[Carmine]

Hi everyone. Took some pics of my '71 and I'm going to attempt to post them. I'm thinking maybe 10-12 pics or so. Just to bring everyone up to speed, I bought the car in Dec. 2016 and began working on it Feb. 2017. The color is Tropical Lime Green which originally, I wasn't crazy about. Since then I've learned to like it. It was a body off frame resto and the paint and body are very nice. Panels are original and very straight. Likewise for the floor and trunk pans. I believe the resto was done about 8 years ago or so. It came with a fairly new black interior but was Jade Green from the factory. I hated the black since day one. Black can be a nice interior color, but not for this car. I bought some dye, not paint, and took the entire interior apart. I changed the color back to Jade Green and couldn't be happier with it. I think it looks great. Accents the exterior nicely. Just hope it holds up as advertised. It was previously expressed that the door panels aren't '71 GTO vintage. Still don't know what they are out of. Probably a '37 Hudson Terraplane LOL. The seats are close but not the same as factory. If I decide to keep this car long term, I'll probably buy a new interior for it. The only thing left to do in the interior, is send the radio out for modifications. On the exterior, I installed the 3 color eyebrow stripes. I know they were exclusively for the "Judge" option, but I like them anyway. Makes that green paint pop. I could probably have lived with the 2 color optional red/white eyebrow stripe. No regrets there. I also installed a rear spoiler. Like that a lot. New rocker panel moldings because I butchered the old ones trying to clean them. Both bumpers in very nice condition. It came with Raylle 2's but I like the honeycombs better. I don't think the redlines were offered in '71, but I like them just the same. The red and silver look really good against the green. A nice compliment. I did nothing to the trunk but clean it. I'm in the process of putting together a jack and spare, that's the way I left it. The underside is also very nice. It's clean and has been painted some. The pics don't do it justice. It's the original numbers matching 400 motor. All stock except the cam. The trans. is a TH 400 and I'm told it is also original numbers matching. Haven't checked that out yet. I think there is a slight stall converter and shift kit in it. It's a posi rear with 3.55 gears. I don't think it came with either. I still have some mechanical issues, such as the brakes, but I'm working through it. That's really about it. I don't want to get too winded here. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has offered advice, given direction, guidance and have helped me with my car questions. It would have been a struggle without you guys and I really do appreciate everyone's effort. This is a great site for Pontiac enthusiast. Thanks for looking, Carmine.

[Carmine]

Last set. Thanks for looking at them all, Carmine.

[johnta1]

Nice car!

BTW, you can add more pics to the same thread as the 1st one by 'replying' to the original thread.
(making another post in that thread)

[ponchjoe]

Those stripes turned out nice! Lookin good!

[Lightfoot]

Man, those seats look nice. Good job on re-coloring them.
The exterior looks great also. I'm not used to seeing honeycombs with that color, but it gives it a unique appeal. The eyebrow stripes really help it out.

[Carmine]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. There is a lot of green paint there and I tried to accent it somehow. Maybe break it up. The car came with a vinyl top that a previous owner chose not to reinstall. It was green in color and I didn't like it. I would maybe have gone with a sandstone color, but decided against it when I knew I was doing the eyebrow stripes. I thought the top and stripes might be a conflict. The silver of the honeycombs and the redlines really make things pop for me. I don't want a circus car, but I think the combined colors are nice. Just enough of everything. Yes, I am pleased with the way the interior turned out. The color is great and looks like it belongs there. The seats are soft to the touch and you would never know they had been dyed. I think that is the difference between dye and paint. The paint is more of a topical where the dye penetrates into the existing color to change it. At least that is what I think. Hopefully, it will last as advertised. Thanks all for looking, Carmine.

[1beautifuldaughter]

The car looks great! Green was once considered an unpopular color , I think even more so of interiors. But its back like vinyl records. I just bought another car, Non Pontiac, that is green with Jade green interior, certain cars it works well. Congrats ,, Really cool car you have there.

[The Boss]

Car looks great - nice work!

[linden_gto]

tropical Lime is a great color. car looks fantastic. wonderful job on the interior - it's hard to believe that was originally black.

[Carmine]

Originally Posted by linden_gto

tropical Lime is a great color. car looks fantastic. wonderful job on the interior - it's hard to believe that was originally black.

Again, thank you everyone for the nice comments. Yes, the interior was completely black except for the green headliner which the PO installed. I took the entire interior apart so that I could dye it. Even had the windshield removed so that I could do a good job on the dash. Like many things we do with our cars, the success sometimes lies with the preparation. This time, it was in the cleaning process. Went over everything several times to make sure all the dirt, oils, dust, etc. were gone. I ran out of dye twice and had to order more. I think it's a great product, but a can doesn't go very far. As of this moment, I'm very happy with the interior. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way the car turned out; the way it looks. Had a bunch of things, some small, some not so small, that needed attention and I was able to change and fix them. Still a little issue with my power brakes and I've been chipping away at getting the factory a/c ready for operation. Funny thing, after registering it Tuesday, I went to put the front license plate on and discovered I have no bracket. Are you kidding me?? Always an adventure. Had to look on line to see where the bracket goes and I ordered one, Carmine.

[1beautifuldaughter]

My front license plate bracket it right where it belongs, Up in the Attic, Lol I would like to know exactly what you used that you refer to as dye. I have an original jade green carpet that I would like to bring back to life.

[Tempest]

What a great looking car. Love the stripes, and love the red lines with Honeycombs.

Everything about the car looks tastefully done.

Thanks for sharing

[Greg Reid]

That car is a beauty. I love the color combo including the redlines. Good call going back green with the interior too. Black just wouldn't have done it justice.
By the way, I believe what they call 'dye' is actually paint with some type of flex capabilities added..but that's just my guess.
What 'dye' did you use by the way? I used SEM 'Color Coat' for my dark turquoise interior. Still holding after 4 years or so.

[trophy421]

Sweet car! Love the color.

[bird72]

I always really liked Tropical Lime and I am not a greenie weany person. It always to me was an "out there" color, like many that Mopar wasn't afraid to use, and it just works as a stand out. I agree on the green interior, as Jade is a cool Green in the right context (yours).

Enjoy the car, you earned it, it sounds.

[West Coast GTO]

Carmine,
Boy, that car is beautiful. I remember when you were ambivalent about even buying a green car but this one ended up stunning.
Interesting thing; in one photo of the rear wing, it looks a different color than the car and in another photo an exact match.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by West Coast GTO

Carmine,
Boy, that car is beautiful. I remember when you were ambivalent about even buying a green car but this one ended up stunning.
Interesting thing; in one photo of the rear wing, it looks a different color than the car and in another photo an exact match.

Yep... The metallic greens and turqs are especially funny about photos.. Notice that on the pic where it does NOT match, it matches perfectly to the part of the car in shadow.

[indymanjoe]

Sharp car! Good job.

[Carmine]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

That car is a beauty. I love the color combo including the redlines. Good call going back green with the interior too. Black just wouldn't have done it justice.
By the way, I believe what they call 'dye' is actually paint with some type of flex capabilities added..but that's just my guess.
What 'dye' did you use by the way? I used SEM 'Color Coat' for my dark turquoise interior. Still holding after 4 years or so.

When I bought the car, the previous owner had already purchased 6 cans of a Jade Green dye, which he gave me. His intentions were to also change the color but never got around to it. The cans are aerosol and smaller then a can of deodorant. No color name on the cans but the manufacturer is a company called "PARASOL" in Canada. I sprayed a little of the green and I liked it. I did some research on paint and dyes and I sent Parasol a few emails. I wanted to memorialize our conversation so their would be no misunderstandings. I liked the answers I received so I decided to order from them. They requested the name of the previous owner so that they could look up his purchase and duplicate the dye which had already been purchased. This was no problem and I made my first of three purchases. My experience with this product is, it covers very well. Easy to use. Doesn't go far. They recommend two coats but I did three where there will be future heavy traffic, the buckets and door panels. I haven't exposed this interior to any real use yet, but I believe I would use it again. Time will decide that issue. I believe they also make a dye for carpet. I also looked at "SEM" which makes a great product. I've used their paints before and liked them. From what I learned, their fabric product is more of a topical paint. It doesn't go too deep below the surface. Whereas with a dye, it goes to the pigmentation of the color you wish to change. The actual change starts there. I'm not a chemist so how true this is, I really don't know. I know as a kid we would use fabric paint to change the interior colors and this stuff was terrible. It just laid on the surface very thick like. I know paints have come a long ways since then. Guess you have to use what you like and are comfortable with.

As for the front license plate bracket, the police in my area crack down on that quite often. If the year car requires 2 plates, they want them on the car. I have a C6 Corvette and for a while only had on the rear plate. Got stopped once and warned. Put the front plate on the following day. Guess I just don't want any grief or aggravation over the front plate. Not worth it to me.

In re. to the spoiler, yes, depending on the angle of the pic and sun/shade, the spoiler can appear to match or be way off. I didn't paint it myself. I gave the shop the paint color code. I was told this might be a difficult color to match and they didn't lie. If you really want to see it, take a look under fluorescent lights. OMG. But, I like it. Going to leave as is for time being. Time to drive this car, Carmine.

[steve v]

The car is looking great Carmine!

I had never been a big fan of green cars either but when I decided to put color on my T-37 I went with the original Tropical Lime. I have to admit I'm glad now because it's not a boring color. Different lighting & angles bring out different tones/ highlights to the car's lines that are usually lost with most stock colors.

BTW Jade buckets in mine also.