WTB-1966 Ford Thuderbird Interior Door Panel - Olive Green

[Kalashnikov]

Hey guys!

I am new to this forum and have inherited a 1966 Ford Thunderbird from my grandfather at 21 years old. My wish is to keep it completely stock. Today, after squirting oil into the cylinders and changing plugs and wires, we got it to start for the first time in 7 or 8 years. This car is in almost excellent condition. The one big problem I am having is attempting to find an interior drivers side door panel. Somehow, a long a time ago, the interior door panel got ripped up and punctured. This door panel MUST be an olive green. It's incredibly difficult to find anything in this color! I have searched online for many hours to no avail. I have found white, black, red, blue, and even a mix of those colors, but have never found an olive green one. Does anybody know where I can find one of these to complete the interior of this car? Was an olive green and gold interior astoundingly rare on these cars??? I'm almost thinking of buying a white one, and tracking down a professional who could paint it in order to make it look like the other side... This of course, would be a very tricky process! Any ideas would be welcomed. I am going back out to the Thunderbird tomorrow to take pictures, and I may add one to this post.

Thanks!

 

[Kalashnikov]

Hey guys!

I am new to this forum and have inherited a 1966 Ford Thunderbird from my grandfather at 21 years old. My wish is to keep it completely stock. Today, after squirting oil into the cylinders and changing plugs and wires, we got it to start for the first time in 7 or 8 years. This car is in almost excellent condition. The one big problem I am having is attempting to find an interior drivers side door panel. Somehow, a long a time ago, the interior door panel got ripped up and punctured. This door panel MUST be an olive green. It's incredibly difficult to find anything in this color! I have searched online for many hours to no avail. I have found white, black, red, blue, and even a mix of those colors, but have never found an olive green one. Does anybody know where I can find one of these to complete the interior of this car? Was an olive green and gold interior astoundingly rare on these cars??? I'm almost thinking of buying a white one, and tracking down a professional who could paint it in order to make it look like the other side... This of course, would be a very tricky process! Any ideas would be welcomed. I am going back out to the Thunderbird tomorrow to take pictures, and I may add one to this post.

Thanks!

Also, I just found out the actual color name for this interior. It is called "ivy gold". Still cant find any ivy gold interior door panel..

 

[64ZCODE]

Hi there Kalashnikov. Congratulations on your new acquisition! It's really cool that the car belonged to your grandfather and you're keeping it going.

I'm no expert on interior stuff however note that Bird Nest (www.tbirdparts.com) sells door panels. They might have what you need or should be able to steer you to another outfit that does.

Please send pics of your TBird when you can.

Doug

 

[Gary Tayman]

If you can get door panels in the proper colors, that's fantastic; however I've got a feeling you might have to settle for a black or other color, and dye it to the color you need.

This is actually not hard to do; in fact it's fun. Some of the catalog stores offer dyes, but once again -- probably not in the color you need. Best place to try is an automotive paint shop. If THEY don't have the color formula, possibly somebody here can get it. A good auto paint shop can whip up the dye. It comes in a spray can and appears to be just like spray paint, but it has certain flex characteristics. You will also need a can of "prep" to spray on first.

What to do: Remove all chrome and other trim from the panel, mask it as needed, then clean the entire panel -- probably with lacquer thinner. If it's a new panel, you might not need to clean. But once you're satisfied with cleanliness, spray on the prep, following instructions on the can. It's been a long time since I've done it; if I recall you let it sit for about 1.2 hour. Then spray on the dye just like spray paint. Let dry, bada bing.

The only problems I've seen with dye, (1) if you don't use prep, it can flake off, and (2) over time, certain wear areas can wear down and the former color can show through. My 64 is dyed, but to be honest, it's been several years and next time I want to replace the panels with new ones. The ones in there now are not original, but came from another car -- dyed to the correct color.

 

[40birds]

I’ve only seen black or white as options on new replacements. I would imagine finding a original ivy gold one is going to be rather difficult to find that isn’t in the same shape as yours already. I’ve had very good luck with dying them as I needed them in parchment for a couple special landaus. I bought new white ones and dyed them.