'48 paint colors

[Carl Eidsness]

Hi Folks,
One of your newest/oldest members here.  I was a member back in the 60s and 70s, then life got in the way.  I just joined again last week and would now like to "restore" for the 3d time my '48 Kaiser, the first car I ever owned.  On the one hand I'd like to keep things as original as possible, which would mean painting it maroon again, a color I don't particularly like.  So I am considering changing the color, but would at least like it to be an original Kaiser color offered in '48.

Can anyone tell me where I can find a list of the color combinations offered in '48?  And is there a photo gallery, on line or in a book, where I could actually see the colors?

Thanks much for any help with this.

Carl Eidsness
406 286 5423

[Gordie]

There are many original paint chip pages available on line and the most popular is from DuPont.  You will see many offered on eBay and you should not have to pay over $10.00  plus postage.  Welcome back to the club and good luck with your restoration.  '48 Kaisers are great road cars and are getting harder to find at our meets.

[Fid]

To answer the question, new members receive a copy of the KFOC Handbook after 1  year of membership. Lots of great information in it.  Since you likely have not received it yet, I'll share the colors listed for the 1948 Kaisers.
The 1948 Kaiser Special was available in these colors:
101 Onyx Black
122 Turf Green
131 Crystal Green
141 Lambswool Cream
191 Speedwing Gray
151 Buckeye Maroon
181 Doeskin Sandtone
191 Speedwing Gray
211 Academy Blue
261 Horizon Blue
281 Sportsman Beige
241 Saddle Bronze-Metallic
291 Turf Green-Metallic
332 Yale Blue-Metallic
343 Airway Blue

The 1948 Custom offered these additional colors:
221 Linden Green
233 Claypipe  Gray
251 Coral Sand
271 Hickory Brown (Metallic)
302 Dubonnet

[Carl Eidsness]

Thank you Fid,
for that seemingly comprehensive and complete list of '48 colors.  So it seems in '48 only monochrome paint jobs were offered.  No 2 tone possibilities as yet?
Carl

[Fid]

So it seems in '48 only monochrome paint jobs were offered.  No 2 tone possibilities as yet?

Correct. Only the Frazer Manhattan was available in tutone for 1948.
There was a one-off 1947 Kaiser in tutone, the Pinconning Special. I always wanted to restore a '48 K and paint it using that schema:



https://youtu.be/NjTuDnGROGM

[Fid]

Here is a Linden green one: I think it is a 1949..

FYI, be aware the Linden green used in 1948 was different than the Linden green used on the '49.  The '49 is a bit darker and has metallic in it whereas the '48 was a light shade with no metallic.

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

Welcome back to the Club. Its never to late to comeback. Good luck on restoring. Our club has a lot of wonderful Folk to Help.
You could start another or here of Your History with K F Products & Club.
Best, G B

[Carl Eidsness]

To Fid,
Thanks again, and for that beautiful picture.  Since I like the idea of a 2 tone, and I like those colors, and I want my restoration to be something that would have been possible in '48, and you say that was the only one, I may well wind up doing it with those colors.  Speaking of which, what are those green colors?  According to the info you sent me earlier above the only 2 greens listed were 122 Turf Green and 291 Turf Green Metallic.  But those colors would appear too different to me to simply be one with and one without metallic glimmer??  I later was referred to Service Bulletin #115 from Sept. 20, 1948, which was identical to the info you sent, with 1 exception.

You listed 343 as Airway Blue.  In the bulletin I read above it said 343 was Green Spray, and Airway Blue was the one above it (same paint code number but different basic color number), but the blue was not available for my body #481.  Could it be you got your info off the same bulletin I later saw and mixed the 2 up, and the car you pictured above was done in Turf Green and Green Spray?

And what does P******* Special mean? (sorry, can't get back to your post till I send this one so don't remember the spelling)

Thanks again,
Carl
P.S.  I have to smile a bit when I see myself referred to as a "Newbi", considering I bought this Kaiser at the ripe old age of 14 when it was 16 and I was a member of this club in the 60s and 70s!

[Carl Eidsness]

Again to Fid, or anyone who can enlighten.

Looking again through the posts above I see you wrote, "be aware the Linden green used in 1948 was different than the Linden green used on the '49".  But you did not list LINDEN green as a color available for the '48 Kaisers in your first post above.  Nor was it listed in the service bulletin I mention.  How many greens can I pick from for 48?
Carl

[Fid]

Since the Pinconning Special was a one off, I have no idea what the actual colors are on it - sorry.

Linden green was only available on the '48 Kaiser Custom (as stated in the post).
I do know that neither of the colors on the Pinconning Special is Linden green.
The Pinconning Special was actually a '47.  Here are the '47 colors listed in the Club Handbook:

701 Onyx Black
702 Speedwing Gray
703 Airway Blue
704 Turf Green
705 Crystal Green
707 Buckeye Maroon
709 Lambswool Cream

Regarding 343 as Airway Blue, the numbers did change in 1947/48.  As shown above, in 1947 Airway Blue was 703 or 783  or 111 so they could be different depending on the car.
I'm not sure what bulletin  you're referring to but  the info I have is:
Green Spray was only available on the Frazer Manhattan in 1947/48, paint  code I have listed is 561.  Green Spray listed in 1949 is paint code 255 (Kaiser special) and 640 as part of a tutone schema for the '49 Frazer Manhattan.

I hope this helps.

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

Would the Pinconning Special have Paint 999 & Trim 888 like one offs or executive special order ?

Remember the Back seat is curved like 60's 2 Door T- Birds.

Someone had a mid 60's vehicle that had a Passager front seat that could turn & face the back seat. Told them it was done before in late 40's.

G B

[Carl Eidsness]

Good Morning Fid
I was just checking to see if there were any more posts on this thread and now notice for the FIRST time that you wrote this 2 tone green car was a '47, not a '48.  Sorry for that.  I was just so fixated on 48s I didn't even notice that.  So I guess I am back to where I started, no legitimate 2 tone possibilities for a '48 Special.  Guess I could go with a Custom color combination, but then other parts of the car would not be appropriate.
Carl

[Carl Eidsness]

What does "Pinconning" mean or refer to in Pinconning Special?

Carl

[Carl Eidsness]

Fid,
Where did you get that picture of the Piconning Special?  Is it an old picture taken when the car was new, or a newer picture of a restoration?  Does anyone else know, or think they might know, what those 2 green colors are?

Carl

[PK5321]

According to "The Last Onslaught on Detroit", The Pinconning Special was built for the handicapped wife of Production Manager Ed Hunt.  It had the rear doors welded shut to create a 2-door, and contained a u-shaped davenport seat in the rear, and a single seat for the driver.  The car was named for Hunt's birthplace, Pinconning, Michigan.