Good morning All.
I am attempting to revive the W-30 I purchased earlier this year. The previous owner had made some small repairs and painted the car but never finished it. So it sat for 12 years and got very dirty and some over spray etc ...
I buffed it out this weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find an amazing shine come back. I started putting some of the chrome back on it and it is really coming around nicely.
Next up will be to put the stripes back on it. My question is, Black or White?
It is an original code 73 Rally Red car (Orange). It was ordered with Black Stripes and Pearl interior. I am torn. Some tell me I need to match the stripe to the interior and others tell me black belongs on Orange and that if thats the way it came, I shouldnt change it.
The only thing I have to go on is the that the original paint was still on the majority of the car before it was painted. I have also spoken to previous owners and received pictures of it in its original state which was in fact black stripes.
What say you?
Match the interior?
Put it back the way it was?

 

Make it the way you want, unless its a 100 point car!

 

It's your car, do what you want!. I'm sure it will be worth more if you put back to factory( especially since you have vintage photos) but I've seen a few rally-red W cars with white stripes & they look awesome! Are you having them painted on or are you going to be using the Phoenix graphics decals?? The stripe chart in the assembly manual lists "recommended" colors for a particular paint color. Rally-red only lists white & black but if you had a good dealer you could get pretty much any combo. There is a rally-red W30 out there with the gold interior & the original owner had the factory put gold stripes on it. It's Stunning!!!!

 

The factory recommended matching the stripe to the interior, but obviously it was not mandatory. I've got the same problem with my 69 442. It has a black interior but I want do put white stripes on the Aztec Gold. I haven't decided yet.

 

Redo the interior to the white/black scheme, then white stripe?

 

white

 

Does the cowl tag show black stripes? If it’s a documented W30 I would match the cowl codes. Even if it’s not documented I think the black stripes would look better with the pearl interior. The bright white of the stripes clashes with the pearl in my opinion. My car is a tribute, black with pearl interior and custom pearl stripes because I didn’t like the mismatch of the pearl and bright white. Another option would be black stripes and convert the interior to black. On a pearl interior that would just be the seat covers, door panels, and headliner. My opinion the Rally red with black stripes and interior would be the best combo.

 

Thanks All for the input. The car is missing some important pieces and I'm not sure how far I'll go with it but I do not intend to make it a 100 point car. My intentions are to DRIVE IT. I already have two cars that never leave the garage, I want one that I can enjoy.

Cowl tag has the "- -" for Special Order Paint & 937 for the Pearl interior. No stripe info that I am aware of. I'm lucky enough to have the POP & broadcast car so I'd assume thats "documented" but neither say anything about stripe color that I know of.

 

Havent decided yet on paint or decal. Is there a benefit to one over the other?
I have a stencil kit for paint (it was in the trunk when I bought it) but I'm committed to it.
That Rally Red w/ Gold car sounds cool.

 

The only "benefit" of using the decal kit is if you don't like the color combo you can change it rather easily, but your out $229 for another kit. They're not factory correct. They should be painted on as you know. I thought I had a pic of the rally red/gold car but I don't seem to. I think it was in the now dead muscle car review a few years back.

 

 

I would prefer white in a shade that matches your seats, but if you have pictures showing black stripes, you should replicate the "as built" configuration. Consider it the curse of having a iconic automobile.

 

The black stripe was the default color for Rally Red. White would be just as correct, if specified. There's nothing wrong with black stripes with a white interior, and there's nothing inauthentic about choosing what suits you.

 

Diego,

You are cutting into Joe's scope of work...lol....

 

Joe's an asset to the Oldsmohobby.

 

He certainly is. Hopefully Joe won't be upset.

 

There is a member here who has a '70 Rallye Red W30. White stripes with the Ivory interior. I have seen it in person, a very sharp looking car.

 

Brian, I hope that you don't mind me posting a pic of your car.

 

WOW! That IS sharp.
Going to be a tough decision ...

 

Without looking at pics I believe the white stripes will look considerably better than black. But you own a pedigree car even if it was born in the waning years of the original muscle era.

Pedigree cars deserve special recognition and respect...

Yes, such a tough call. I am torn.


In the end I would use the pedigree angle to help make the choice. Its my understanding that there were 2 engine options for 1973 Hurst Olds W30. L75 and L77, with the L77 being the best option. I would let that decide it. L75 white stripe, L77 black stripe. Reasoning for that being that the L77 could not be outdone. (top of the line factory correct)

 

The three color combo with rally red, black stripes, and white interior would be a sharp look. There is a similar survivor car floating around that actually has a white vinyl top, too.

The three color combos are more infrequent than just the two color combo where the stripes match the interior colors.

 

I too think the balck stripes white interior would be nice looking. Have to admit the Rallye Red with white stripes looks great but so does black stripes. As others have said do with it how you want its your car. The uniqueness of a three color car though is pretty cool and its a great color combo. So you will have a somewhat unique color combo that is also factory correct. Or if you want some real shock value, go with the blue stripes :-)

Edit: FYI, the white stripes are not a perfect match to the pearl interior color anyway, yes from a distance it all looks white but up close you can tell the interior is an off white.