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1969 to 1979 Cadillac Pinstripes. Factory option or dealer option

Started by Bill Balkie 24172, November 09, 2019, 06:06:12 AM

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Bill Balkie 24172

Hello ,
   I have noticed a lot of 1069 to 1979  cadillacs had pinstripes . Were they done at the factory or at the dealerships . If they were done at the factory  did the factory have a standard patern  ? If they were done at the dealer they were probably   all a little differant .  My question .......  is there a standared pattern for differant years and models . ?

    Bill
Bill Balkie
1970 Coupe DeVille
2009 CTS

The Tassie Devil(le)

Any done at the factory would have been done with a complete vehicle jig.

I will try and find a picture of what GM did with Pontiac back in around 1968 in Car Life Magazine.   It was a fullsize jig that sat on the vehicle, and the "striper" simply applied the paint with a roller.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

76eldo

Please don’t stripe your 70. They didn’t do that at the factory in 70.
Some years such as 76 had factory stripes.
My 70 had painted on stripes and a monogram and I spent several nights polishing off the stripes. The body lines on a 70 speak for themselves. A pinstripe only detracts from the clean lines in my opinion.

When I bought my 70  DeVille it only had 28,000 miles on it and was an all original car. It was up in Brooklyn in Bill Refakis back yard. The only reason he didn’t buy it was that it was pin striped and had a stand up hood ornament on the hood. That was done by the original owner. I can’t do anything about the ornament but I was able to buff off the painted stripes and buff the original paint to perfection. I love this car so I’m glad that Bill didn’t buy it.

I have an extra dealer data book for 70’i can sell you. It’s got lots of great info on the whole car including all option choices.
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621

Quote from: Bill Balkie 24172 on November 09, 2019, 06:06:12 AM
Hello ,
   I have noticed a lot of 1069 to 1979  cadillacs had pinstripes . Were they done at the factory or at the dealerships . If they were done at the factory  did the factory have a standard patern  ? If they were done at the dealer they were probably   all a little differant .  My question .......  is there a standared pattern for differant years and models . ?

    Bill

Pinstripes were applied both at the factory and at the dealer. Up until 1977 most that I have seen were tape-on stripes. Dealer installed was more or less expected to follow factory applied pattern.

Completely agree with Brian- The body lines of the 1970 are not suitable for striping nor was pinstriping offered that year (at least on all the RWD models).
A Cadillac Motorcar is a Possession for which there is no Acceptable Substitute

wrefakis

Brian right you are, I passed on a 5600 mile 70 DVC in 82 only to end up buying it in 83 with 5682 original miles turned out to be last off line
200 hours removing the stripes with Q tip and R12 reducer bayberry no paint on the car would destroy with any buffing or compounding
must have passed 500 of them back in 70,s basket rims, emblem and lots of stripes

76eldo

I was able to rub the stripes off with a mild polishing compound. People were telling me to use all different products including oven cleaner to quickly remove the stripes.
On an original paint lacquer car I wasn’t going to experiment with chemicals of any kind. After removing the stripes I buffer the whole car and then waxed it twice.
In bright sunlight you can see a ghost line where the stripes were. It doesn’t bother me as much as it would to have left the stripes on.
Certain cars look great with stripes, like my 76 Eldo. They actually look naked without stripes. But the 70 is a different animal.
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

hornetball

Recommend always going to the source at the GM heritage center:

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html

1970 had no stripes.  My 1974 did as revealed by the body tag.

Mike Josephic CLC #3877

In 1973 they were a factory option and were painted.  I
remember that because I specified "black" striping with
the Dynasty Red body on my Eldorado when I ordered it.
My Dealer Book verifies this as does the Heritage Center
info.

So, it seems that it depends on the year of the vehicle
as to what was "factory" vs. dealer and whether paint
or tape -- also whether stripes were optional equipment
or not.

Mike
1955 Cadillac Eldorado
1973 Cadillac Eldorado
1995 Cadillac Seville
2004 Escalade
1997 GMC Suburban 4X4, 454 engine, 3/4 ton
custom built by Santa Fe in Evansville, IN
2011 Buick Lucerne CX
-------------------------------------
CLCMRC Museum Benefactor #38
Past: VP International Affiliates, Museum Board Director, President / Director Pittsburgh Region

dochawk

One of the things perplexing me at the moment is the stripes on my '72 convertible.

Almost all of the past is intact, save for a couple of chinks to metal or primer.

There's apparently a plastic  coming over much of the paint, that has yellowed.

But the paint is white, with reddish pinstripes.  If I have it painted, I lose those, as well as the original paint . . . but if I buff it out and touch it up, I won't have the pinstripes . . .

1972 Eldorado convertible,  1997 Eldorado ETC (now awaiting parts swap from '95 donor), 1993 Fleetwood but no 1926 (yet)