some call an eggshell white. We had a 75 Blazer and it had the Cheyenne woodgrain package with the white paint. That truck next to my Boss really showed the difference. The original white paint 73 Mustangs I have seen are similar with a vibrant white.

 

[tpj71mach]

So in the last week or so I am starting to lean toward Grabber Blue, but I won't be ready for paint for a couple months so I still have time to flip flop back and forth some more, LOL.
IMO, if I go Grabber Blue with argent accents and stripes I should go with with white upholstery. If I go with Grabber blue with black accents and stripes I should go with black interior. The accent color and stripes color definitely changes the look of the car dramatically. The black accents and stripes looks more aggressive IMO. The argent looks classier. Does anyone have pics of your cars with these two color combinations that you are willing to post? I appreciate it, thanks.
The other thing I have to factor in is that my wife and I are planning to move to southwest Florida in the next year and a half, so I have to consider how much the different color will affect the heat in the vehicle and under the hood. If I paint the car white, the white roof might make the interior cooler but the black on the hood wouldn't necessarily help keep the engine compartment cool. The argent might be the better choice for that, but I don't think it would be a large enough contributor to influence the decision. Does anyone have any info on color choices affect in hot climates?

 

[cruiser]

White is everywhere...and some might consider boring.

Blue is bold and your project deserves to stand out. So between the two...id go w blue/argent.

With that said, im a green guy. Have a 73 fastback and it has that green 70's interior (complete w shag like rug). Looks like Elvis' jungle room. People say they love it.

The pewter one always stops my heart. Something about that color on a 71-73 transports me to Fall weather. However, by far, the most compliments i ever got was on my 73 ppg 2-stage burnt orange stang. People would take pictures of it like the thing was Johnny Depp.

My 73 is Medium Copper Metallic (5M) with Ginger interior. They made only 114 with that combination (and a 351 Q code, 4 spd.)

 

[fmjcraig]

Mine is also 5M (Ford#5144-A...A designating the factory stripes and lower black out) with White knit vinyl buckets and white power top. One of 240 with these Paint/Trim Codes. Yay

 

[machphil]

I agree that white is everywhere. It seems that on new cars, SUV's and pick-up trucks, white and silver are "the" standard colors anymore. My company buys nothing but white cargo vans and pick-up trucks for our business and that's because they are are more readily available than any other color. But a classic muscle car is definitely different and I totally understand it. Now that being said, I really do love seeing a white or a platinum silver 71-73 Mach-1 Mustang at a car cruise or a car show. And everyone has their own preference, but if you want to stand out in a crowd choose something other than white or silver. And even though, my 73 Mach-1 is Blue Glow (and kind of very average), I actually prefer an orange, yellow, or red as a color on a Mustang (or any brand of late-60's or early 70's muscle car for that matter). I think those colors really "pop" because you don't see that many of them (exclusive of red of course) too often. Those "Grabber" colors are especially unique I think. And even though my Mach-1 could definitely use a fresh paint job, when that time comes I will be sticking with the factory Blue Glow on mine (for now anyway) because it would be too expensive to switch. Make it your own. You are the one that will be driving it after all. View attachment 65730

Don't be too hard on your "blue glow"! I bought mine in '76 and LOVE the color. Mine didn't have a lot of extras. Blue Mach interior and tach. No rear fold down, no front or rear spoiler, 14x7's with rings and caps, Q code and C6. They are beautiful cars. I do like the stripes on my '71 a little more. My '71 M code has no stripes at all. Only the lower two tone paint. I've sold my Fox bodies as my left knee began complaining about clutching.

 

[72MustangSprint]

My 73 Mach was 90% original paint back then and the color code was 9A which was not a very bright white. I detailed cars back then and I know the paint was as clean and polished as possible but my parent's GM vehicles made it look almost yellow when parked next to each other. I was told back then by "older guys" (40 year olds, now in my upper 50s they done seem so old LOL) at the car shows that it was Wimdledon White so that is why I thought it was. I am confident that the color code was 9A though, and I see in the color charts it is listed as just "white". I do see that it is kind of a dirty white, and I now notice that Wimbledon White is, while it is still not a bright white, is a much cleaner white. Thanks

My 72 Sprint is 9A Wimbledon White

 

[Roland]

As I am progressing with my restoration of my 71 Mustang I am starting to second guess my color choice. When I bought the car I was looking for a 73 to replace my car from my high school/college years. I found a really solid 71 with the options that I wanted (fold down seat being the deal breaker) and bought it. I still planned on painting it Wimbledon white with black interior and black stripes like my 73 was back in the day. As the build continues and I look at other cars on this site and other sites, I am starting to really like the Grabber Blue that the previous owner painted the car. So now I am second guessing my plans and thinking Grabber blue with black interior and stripes would be great. The car was originally dark green metallic with a green interior but I'm just not a green guy.

So I thought I would ask people for opinions and any pictures you guys may have of your cars that are either Wimbledon white or Grabber blue to compare. I appreciate any pictures you guys can post. I am not near ready for paint yet but am trying to lock down a color.

This?
View attachment 62079

Or this?
View attachment 62080

I found these pics on the internet both look great I just can't decide which I want that I won't regret not choosing the other color later. Of course they are both 429 cars and my car is only a 351C but still get the idea.

white pic shown first, you know why.

 

[rodgeydodge]

I am a great believer in logical thinking. But it just doesn't work when choosing colors. You can rationalize not going black for heat and maintenance reasons. Seriously though, if you were a logical motorist, you'd be driving a silver Toyota, not a 50 year old Mustang.
Notwithstanding any sophisticated decision-making weighted matrix processes, I was told the way out of a toss-up decision. Do that: toss a coin. And when you see what the result is, ask yourself, "Am I happy?"
Cheers from Down under!