Change of color

[Frosty]

Looks like my orange van will have to go to blue and your blue van will have to go to Orange Gene. I think it is more important to paint it an appropriate color for the era to minimise the impact on value should there be a impact

[Valencia]

Thats the plan Frosty

[wbute]

It wil certainly limit your potential buyers. Depend on your plans but it's hard to go back if you change your mind.

[Paulb]

Just wanting opinions atm , looking for a project car for when I finish my other one, it's just if I come across one that color is not to our liking then changing it wouldn't make me feel so bad , thanks for the feed back

[Big Rob]

If you are planning on keeping it (don't we all?!) then paint it the colour you like, but if it's going to be a resale, then matching colour to tags will probably increase the range of buyers.

I have a Valiant Safari wagon that was my father in law's. He bought it new and it's a horrible (in my opinion) goldy bronzy colour that needs to be attended to soon. I hate the colour, and I can't imagine how much work I'm going to have to do to prep it for a respray. I'd paint it almost any colour other than what it is now.... BUT..... I'm killing it's originality if I do.

Down the line when I sell it (if my wife ever lets me), I think it will be worth more in it's original colour. I know it's only an old Valiant, but there are people that will want it and originality means more bucks.

[SLR_dave]

It's not so long back that the advice on this site was generally as above, but, an ongoing theme seemed to me, to usually add a comment something like "that said, it's your car, build it the way you like it". I wonder are we becoming purists? (Not that I'd have an issue with that of course, but if you always wanted a purple one - yurck - but, if you want it paint it that colour I reckon, - it's only paint). Maybe as orig spec vehicles are currently bringing higher resale value this is a reason for more advice to stay orig colour.

However I reckon for an owner restorer all that can depend on the condition of the car and what the original colour was.

For me, the original colour of my first HX was Antelope (metallic gold). I asked a similar question on this site as to colour change. The car had been stripped of parts and is a rebuild so it was a Sandman, but (unless some amazing flukes in parts turn up) wont ever be fully original. I recall that Byron advised that respraying it in Antelope would make it pretty rare, and I am certain he was correct. Others suggested orig or just go with what I wanted, However despite this advice I had to decide - just because it would have been rare in Antelope, and closer to an original rebuild would that make it more valuable? How many people want an Antelope Sandman?

My answer to myself, was not too many, otherwise more would have been made.... And then, did I want to put all the rebuild cash into an Antelope Sandman, not really, I reckon it was the paint that oxidised fastest in the 70's and theres just so many better colours for the car. So then I did the colour change anquish for a bit, decided it had to one of the oranges, it's an HX, so Papaya is correct, but... it was too close to an HQ I used to know that was part of the gang back in the day and so for me, it had to be Valencia (an HZ colour).

You know you can really stress about this (and I did) when I look back I just laugh at meself, the van looks great in Valencia, a year since the respray and I'm totally relaxed with the choice, its classic. A mate (who's not a car head at all) was in my garage a few months back, and although he'd seen this van and all my other cars before he'd never made any comment, to him they would have just been old Holdens that he probably thought I should get rid of. When he followed me into the garage to get a paint roller and saw the same vehicle in Valencia, (just in paint, no windows, most panels still off no decals or anything) he stopped still and just said "you've got a Sandman...!"

Hard to lose with those classic colours if you're gonna change it I reckon.

[HK1837]

I reckon unless it is a 308 example and a concours resto it won't matter too much, especially if it is a less than desirable colour (like Durham Beige). Just do what you please. My only advice would be to use a period colour correct for the month/year if you don't go original. If the Sandman is a very desirable colour though like Orchid, Absinth or Valencia etc you'd be mad to change it. Personally if I found say an L31 HJ Kingswood Sandman ute in Mint Julip that needed paint i'd respray it something nice rather than put up with it. If it was a colour I could put up with but didn't really want like say Jade Green or Mandarin Red or Persian Sand i'd make it that colour and live with it.

[hqhzvans]

We all have our own ideas some people are happy to buy a car if they like the colour and are not too worried if its the original colour. If I was buying something restored and paying good money I would probably what the colour to match the tags, I changed the interior on my Valencia HZ as I wasnt a real fan of the buckskin/beige look I preferred the slate black not a big issue in regards to changing it back for someone, I built it thinking I would keep it and built it the way I would have ordered it from new ended up selling but this was never an issue when selling and again was sold on without it being an issue, agree with comments above if its a colour that does not float your boat change to another period correct colour unless already highly desirable.

[mauser]

I have agonised over this as well. Sometimes the plates making the choice for you works on a borderline colour. I think the metallic are all reasonable but I might struggle with a HQ in willow.

Mauser

PS .. sometimes old is new again.

My HQ's colour is Cognac Metallic. One of those colours that changes dramatically in the light it is displayed it.

Here is an LH Torana in all its glory.
LHcognac.jpgpost-5069-1246702481.jpg


... and voila.. here is a 2014 Porsche in now the same colour.

CognacMetallic1.jpg

[Sandaro]

If you're looking at resale of course you'd need to go factory plated colour to maximise appeal and resale price. But if the cars for you to keep I reckon go with a model correct colour that you're going to love. You are the one who will spend the most time admiring it.

And its not wrecking it, how many sandman on here are on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th? incarnation? Whilst your custodian do what you like. Car can always be restored again in 10-20 years time again.