Y2 or Y3 paint question

[Lord Warlock]

My 69 RT/SE has the Y2 paint, its going to need a new paint job soon, its first repaint ever, the old original paint had been burnt thru along all the sharp edges (dumbass with a buffer a long time ago) Anyway, there is some confusion on the color name.  I've seen some paint books list this color as creme yellow, i've seen others list it as sunfire yellow, on the charger registry home page the exterior color linked page shows just Yellow.  I'm wondering just what is the correct color name for a y2 colored car. 

What exactly is sunfire yellow supposed to be? was this the name for y2 in 68?

Some paint books list this as the only yellow color for 69 (early 69 at least) cars build date was 9-04-68.  Was there a brighter yellow available in 69? what was its name if so? Was top banana not available on our cars? or was this a 70 color?

[tan top]

   in 69  the code was Y2 = sunfire yellow
68 dodge  cars were coded    SS1=   same color  different  code

Y3  is listed as cream  & looks it when you put it side by side with Y2
   also i remember  reading some thing witch might be of intrest -  a few  69 cars  were stamped with Y3 but painted at the factory with Y2 , soma kind of error .
they was showing  this 69 charger as a example , can't think where i saw this info  .  it was  a good 10 plus years back , might of been in one of the mopar mags .

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

   in 69  the code was Y2 = sunfire yellow
68 dodge  cars were coded    SS1=   same color  different code

On 69 Dodges the color is called just Yellow

On 69 Pymouth's the name was Sunfire Yellow

Check the paint charts here....  www.autocolorlibrary.com

[tan top]

   in 69  the code was Y2 = sunfire yellow
68 dodge  cars were coded    SS1=   same color  different code

On 69 Dodges the color is called just Yellow

On 69 Pymouth's the name was Sunfire Yellow

Check the paint charts here....  www.autocolorlibrary.com

     i all ways thought that dodge called it that also                 never noticed that on the color charts before 

[Lord Warlock]

My bad, I keep confusing y2 with y3.  Mines the Y3 paint code not Y2.  So I guess creme is the right color.  But when I see others claiming sunfire as the color, it looks almost identical to the color of mine which confuses me.  I had to pull up my build sheet to see what the right code was.  Y3 body Y3 top (except it has a vinyl top and the whole top wasn't painted under the vinyl)

My car doesn't remotely look like the creme color on the paint chip sheet, it is definitely a pale yellow.  Maybe I'll open the trunk and take a pic of the underside to get a good shot of the actual color (with factory stickers in place).  The creme looks almost like a light brown, mine is definitely a pale yellow color.  Mine could very well be one of those miscoded y2/y3 cars.  I've owned it since it was 8 years old, and its never been repainted.  When I stripped it to metal there was no underlying color difference.  Even the jambs and sills under the trim, under the trunk and hood and firewall are the pale yellow color.  However, under the door panels on the bare metal there it looks creme colored.  I wouldn't have thought anyone would have done a repaint that thorough otherwise.

[Chatt69chgr]

My 69 Charger has never been repainted and it's the Y3 Creme color.  I think the Fender Tag lists it as Y3.  Y2 in most of the information I have seen is referred to as Sunfire Yellow.  You can see a car painted that color by looking at the recent post in General Discussion by Skibuff.  His car is Y2.  My car is definitely not the same color as his.  Mine looks like you took yellow paint and poured a little coffee in it giving it a kind of tannish tint.  I am particularly interested in this since I plan on painting my car Y2.  For some reason, you rarely see Y2 69's.

[Lord Warlock]

Hey chatt, do you have a picture of yours?  The Y2 color as shown in the thread you mentioned looks very much like mine always has.  But I'd like to see a creme colored one to compare it to.  My paint hasn't been very glossy in a couple decades.  The Y2 seen in skibuff's thread matches the hotwheels collection car i have (have a couple) which is pretty close to my own paint. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Heres a poor pic but this is Y3 cream

[y3chargerrt]

Heres a pictue of myY3 Charger from this years Carlisle.

[Chatt69chgr]

Hey Lord Warlock.  I tried to post a picture of my charger but couldn't make it work.  The picture just posted by y3chargerrt is the same color as my car.   

[RECHRGD]

The picture of y3chargerrt's car sure looks like sunfire yellow to me.  Looks just like my '68 SS-1 car. Bob

[y3chargerrt]

Trust me its not Y2. That color is much more pale.

[RECHRGD]

Must be the way the sun is hitting it or something.  I've got plenty of pictures of my car that looks just like that and other pictures that look like a deeper yellow.  Bob

[y3chargerrt]

I was looking through my pictures and its hard to find a picture that shows the color correctly. I think I need to take some side by side pictures with a y2 car next year at carlisle.

[Lord Warlock]

Thats what is so confusing about the y3 code, it looks like a washed out Y2.  Y3's car looks very similar to mine, the previous one looks too pale compared to mine.  Wish there were more Y3/Y2 cars to compare.  I'd prefer to keep the original color on mine and don't want to mistake the color, don't want to repaint it the wrong color.   The car has always been a light yellow color but creme just doesn't look yellow in the chips. 

Any more Y3 pics?

[y3chargerrt]

Hers one from 05 Carlisle next to some car with a hole in the roof..

[Todd Wilson]

Thats Frankie's original color with a white vinyl top. Only seen one other white vinyl top car and it was a Hemi car. Troy found it for me years ago and sent me pictures. What top should yours have there WarLock?

[y3chargerrt]

Heres another picture taken at a fall car show. The color shows better when the suns not so high.

[RECHRGD]

Thats what is so confusing about the y3 code, it looks like a washed out Y2. Y3's car looks very similar to mine, the previous one looks too pale compared to mine. Wish there were more Y3/Y2 cars to compare. I'd prefer to keep the original color on mine and don't want to mistake the color, don't want to repaint it the wrong color. The car has always been a light yellow color but creme just doesn't look yellow in the chips.

Any more Y3 pics?

I agree.  That chip has no yellow in it that my old eyes can see.  All the cars pictured (with the exception of the one posted by just 6T9) look to be yellow.  Quite confusing.   Bob

[Lord Warlock]

Mine originally came with a tan vinyl top.  (V1T on fender tag) I still have a yard or two of the original top in the garage to make it easier to confirm grain patterns when i put it back on.  It also has the tan leather seats as part of the SE package.  I've seen several y3 cars in shows (daytona rod run) a 68 charger r/t and a daytona which i believe was a hemi daytona.  But the few y2 cars i've seen are so close in color you just wonder if the paint has faded some over the years.  That and the fact that there are so few chargers painted this color its hard to remember.  Most of my best pictures are from the days before a digital camera and taking a picture of a picture degrades quality.  The best color shot i have is back when I was 18 standing beside it which i had blown up to an 8x10 and still have.  I believe this shot is on my website. 

[Lord Warlock]

I had a gallon of dupont Imron polyurethane enamel mixed a couple years ago, although I'm not sure its still viable or not (never mixed with activator) Also not sure its the right color either since it says the year is 1978 beige, code, mixed with yellow, yellow oxide and low voc binder.  Can't read the actual code anymore. 

[Chatt69chgr]

Not sure if I am doing this right but this is a picture of my Y3 charger the day I picked it up in Huntsville, AL.

[Chatt69chgr]

This is another picture of my Y3 Charger.  It is dusty as it had been sitting in the owners garage for 10 years with junk stacked on it.  It took me two hours to move all the junk off, out, inside, and under the car.  Had to take two tires down to the local service station and get them aired up.  They were completely flat.  But it was a great day needless to say.

[Lord Warlock]

Such a quandry here,  Chatt69chgr's pics (good pics by the way) look different than y3chargerrt's pics do.  Although my own appears paler than the nicely painted y2 cars, it still has more yellow in it than the y3 pics of chatt69's (which really does look creme colored instead of y2 colored) Y3s looks more like mine where it is obviously yellow tinted, but its pale compared to some pics. 

If you have a website with pics there, let me know and i'll visit the site rather than have you post here, however, this thread is already very informative for those interested, and the more pics the better.  I'll be going thru my own archive on my other pc (which is where i transfer photos from the camera) to see if i can find a few that show the color of the car.  As you can see from the previously attached pic it looks pretty pale, that was the last shot before i stripped the original paint off and wasn't in direct sun. 

[rare69]

my 69 r/t se is a y2 yellow car, and while disassembling the car and finding original unfaded paint here and there i compared it to a y3 cream colored hood i had in my shop and there was no mistaking the two, the y2 yellow looked almost lemon twist compared to the cream. if possible try finding some original paint somewhere on the car that has never seen sunlight, if its y2 yellow you will know.

[tan top]

  good place to look is behind the  master cylinder / booster  back plate

[Lord Warlock]

Ok, took a few shots of some of the remaining factory paint on the car.  doorsill under the trim plate, door jamb, under the trunk lid, inside the trunk etc.

[tan top]

Ok, took a few shots of some of the remaining factory paint on the car.  doorsill under the trim plate, door jamb, under the trunk lid, inside the trunk etc.

   
              that is more like it  ,      Y3 
 

[tan top]

i thought this might be of intrest ,  mine still wearing its original Y2 paint in  1985 , not a good picture but  looks  a similar  color to (Y3chargerrt ) 's     in the sun

[Lord Warlock]

Yes, your car is one of those troublemaker cars (lol) that make life so confusing.  Your Y2 looks so close to my Y3 in sunlight its hard to tell the difference.  Did you put a tan top back on it or keep it black? 

I do want to thank everyone for your pics here, I'm glad to see a few of these "mellow" shaded cars still out there, keep the pics coming; if you have a Y2 or a Y3 post em up for us to see, there are always so many more pics of black, red and blue chargers out there, I even see more green ones than I see the Y2/3 colors represented. 

As I slowly wean myself off of my last project car (stealth r/t turbo) and force myself to instead work on the charger you'll see more questions popping up here.  My biggest problem is that I'm good for about two weeks of bodywork or teardown work, then i need a few weeks off to start all over again.  I spent 3 weeks painting a neighbors car for him (at cost +100 labor) and boy was that a mistake- put in at least a grands worth of labor, but would have felt guilty charging more for a nearby neighbor. 

Oh, if anyone is interested, Lanstarr makes a nice yellow Y2k polyurethane primer that is almost a perfect match for Y3 cars, side by side the shade is almost exactly the same (although its a primer) I figure that when repainting a yellow car, it makes more sense to use a primer that is close to the basecoat color so it doesn't tint the color coat the wrong way.  The primer provides excellent coverage, and a nice binding surface for the next layers of paint.  I've used it with expensive 2 stage poly paints, as well as single stage acrylic enamels. 

[Lord Warlock]

Figured i'd pull out the camera and take a digital photo of the 8x10 photo, which is why the flash shows on the surface, but it is the best color photo available when it had a shine to it, and the original top still on.  This photo was taken the day I left for college in September of 1979. 

[tan top]

Yes, your car is one of those troublemaker cars (lol) that make life so confusing.  Your Y2 looks so close to my Y3 in sunlight its hard to tell the difference.  Did you put a tan top back on it or keep it black? 

               not long after i got the car , guessing  there was  may be rot under the vinyl - bumpy roof joins ( sail panel ) etc . i removed the vinyl  repaired and painted the roof .  thinking i would go back with a  tan top ,  could not find any one re popping that color for a 69 charger . so being that the charger never sees bad weather and is always  kept in the garage,   i thought i would put a white top on it and spray it tan .  matching the color to pieces of the original  tan top i found behind the stainless windshield moulding clips .   put the required matting  & flexible additive in the mix  .  kept the tan top for  a while , but  then changed to back  to a black top .  completely re built  the charger a few years back ( nut & bolt resto)   went back with a  new correct ( boar grain ) black top . as i think yellow & black is a awesome color combination . but if any one re pops a tan top i might change it again

Figured i'd pull out the camera and take a digital photo of the 8x10 photo, which is why the flash shows on the surface, but it is the best color photo available when it had a shine to it, and the original top still on. This photo was taken the day I left for college in September of 1979.

                  when i first saw you charger i thought it was mine  with a previous owner   - at a quick look    until i saw  the black stripe & rocker mouldings
   looks awesome with slot mags    .  you have got a lot of options on your 69  ,   the only options mine has got are   air con - R11 Radio-centre consol - tinted glass - remote drivers mirror  witch i think is odd for a  A47 SE car .
  here 's a few more charger pictures 
picture  1  unrestored Y2 on ebay last year from memory  .     picture #2  says y2 on the fender tag   looks like Y3

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Look at the Orig Y3 car in Mike (Shakey) thread....

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,21415.0.html

[Lord Warlock]

If you need a bigger slice of a tan top to compare with let me know.  I haven't tried using armor all on it in 15 years but it still could be brought out.  I wonder why noone makes a tan top.  It can't be a demand issue since there aren't that many of any color tops to be sold still.  I kind of wished I'd researched availability of tops before taking my top off.  Mine had a bubble forming under the top which was surface rust, about the size of a quarter, so I removed the top to fix the metal underneath.  I have a close friend locally that does interiors/vinyl and convertible tops, owns his own shop, and could probably get one made special for the car, but it would be expensive. 

However, when the car gets to the stage where a new top is going back on, i'll likely be willing to pay out the nose to do it correct.  I've always liked the fact that the top matches the interior, instead of the stripe on the back.  It makes it stand out from all the others. 

I believe i'm either the 3rd or 4th owner of the car, when we first got it we tried tracing back the owners (helps to have an enthusiast/collector dad) and went back to 73, but the trail stopped because the owner at that time was military and lived overseas at the time.  Based on the options though, someone went to town ordering options, the car wasn't cheap new, even without any electric window or defroster options, it was over 5k (based on white book prices of each option).  The only thing I've ever disliked was the column shift auto trans, just wasn't sporty for an RT. 

[tan top]

thanks for the offer ,appreciated , but i think i am going to keep the black top  on it for a while , as it matches the CRX  interior  .forgot  i had this saved this on my computer , when i first read this last year , i think  it said they found NOS vinyl , cannot find the text on the site about the vinyl  now , they must of removed it ,  a lot of good pictures on this site 

link       http://gallery.musclecarrestorations.com/gallery2/v/chrysler/completed/dodge-charger-69-001/?g2_page=11

[Lord Warlock]

Figured it was time to resurrect an old thread.  The time for y3 is approaching, if i can ever get to a point where i'm satisfied with the body to spray the topcoat.  I THOUGHT i had reached that point a few weeks ago, and decided to see if the old Dupont paint was still good or not, while it had settled somewhat in the can, after a few minutes of vigorous shaking, and then stirring it up well it was still thin enough to go thru the gun without reducer, it didn't look yellow in the can, didn't look creme either.  Needless to say, i think the paint had sat too long on the shelf to be a viable coating for the car. 

Part of the problem could have been the primer color i used, initially i had bought some 2k yellow primer (landstarr) and it closely matched the color of the y3 paint, but after getting it primered, and doing the dozens of small ding repairs, the primer ran out, and eventually was sanded thru on various spots on the car.  So i got some medium grey primer to replace it, uggghhh  Y2 over grey (and i might add 7 year old y2 dupont Polyurethane single stage) the top coat wouldn't coat the panels, even though it sprayed well it didn't cover it well enough, the grey turned what I imagine was Y2 initially into a pelican puke green color.  When viewed in good light, the color was definitely NOT the y3 that the car came with, I stopped painting after about half the car was done.  I will say that the shine was pretty good afterwards though, every nick, every small ding on the body line that wasn't visible in primer suddenly jumped out for individual attention.  Took most of the poly paint off again, and reprimered with 2k yellow primer again, (Nason Poly) which isn't quite as light as the transtarr is, looks almost a light butterscotch color now.  When sanded it looks a lighter shade closer to y2. 

I picked up a quart of custom mixed Y3 creme, but the label says 1968 Y3, so i'm hoping the 68 Y3 is the same as 69 Y3, I'll find out soon i guess.  I plan on using the "test" quart on the roof of the car to see if it comes out closer to what it should be.  I hope pale yellow goes over yellow better than it went over gray...if the real topcoat coats like the primer does, i'll have no problems.  At least no problems i haven't already encountered in doing cars.  I'll post pics after the color gets on. 

[Chatt69chgr]

I got this picture (hope I have attached it correctly) of a charger that was being sold on EBAY.  I believe it to be Y2 Yellow but I don't know for sure.  I do know that it is not the same color as my Y3 charger sitting in the garage.  I actually called the guy selling it and he said he didn't know for sure on the color.  It went fo $59,000.  Was probably a couple of years ago. 

[Chatt69chgr]

Another picture of that car that was sold on EBAY.  I really liked that car.

[Lord Warlock]

Just a bump and to point a finger at another y3.  On the registry site, noticed one of the videos has a 69 y2 or y3 doing a burnout.  Has the stripe and v21 treatment.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t30nG5RqE3g  music sucks, but you can't hear the car or tires melt if you mute it. 


Had planned on redoing the top only but had so much paint left had to use it, now i have a true guidecoat, and its Y3, I found the right color.  Was surprised how well the y3 covered, only had a single quart but all mixed was double that, 2 quarts got 1 full coat on the body.  Unfortunately i hadn't planned on doing that yet, still have sanding and smoothing work to do on the passenger side body line.  oooo yeah, fresh paint is better than old paint. 

[Chatt69chgr]

I've seen that burnout video before.  For the life of me, I just cannot understand why anyone would do that to a car.  I guess that's just the engineer coming out in me but I have never been interested in abusing machinery like that.  Don't mind putting the pedal to the metal up the the redline though----but that's staying within the design limits of the vehicle.

I'll probably step on some toes here but I could do without the accompanying music too (no offense intended to anyone).

[Dennis]

ALL those people that I told my R/T was Sunfire!  Wrong.  Just plain Yellow.  See what you can learn on this site.  I'm a Y2 owner and love the color.

[Lord Warlock]

c'mon, you've never done a burnout like that just once before???  I would think that everyone would try to do at least a couple really good burnouts just to see what it will do.  I did one when i was 17, that went on for 3 blocks, (about 80 yards or so) and went thru all three gearshifts and was still spinning.  Needless to say, the first set of tires didn't last very long.  After i had to buy new tires, i realized what each burnout really cost me personally, and then focused on learning how to launch without tire spin, which was to my advantage as the car got challenged often back then.  its 3rd set of tires lasted 28 years and still hold air, even if dryrotted. 

[y3chargerrt]

Hey a picture from Carlisle showing my Y3 Charger next to a Y2 Hemi. This shows the color differences pretty good.

[greenpigs]

I love the above picture.

Y3 do you have any current pictures of just your Charger?

[y3chargerrt]

This is the most current picture I have. Its from a car show in september.

[clanton]

I think Sunfire Yellow is the the color that defines the Charger, so beautiful . 70 Sublime is nice, also Sunburnt Orange.

[Lord Warlock]

Well, the creme yellow (y3) repaint is nearing completion (only took me 6 years) Had to cut out the lower right rear quarter rust out, and weld in a new patch panel, ran into problems with repainting the right front fender which had old damage i'd never known about, looks fine in primer but shows ripples in the final coat, I'm finally down to a 3" by 2" area that still shows a slight wave when viewed at a 45 degree angle and sharpening the body line from the wheelwell to nose, but once thats done will start the reassembly of the trim.  Installed the repainted front valence panel today, and tomorrow i believe i will be pulling the grill off the shelf and cleaning it up to prepare for its installation back into the nose of the car, been holding off on that till i was done with paint work, I repainted the grille several years ago (after disassembling it), but it will need a lot of cleaning (including some overspray from the paintjob) before the install.  Y3 definitely looks better now than it did when i started.  Sometime a few years ago, Legendary auto Interiors had a few Tan vinyl tops in stock, and i bought one at an exorbitant price, so it will be returning to a tan top soon as well. 

The reassembly will probably mean investing quite a bit more than i have over the past decade, but it deserves it, most of the chrome trim is great still, but it looks like i'll be finding new replacement lower rocker trim, door handles and other small trim which all seem to be 10x what they used to sell for.

body has been repainted but still have to color sand and buff it back out, 60% has been color sanded, but still have to repeat with 1000 grit and 2000 grit before i start the buffing process, passenger side still has to go thru the process.  I got alot better results when i painted the other car in the front garage that was drywalled and finished, the rear garage just has tons of dust to deal with that seems attracted to the flat surfaces (sides look fine) Rear stripe will go back on when the trunklid is buffed and polished back out. 

[tan top]

Well, the creme yellow (y3) repaint is nearing completion (only took me 6 years) Had to cut out the lower right rear quarter rust out, and weld in a new patch panel, ran into problems with repainting the right front fender which had old damage i'd never known about, looks fine in primer but shows ripples in the final coat, I'm finally down to a 3" by 2" area that still shows a slight wave when viewed at a 45 degree angle and sharpening the body line from the wheelwell to nose, but once thats done will start the reassembly of the trim.  Installed the repainted front valence panel today, and tomorrow i believe i will be pulling the grill off the shelf and cleaning it up to prepare for its installation back into the nose of the car, been holding off on that till i was done with paint work, I repainted the grille several years ago (after disassembling it), but it will need a lot of cleaning (including some overspray from the paintjob) before the install.  Y3 definitely looks better now than it did when i started.  Sometime a few years ago, Legendary auto Interiors had a few Tan vinyl tops in stock, and i bought one at an exorbitant price, so it will be returning to a tan top soon as well. 

The reassembly will probably mean investing quite a bit more than i have over the past decade, but it deserves it, most of the chrome trim is great still, but it looks like i'll be finding new replacement lower rocker trim, door handles and other small trim which all seem to be 10x what they used to sell for.

body has been repainted but still have to color sand and buff it back out, 60% has been color sanded, but still have to repeat with 1000 grit and 2000 grit before i start the buffing process, passenger side still has to go thru the process.  I got alot better results when i painted the other car in the front garage that was drywalled and finished, the rear garage just has tons of dust to deal with that seems attracted to the flat surfaces (sides look fine) Rear stripe will go back on when the trunklid is buffed and polished back out. 

hey man , nice to hear from you ,   wondered whats been happening   

[Lord Warlock]

I'll have to update the thread with a new picture soon.  Y3 paint has been finished for quite a while, Tan vinyl top is back in place, still haven't installed the windshield again yet, keep putting it off, figure i'll do one last respray of the dash pad with the bluebird brown before i have it installed.  Then i can put the windshield chrome trim back on.  Put 17" magnum 500s and new rubber on, and put new front rotors on, still have to install new brake pads in the calipers and install new brake lines and fuel lines. 

Was wetsanding and buffing the body last week and found two thin spots in the paint right along the body line in front of the right side mirror, will have to respray that area to fix, but that will be some time in the future.  Not sure if i want to use an airbrush to just put a light coat on or mask off the rest of the door and just do the whole upper door area.  Going to have to do a few touchups here and there anyway, have to do a little welding on the rear valence panel which will need to be repainted afterwards, also have to fix a spot where a crow bar fell off the shelf and landed on the rear fender leaving a ding.   

[hemi-hampton]

Pic of a Y2 69 1/2 440+6  Roadrunner I restored. 1 of 1 with X9 black painted top. I kinda liked the color. LEON.

[ht4spd307]

hello all my car is a 69 rt se charger in y3 it has black trim black vinyl roof and black bumble bee stripe  and i'm not sure about the color .should i paint it this or not i found this car in the color not a charger as i cant find a picture of one in this combo but  i think it represents the color quite well. whats your thoughts should i or should i not paint  in this combo

[Lord Warlock]

keep it Y3 if you can, there weren't many built that color, and few people have kept the y3 color over the years making them very rare on the streets.  I'd keep it stock color, whatever the fender tag or build sheet says, y3 is a classy color today, wasn't real popular in the 60s as it was a mom and pop color, not a high impact color like some cars.  Mine has a tan vinyl top making it even rarer than a black top car, but its y3, tan top, tan leather interior.  never seen another in person, although have seen a couple with y3 and black tops. 

[ht4spd307]

i think you may be right LW found this image on the internet  looks yellow but i'm not 100% sure it's y3 cream as there are other images were you can see the cream seems to change from a cream to a yellow in certain light the fender tag says y3 i know this color was renamed yellow gold for 1970 .what do you think is this the color or just a variation

[ht4spd307]

here is the link for the car if you look at the engine bay photos one pic looks like the guards are yellow but then the over pic of the engine bay the guards looks closer to cream so i'd say it is the right color as the fender tag area looks cream    http://www.vehicletown.com/detail/Dodge-Charger-RT-1969-dodge-charger-r-t-440_261924821512.html