L55 Maroon Red

Lord Lost66 · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:08 pm Post subject: L55 Maroon Red

Does anyone have any pictures of an Oval in this colour? Laughing

cvallone · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:30 pm Post subject: Reviving this thread on L55

Hey guys,

Still looking for info on L55 Maroon Red. I see conflicting results with when it was offered and with what style car it was on, vert or sedan. Car of the century book shows only a 52 color, Wolfsburg west shows 53, the split thread here says till 54.

Any ideas? Also was it metallic or flat?

Chris
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Kjell Roar · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 1:56 pm Post subject:

The color is flat. I have seen it on a 53 zwitter. Nice, quite dark color.
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cvallone · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:02 pm Post subject:

laneven28 · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:00 pm Post subject:

Yea, you will be crucified by some for painting it that color, but do you really care? If I were in your shoes, I'd get clear on one point before spraying any color - what do you intend to do with the car over the medium/long term? If you plan on keeping it, then don't worry what the vintage nazi's think or say and go for it. If you plan on selling it relatively soon after it's done, then consider painting the original color first, and a proper color for the year next. It will appeal to a wider vintage audience and allow you to recover more of your investment when it comes time to sell. Even if you do paint it L55 and decide to sell shortly after, I doubt the value will take a significant hit for painting it a period correct VW color. Just my 2 cents.

I checked my copy of Car of the Century, and it shows L55 used from the beginning of the 1951 model year (from chassis 1-0220472) through early 1953 (Zwitter splits through chassis 1-0454950), so the color was used for a couple of years, and into 53. I have an early 51 that was this color, and there are several places on the car including the dash with the original paint still showing, and in good condition. I originally thought the color was L51 Bordeaux Red, but Car of the Century says otherwise. I can post some pics if you'd like.
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1950 Pearl Grey Hoffman Standard Split Window
1954 Iceland Green Euro 3-Fold Oval
1955 Strato Silver Transitional 3-Fold Oval
1956 Iris Blue Convertible
1958 Pearl White Lowlight KG Convertible
1961 Turkis Ragtop

cvallone · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:24 am Post subject:

laneven28 · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:03 am Post subject:

I suspect you know the market for vintage VW's better than most and understand what real buyers want. I personally have no problem with your idea, and consider myself to be a purist. I love stock VWs, but don't get worked up by slight modifications that are done tastefully that stay within the VW family or era.

My 51 is in storage, so I'll run by today or tomorrow and take some pics for you.
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1950 Pearl Grey Hoffman Standard Split Window
1954 Iceland Green Euro 3-Fold Oval
1955 Strato Silver Transitional 3-Fold Oval
1956 Iris Blue Convertible
1958 Pearl White Lowlight KG Convertible
1961 Turkis Ragtop

cvallone · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:39 am Post subject:

laneven28 · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 4:19 pm Post subject:

I stopped by my storage unit today and took several shots of the maroon red on the 51. I used some rubbing/polishing compound in a few of the better areas, but the pics still didn't turn out as well as I'd like - several show the color looking more brown than maroon, and it doesn't help that the only camera I have is on my phone. I've posted the best of them that give you a good sense of the color.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
1950 Pearl Grey Hoffman Standard Split Window
1954 Iceland Green Euro 3-Fold Oval
1955 Strato Silver Transitional 3-Fold Oval
1956 Iris Blue Convertible
1958 Pearl White Lowlight KG Convertible
1961 Turkis Ragtop

cvallone · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:15 pm Post subject:

AlteWagen · Troll Joined: February 23, 2007 Posts: 8503 Location: PNW

laneven28 · Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 1:34 pm Post subject:

Splitdog and his dad both own 51's, and their Hot VW's feature in June 2011 noted both cars as L51 Bordeaux Red, so I assumed my car was the same color, especially as my car and Splitdog's dad's were likely built the same week.

A couple months ago, I was looking through my copy of The Car of the Century and noted that L51 Bordeaux Red ended at the end of 1950, and L55 Maroon Red was introduced at the beginning of the 51 model year and ran through March 53. Bob Wilson's 49-59 VW Beetle Authenticity Series book supports these dates exactly. Both books differ from what is shown in the paint/upholstery section of the samba, so i'm not sure which sources are correct, but 2 of the 3 references I use support my car being L55. Hopefully the BC will note the original color when I order it, and clear it up. Does anyone out there know the real answer?

Regardless of when L51 ended and L55 began, it's interesting that there are no reference pictures of L55 here on the samba. It was clearly offered for a longer period than L51, and more cars were produced during that time frame, yet no L55 pics and plenty of L51.
_________________
1950 Pearl Grey Hoffman Standard Split Window
1954 Iceland Green Euro 3-Fold Oval
1955 Strato Silver Transitional 3-Fold Oval
1956 Iris Blue Convertible
1958 Pearl White Lowlight KG Convertible
1961 Turkis Ragtop

AlteWagen · Troll Joined: February 23, 2007 Posts: 8503 Location: PNW

In the 51 paint/color brochure it shows L51 not L55

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/51colors.php

piet&som · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 8:53 am Post subject:

L55 Maroon Red taken in BC 2011

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Oval 54 Light Beige, Oval 53 Metalblue.

cvallone · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:05 am Post subject:

piet&som · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:23 am Post subject:

Sorry Chris, don't have interior shots.
Here's another one. In sunlight the color brightens up a lot.
A friend of mine has another L55 Maroon 53 cabrio but I don't have photo's yet. I work on it.

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Oval 54 Light Beige, Oval 53 Metalblue.

cvallone · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:42 am Post subject:

nidan2 · Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:56 am Post subject:

here's my BC-picture of this car;

allsidius · Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 3:52 am Post subject:

Lose those eyebrows. They ruin the car.
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1973 1303S w sunroof Click to view image
1978 1303 convertible (sold)Click to view image
1966 1300 RIPClick to view image

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cvallone · Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 8:00 am Post subject:


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