Hello!

I am in the process of repainting my 71 cutlass supreme. According to the VIN the original color from factory is viking blue. Current color is very close to the original viking blue (with lots of imperfections, dents and scratches) BUT my car has stripes on hood, trunk and sides.
I browsed the forums and what I found is that there should be no stripes on hood or trunk on 71 cutlass supreme (and that those are actually from Chevelle look).

I want the vehicle to be as close to factory original as possible and thus my questions are:
1) Should there actually be any more stripes than those small ones on the sides? (see the BAT link)
2) How much value is lost if the vehicle is painted to non-factory color, say a bit darker blue?

With a bit darker blue I mean something awesome like this:



I found a great example from BAT which equals to my goals:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...onvertible-10/

These hood stripes are identical to those on my car currently:



Thank you =)

 

1971 cutlass had no factory stripes. (maybe side "Pinstripes"). hood only had stripes on the factory fiberglass scooped hood on the 442. I have a 1971 conv my dad bought new. is Was also "viking blue, I changed a few shades to '67 Chevy "MARINA BLUE", (big improvement in my opinion). I don't think it will make Any difference in worth if the paint is off a few shades, (as long as you do ALL THE JAMS - doors, trunk, under hood).

 

Those stripes shown on the B.A.T. pic would be correct. Option code Y70. I had them on my '71 Supreme. Hood stripes were available on the "S" models, option code Y73, this was a tri stripe down the center of the hood. A wide center stripe flanked by two narrow stripes on either side. It was the standard hood stripe on the '71 442 with the steel hood.

 

Thank you guys for your input!

I think I'll leave the stripes out at this time and maybe add them later on if I feel like it.
The stainless steel trims on sides are cool enough by themselves.

The paint color question is tough though, I am really struggling with the original viking blue vs darker one as that can not really be changed afterwards as easily.

 

Just checked my 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass - 442 Factory assembly manual and there is indeed no definition of trunk stripes.
Hood stripes are defined for the fiberglass scooped hood on the 442 as mentioned above. Body side paint stripes are defined just as they are on BAT pictures.

 

if you're going to Change the color, Do it RIGHT ! remove the panels, then replace all the weatherstripping !

 

Will do! There'll be some major body work done and the vehicle has already been broken down into atoms pretty much

 

Changing the color does not affect the value of a car at all. My advice is, if you plan to sell the car, paint it the original color. If you plan to keep and drive the car, paint it the color you like.

There is a distinction between hurting the value of a car vs narrowing the market of potential buyers/hurting the desirability. A bad paint job will hurt salability far more than color choice.

 

Good advice, I intend to never sell the car as it has been in the family for a very long time