Re: 56 caribbean convertible "headliner" color

Posted by BH On 2013/9/10 19:20:56

Quote:
Engineering drawings are about as close as you'll ever get to the horse's mouth.

Yet, keep in mind that a "blueprint" is a copy made from an engineering drawing - as such, a snapshot of that drawing at a particular point in time. However, an original engineering drawing (usually drawn in black ink on white vellum) can be a dynamic repository of information, which may have "the rest of the story".

Unfortunately, it is not feasible for me, either financially or logistically, to conduct such research from either physical archive. Under the current paradigm, people will have to undertake that on a case-by-case basis for their own particular needs, but hopefully they will share the fruits of their labor here.

Getting back to the "headliner", remember that a collection of sample cards for many, though not all, of the bulk trim used during the 1950s was scanned and donated for the site's Literature and Manuals archive. Those images were also parsed out into individual selections for the Photo Gallery. So, we have a few of these samples for the top material used on the 55-56 Caribbean that show the backing:

P/N 463470 for White top material with Green backing (Trim Set 93)

P/N 6487002 for White top material with Green backing (Trim Set 93)

P/N 6487003 for White top with Vermillion backing (Trim Set 90)

BTW, check the corresponding card for any of the available top material images that show the white side, and if you look closely and you can see the grain. Those for 6487002 and 6487003 show the leather grain that was used for 56th Series, while
463470 shows the diamond pinpoint grain that was use for 55th Series - corroborating what has been reported in these forums by experienced owners.