So started stripping down my car today to spray paint the roof and a few other panels until I can get it painted, it's starting to rust where I pulled the top off... But... I found red paint under the original paint / primer on the drivers side, the car appears to have been by all means originally gold unless someone completely restored the thing and redid it in gold... The mysterious red paint extends under where the vinyl top was, and the vinyl top was not removed for the 3-4 times this car has been painted in it's life... So, is this just a bit of bad factory body work, something normal, or something strange? I'll let you know if I find more when I'm sanding tomorrow.

 

You won't find spotty repairs from the factory. It's most likely that some has had the top off for rust repair in the area of the red primer at some time in the last 35 years. Spot repairs are very common shop work without painting the entire car.