VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 31 coach cowl tag data

hello all,starting to gear up knowledge before getting greasy.
cowl tag reads: JOB NO. 31551, BODY NO. O 3637, TRIM NO. 1, PAINT NO. 72
tell me if i'm correct or not: 1931 coach, oakland ca. mfg.3637th off the assy. line, interior-plush with cotten velvet?, serge blue/black/cream medium.
thank you Bill Barker 1931chevrolet.com for this info.
BUT, the car is not blue. it is a dark evergreen green with black fenders/running boards/fuel tank and light yellow wire wheels. there are no trim/pin stripes anywhere. the paint is lifting in places that reveal only red primer underneath. the only blue i've seen is the middle of the instrument panel, so dark blue you would say it was black until your eyes adjust or the bright sun illuminates the area. could serge blue be almost black? thanks

Your car is actually the 3,637th coach manufactured in the Oakland plant in 1931.

Serge blue is a very dark blue.

thank you junkyard dog for your response. a post in the forum by chip #95444 02/11/07 "1930 color options" you replied, "according to the chevrolet duco color specifications" he only had one correct option for his phaeton #26. would the 1931 coach have had many options for colors and mine just happened to be #72? also is there a coach body diagram showing the paint scheme-location of stripes etc.? you also replied to chip "Boulevard Maroon? Seems like everyone paints their car that color. It would be refreshing to see a 1930-32 Chevrolet painted the original color that it came with from the factory for a change." i might just want to, return to original color. I'd like to have a rendering of the coach in #72 paint on the garage wall. any ideas where to obtain one?

I believe that the Filling Station in Lebanon, Oregon has the paint drawings for the pinstriping locations. They also have the Duco color combinations listing the combination numbers and the various areas on the vehicle where specific colors were used. Go here: www.fillingstation.com

Also, several different color combinations were used on the 1931 coach.

It almost sounds like you might have Paint Number 78 or 79 instead of the one that you listed.

Here's a tip for you to try -

HOW TO ACCURATELY READ YOUR COWL TAG.
After you remove your cowl tag (you are going to do that, aren't you?), then turn it over. Photograph the back side. Then look at it on your computer. Using any standard graphic software, "flip" the picture over so that it reads correctly. Now see what the stampings read.

You'll be surprised how often the numbers look different when you look at the backside of the tag... without paint, and corrosion, the original stampings are MUCH CLEARER from the backside.

Double-check your Paint numbers.

thanks bill for your cowl tag data reading tip. however, after double checking with a strong light and magnifying glass, the tag is very readable and the paint number is definitely stamped #72, serge blue/black/cream medium. i have just ordered the '1931 coach paint instruction drawing' and '1929-1934 duco paint specifications' from the filling station. next i'll try to track down a serge blue paint chip to use to compare with any hidden original paint spots i can discover. i'm not too keen on the idea of disturbing the cowl data tag if at all possible. BTW maybe the instrument panel is serge blue, but i just don't know it yet.

To take a look at the Serge Blue paint chip go here: www.autocolorlibrary.com

thanks Junkyard Dog, i found Serge Blue IM-934 at autocolorlibrary. my eyes are crossed looking at all the chips though. from the computer the chip color looks black. maybe it will match up to the instrument panel color after all. i'd like get a sample color chip from them if possible. i'll give them a call soon and see.

Cool! Let us know how you make out.