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And another thread to chat about during the long winter months waiting for spring to get my Toronado out of storage
Last fall I had my 77 Toronado repainted and in the process lost the pin striping that was on the vehicle previously. I have searched high and low for a while locally to find suitable pin striping tape that matched the original color which was a direct match to the vinyl top. But have had absolutely no success.
I have managed to find a few places on line that sell what appears to be the right size pin strip tape, I just need to get samples to verify the color. The benefit here is that I can do this myself.
Recently while out shopping I passed a store where a couple were hand painting Christmas decorations on a store window. I commented they had steady hands (despite the cold weather) and that it looked great. Asked if they had ever done pin striping on old cars. Almost fell over when they told me they do a lot of hand paint pin strip and signage on classic vehicles. They could not give me a price until they see the vehicle and what i wanted done but it sure seemed pretty intriguing to me. After Christmas I will go to their shop and try to see some examples of their work.
While hand painted pin striping has some appeal, I am also still concerned about ruining my new paint job if their work is not up par. Then the benefit of self applied vinyl stripping is that If I don't like it or screw it up i can just peel it off and start again.
Any thoughts on which is the better way to go.
Just saw this thread today. The shop that painted my car did the pinstriping along the sides as well. They didn't do the hood pinstriping simply because I don't think they realized it was supposed to be there, and I forgot to mention it when I picked up the car. To this day I have not replaced the hood pinstriping. I haven't felt a great need to so do, but if it's something I can do myself, I'd be interested.
Here's a photo of the car before it was painted showing the hood pinstriping. Doesn't look that complicated to install.
Last edited by jaunty75; December 28th, 2018 at 09:33 AM.
Now isn't that interesting. In the 40 plus years this car has been in the family I just don't remember ever seeing or noticing the pin striping on the hood. When I got the car from my father it did not have any hood pin striping but that may be because the body shop he used to try and paint it may have removed it. They did the hood and trunk both of which they screwed up and then they had the car and did nothing for 4 months which is when my father got fed up and took the car back. When he got it home he noticed that they had poked a hole in one of the rear bumper fillers. He patched it and repainted it with a spray can which you can see in some of the earlier photos. The shop I used fixed the fillers panels, sanded them very nicely and then primed and painted them along with the rest of the car. So I must do some research about these vehicles originally having hood pin striping. But Jaunty I think I am with you, I don't really feel the need to have the hood pin striping nor do I think it adds to the look significantly. It may just come down to how much we want these cars to look like they did when they came from the factory.
Now isn't that interesting. In the 40 plus years this car has been in the family I just don't remember ever seeing or noticing the pin striping on the hood.
I'm thinking now that this is because it was never there in the first place. I've been looking at photos of '77 and '78 Toros, and I'm coming to the conclusion that the hood pinstriping was offered only on the '78's. I have not seen hood striping on any '77, and it seems that only about half of the '78's I've seen photos of have it. I have the 1978 Dealer Album, and "Paint Stripe--body side and hood" as the album called it, was option Y70, $25, and was available on any '78 Toro. It was included in the $2700 XS package (option Y73), which is why my car had it, or with option Y79, "Appearance Option," which included the vinyl roof along with the striping and cost $293. I don't have a '77 album, but I'm guessing that the paint stripe was also an option, but it was only body side stripes that year.
What's a little weird, though, is that, while I've not seen a hood stripe on every '78 I've seen, I have seen body side stripes on every one of them. But the dealer album makes it sound like you couldn't get one without the other. There is no separate option listed for only body side stripes.
Last edited by jaunty75; December 28th, 2018 at 07:58 PM.
I'm thinking now that this is because it was never there in the first place. I've been looking at photos of '77 and '78 Toros, and I'm coming to the conclusion that the hood pinstriping was offered only on the '78's. I have not seen hood striping on any '77, and it seems that only about half of the '78's I've seen photos of have it. I have the 1978 Dealer Album, and "Paint Stripe--body side and hood" as the album called it, was option Y70, $25, and was available on any '78 Toro. It was included in the $2700 XS package (option Y73), which is why my car had it, or with option Y79, "Appearance Option," which included the vinyl roof along with the striping and cost $293. I don't have a '77 album, but I'm guessing that the paint stripe was also an option, but it was only body side stripes that year.
What's a little weird, though, is that, while I've not seen a hood stripe on every '78 I've seen, I have seen body side stripes on every one of them. But the dealer album makes it sound like you couldn't get one without the other. There is no separate option listed for only body side stripes.
I think you are right. I have never seen a 77 with pinstripes down the hood or a 75/76. 78s I have seen, a number of them. I do have that 77 album you are talking about and I know where I put it. I will dig it out and check, maybe even post some photos of the album. I am pretty sure nothing will be in it about hood pinstripes.
Does anyone know or can somebody please measure the actual pinstrip sizes and the gap between them on an actual 77 or 78 Toronado with original striping?
Mine disappeared during the repaint and I cannot locate the measurements that I took before the repaint. Packed them away somewhere before my move and now have no idea where they might be.
Appreciate any help on this. Many thanks.
Here's the measurement for the pinstripes on my '78, if they'll be of any help. These were put on by the body shop, so they're not factory. Look darn good, though.
The top photo is inches. The bottom is millimeters. The small stripe is about 1.5 mm wide. The large stripe is about 3.5 mm, and the spacing between them is about 3 mm.
I didn't take a lot of photos my car prior to the repaint, but I did take a few, and I have the photos the seller sent me originally. As far as I know, the car had never been repainted before I got it, so the pinstriping should have been original. Below are several sets of before and after photos.
Jaunty, thank you for the measurements. This will be very helpful and is greatly appreciated. Found a place on the internet that supplies double line pin strip tape that might do the job and it looks like they have a range of colors that might also work. Here is a link to their web site. They also have body side moulding but nothing they list comes in a color that would work. http://cowlesproducts.com/cal-stripe...pes-one-color/
The pin stripe on your car looks great. On looking at the before and after pics of the hood pin stripe, I would not bother with the hood stripe on your car. I think it looks so much much better without the hood stripe. It really makes the hood look expansive without the the stripe. Just my 2 cents.
On that website, it looks like the size you need (1/8, 1/8, 1/16) is the most popular as it is the only one that's available in both 50-foot and 150-foot lengths. But what's the color between the stripes? On my car, the stripes appear to be separate with the body paint in between.
Also, that website is a little spooky. None of the links on the left side under "Categories" or "Quick Links" actually works. In fact, they take you to a web hosting site that attempts to plant malware on your computer, and it hijacks the browser page because the "back" button doesn't work. All you can do is close the browser window.
Yes, I don't plan to put the pinstriping on the hood. I like the clean look.
If you decide to paint them on, find a local car dealer. They usually have a guy who adds pinstripes to cars and he does it every day, so quality should not be an issue. Price was a hundred bucks.
Last edited by classicmuscle442; January 11th, 2019 at 01:40 PM.
Byron, jaunty, you guys both have beautiful cars. But what you doing is going to be much nicer than what came out of the factory, which isn't a bad thing! I still have the 1978 parts car and when I look closely at the pin striping there are a number of flaws in it. Also, the drivers side quarter panel must have had body work on it as it has tape where the rest of the pin striping is painted. Long term, painting it will look nice longer. I'll share several photos of what I saw looking at my parts car. John
If you decide to paint them on, find a local car dealer. They usually have a guy who adds pinstripes to cars and he does it every day, so quality should not be an issue. Price was a hundred bucks.
I did have the car repainted by an actual GM dealer, unfortunately they did not have anyone in their body shop who was capable of hand painting the pin stripe. Heck they could not enough find the right color or size of tape locally.
Amazing when when you consider that this was GM's largest dealer in Oshawa, where GM has or had (it is closing next year) a manufacturing plant.
Byron, jaunty, you guys both have beautiful cars. But what you doing is going to be much nicer than what came out of the factory, which isn't a bad thing! I still have the 1978 parts car and when I look closely at the pin striping there are a number of flaws in it. Also, the drivers side quarter panel must have had body work on it as it has tape where the rest of the pin striping is painted. Long term, painting it will look nice longer. I'll share several photos of what I saw looking at my parts car. John
John, Thank you for the photos. They are very helpful and informative.
On that website, it looks like the size you need (1/8, 1/8, 1/16) is the most popular as it is the only one that's available in both 50-foot and 150-foot lengths. But what's the color between the stripes? On my car, the stripes appear to be separate with the body paint in between.
Also, that website is a little spooky. None of the links on the left side under "Categories" or "Quick Links" actually works. In fact, they take you to a web hosting site that attempts to plant malware on your computer, and it hijacks the browser page because the "back" button doesn't work. All you can do is close the browser window.
Yes, I don't plan to put the pinstriping on the hood. I like the clean look.
Jaunty, I did not have the problem with the links hijacking my browser. but then I use Firefox so maybe that prevents it from happening. I tend to use the menu along the top to navigate the site. Give that a try. The blog section is pretty informative.
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
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John, those pictures remind me of the paint stripes that were on my both my 83 Regency Broughams. Not perfect by any means. But when I repainted the white one, I did the pin striping myself instead of having it done at a shop. Ezpz and to be honest I just took a navy blue pinstripe from the display at NAPA and Bob's your uncle. Done, and it lasted really well!
I did have the car repainted by an actual GM dealer, unfortunately they did not have anyone in their body shop who was capable of hand painting the pin stripe. Heck they could not enough find the right color or size of tape locally.
Amazing when when you consider that this was GM's largest dealer in Oshawa, where GM has or had (it is closing next year) a manufacturing plant.
Should have been clearer, meant the dealers have an outside contractor that goes around to all the dealers in the area and does paint touch up and painting of stripes.
Well. my pin striping tape arrived today. Was hard to tell from my computer monitor which color was going to be the closest match to what was on the car originally. After hours of deliberating I ordered 2 colors from Auto Restylers Inc. They were great to deal with and very helpful and I had the order in about a week.
The rolls I ordered based on Jaunty kindly providing measurements from his car - 1/8 stripe - 1/8 void - 1/16 stripe and the rolls are 150 feet long, so lots to play with if I screw up.
The colors I ordered are Peacock Blue and Olympic Blue. I think the Peacock is pretty darn close to what was there originally although the Olympic is a closer match to the vinyl top. 150 ft rolls olympic blue peacock blue
While painted stripes would be nice, they certainly can't compete with the cost of this tape and I get to do it myself. And there is enough tape in one roll to do the car 3x over if I screw up. Now we just need some warm summer weather.
Allan you are too funny. I won't do both sides but was planning on putting a foot or so of each on the same side to see which color looked best. Then once that was determined carry on to do the entire car.
December 14th, 2018, 12:31 PM
