I had already ordered a reproduction red OER steering wheel when someone graciously gave me a heads-up that a real NOS unit was up on eBay, which I grabbed. It sure looked bright red though. And it is. Then both arrived, and here is what I've learned, and it's a little confusing.
The NOS wheel I have is bright red The NOS shroud I have is bright red and matches it perfectly The OER wheel I have is dark red The NOS shroud I have is brighter than the dark red OER wheel ...but the kicker... My ORIGINAL matches the dark red better.
That's where I'm confused. Unless they age differently out of the box and the repros are colored to be aged to that color, what the heck? Did the color of red change throughout the year? But my car is already a late car, so should match NOS parts.
Also, I checked the ACTUAL PART NUMBER on the box and it's the same part number as the catalog! And the shroud has the same part number stamped into it. So I have my original dark red and NOS bright red shrouds both with the same number stamped into them!
Theories welcome! Try not to quote every image when replying
I'd say your originals have faded from the sun. After all it is a convertible and I'm sure the original owner spent a fair bit of time with the top down.
The dash & console may not have matched originally. I can't say about your red interior, but for my "Sandalwood" interiors, the dash and other things like the A pillar moldings & kick panels are a darker color than the door panels, seats & console.
I'm not really surprised that one thing doesn't match the other, as there are about 6 different blues in my blue interior as well. I'm just surprised the wheel doesn't match the wheel, for example. I suppose it could be fading but it's even and you'd expect the underside to be more original, that sort of thing...
Betting that different substrates absorb the paint differently resulting in differences in final appearance.
Also the parts are most probably all made by different jobbers around the continent who then supplied GM.
As Carl mentioned, there were so many different shades in those years. It would not shock me at all if it's as simple as different batches turned out to be different colours even thought they are supposed to be identical twins.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
As Carl mentioned, there were so many different shades in those years. It would not shock me at all if it's as simple as different batches turned out to be different colours even thought they are supposed to be identical twins.
Bear in mind GM had two red interiors in 69, red and burgundy. On full sized cars they even offered both on the same model sometimes. For example full sized wagons had both in the US Pontiacs and for example Grand Prix had burgundy and A bodies had red instead.
Perhaps it was the same with impala (since the Canadian poncho steering wheel is really just a Chevy part with a Pontiac crest). The dark wheel looks like what Ive seen in burgundy interiors. To confuse things more both red and burgundy interiors shared the same color on certain interior elements like dashes that were all burgundy.
... also another factor is; dashes, consoles, kick panels, etc. were not made by the same, one manufacturer. The "jobs" to manufacture these parts were tendered and bid on by many different plastics factories, therefore different dye lots and suppliers of the raw plastics.
I know, because I used to work at a small plastics place that made only vinyl armrests and dash pads for the ugly '82 Firebirds/TAs.
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
I agree with the idea that quality control wasn't as strict as today but those two wheels are completely different colors. That is beyond any factory fluctuations, perhaps a color change was intentionally made during the model run.
It's hard to know. I can go online and find cars that match either. Here are two examples... is it the lighting or the parts?
There really seems to be two reds, a bright red and a dark red. My car has a mix of both. I would bet that the later in the year you go (my car is April, very late) the more of a mix you get. Look at the car on the right how badly the dash pad matches the area around the dash vent, for example.
-- Edited by davepl on Monday 5th of February 2018 12:46:13 PM
