Help With Determining Original Early Engine Compartment Color?
 

Hey all, a question for your early car experts...

I have seen some cars with the frame unibody in the engine compartment (where the engine mounts and then forward of there), painted the body color. I have also seen them painted black along with the rest of the engine compartment. My car is an original and unmodified car and my frame is painted black in the engine compartment. Which is the original way the factory did it? I suspect mine is correct as there is no reason for the PO to repaint it (no accidents or rust). I am confused as I have also seen cars with body colored frame rails that look like original paint. Which is correct? .:confused:

Thanks for your help

I assume you are referring to your '71 T. The engine compartment was originally black.

As was the front trunk.

Thanks guys. Was there any year the engine compartment was painted body color? I sometimes see cars with body color in the engine compartment like on the unibody rail where the engine mounts. Also, my trunk is original white. jpnovak, are you sure about the black trunk? Just curious.

Not so fast, Jamie. My '71T shell has a body color/overspray light ivory front trunk, manufactured April 1971. The engine compartment is thin black over light ivory body color.

Obviously my '66 was black schutz front and back. Search here for more information.

The trunk should be body color for 71 Scott. My 70S still has all original body silver in the trunk. (to bad the rest of the car isn't :() By the way, in the engine compartment the steps are: Undercoating, body color, black brushed on over body color. Starting in 72 they just stopped brushing the black over the body color. That's why you see the color.

Cheers,

My 72 has black over Ivory in the engine compartment and was built 04/72.

my 73 has body color in front & rear compartments, plus front has some schutz applied (by factory) at several seams and the camber plates. paint is thinner (overspray) on the smugglers lid. Under the front cardboard firewall partition is black.
build date is 09/72

My theory is that the Reuter built cars changed to body color while the cars built by Karman continued to be black. Who built your car T6?
-Scott

I believe PWD72's 72 has the body color. Don't know what the build date is on his though. Maybe he will chime in?

Where there still Karmann bodies being produced 72/73MY? That I don't know off the top.

Scott Clarke, my car is a Karmann built T coupe. Your theory seems to make a lot of sense to me. I wonder why they would paint black over the pretty body color? The engine compartment looks nice painted body color, although the black does not show the dirt/oil as much.

T6-
It seems that the body color paint was haphazardly applied in the luggage and engine compartments, even after the black was discontinued. PWD72S' luggage compartment is body color, but it is not paint of anything like the quality of the exterior. I think his engine compartment is black. I have never heard of any Karman built car with body color paint in the compartments. '71 was the last year for Karman bodies, and they were all E's and T's. For the record, my Karman E was primer, gray undercoating, a little bit of body color, and black paint. In the luggage compartment the undercoating extended only up to, but not on, the level of the flat part where the smuggler's box is.
-Scott

AFAIK, Porsche still brushed on black (over body color) in the engine compartment in '72. That changed for '73.

By the way, the wheel wells and belly pan also were black/gray up to and including '72. '73 cars have those areas in body color.