I got a 96 Mark, it had been painted very poorly, one thin coat, no clear, no primer, right over the original paint. The door jambs etc. hadnt been touched, so i could see the original paint was a burgundy-ish color. I checked the sticker in the door jamb and the paint code was FZ, which according to http://www.markviii.org/LOD2/colors.htm is cordovan and only available on Diamond Anniversary models for 96, yet mine isnt a Diamond Anniversary?? Is the info on that site wrong or what?
Paint code question
- Thread starter 1996Mark
- Start date
ONLYTONY
Dedicated LVC Member
Fz
that's the same as my 98
that's the same as my 98
I've wondered the same thing before also, I've seen several 96 Mark VIIIs with the cordovan paint that lack the diamond anniversary seats with the red inserts or the 1/4 glass with the "diamond anniversary" etched in it. I'm sure its possible the ones I have seen have been repainted that color but there seems to be too many around for that to be true. I came across this one on craigslist the other day...
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/3569365616.html
there were only 2 reds available in 96..the toreader red and cordovan..and this deffinetly isn't toreader red, and as you can tell from the interior shot there are no cordovan insters in the seats which makes it just a regular base mark viii. I'm gonna guess the "facts" on .org are false and the cordovan paint was offered on any 96 mark..or maybe it was one of those things where they made it available as a normal color choice half way through the year..or..they ran out of the DA special parts that made it a true DA so they just badged it as a regular mark...who knows..there doesnt seem to be any more info available out there about mark viii production numbers other than what is on LOD and markviii.org
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/3569365616.html
there were only 2 reds available in 96..the toreader red and cordovan..and this deffinetly isn't toreader red, and as you can tell from the interior shot there are no cordovan insters in the seats which makes it just a regular base mark viii. I'm gonna guess the "facts" on .org are false and the cordovan paint was offered on any 96 mark..or maybe it was one of those things where they made it available as a normal color choice half way through the year..or..they ran out of the DA special parts that made it a true DA so they just badged it as a regular mark...who knows..there doesnt seem to be any more info available out there about mark viii production numbers other than what is on LOD and markviii.org
Sapperfire
Dedicated LVC Member
Eh..Ford likes to play the "slap it together and go" game
thaywood
Dedicated LVC Member
You know I've wondered about that. Becase my '96 was "Bright" Toreador red. And my mom's '97 Cougar is just "Toreador" red. And they are two distinctly different colors. Toreador is significantly darker than Bright Toreador. So there may have been 3 reds in '96.
I'm pretty sure the toreader red from the 96-97 thirds and cougars was the same as the mark viii, ford just had a different name for it, kind of like how Lincoln gave the same mark viii colors slightly different names throughout the model years eventhough they looked the same like the white opalescent versus opal opalescent..both had same color code but different names. I had a toreader red 97 Thunderbird years ago and it was a very rich color, and my friend bought almost my identicle car a few months after I bought mine (his being a v6) and parked side by side they looked totally different..both had original paint. Then there's the ones that are faded that make it look WAAY different..I swear no two toreader red MN12s or FN10s looked alike..and it is deffinetly a hard color to match.
Here's my old car, the sun deffinetly plays a part in how bright it appears..mine looked pretty vibrant in certain light.
Thanks for the replies. When I got the car i could see the original paint in the door, trunk jambs etc, and thought the whole car would look good that color and had planned on getting it repainted that color, but that went out the window when i hit a deer. Got a 94 now, so the 96 will be getting parted out. Was just curious if that color was really for DA only for 96 or if I had a base sneak out of the factory that wasnt supposed to be that color.
thaywood
Dedicated LVC Member
I still don't know. I looked up the paint code on my 1996 Mark and it came up " bright" toteador and the paint code on the Cougar is just toreador. It was a different color. And when I painted the replacement door handle on the 96 with toreador, it was a much darker red than the rest of the door. And when the 96 was parked next to the Cougar it was a completely different shade of red.I'm pretty sure the toreader red from the 96-97 thirds and cougars was the same as the mark viii, ford just had a different name for it, kind of like how Lincoln gave the same mark viii colors slightly different names throughout the model years eventhough they looked the same like the white opalescent versus opal opalescent..both had same color code but different names. I had a toreader red 97 Thunderbird years ago and it was a very rich color, and my friend bought almost my identicle car a few months after I bought mine (his being a v6) and parked side by side they looked totally different..both had original paint. Then there's the ones that are faded that make it look WAAY different..I swear no two toreader red MN12s or FN10s looked alike..and it is deffinetly a hard color to match.
Here's my old car, the sun deffinetly plays a part in how bright it appears..mine looked pretty vibrant in certain light.
oh, well if you're talking about the color of your 30th anniversary cougar in your sig pic, yes that's a totally different color than the toreader red on 96-98 marks and 96-97 thunderbird/cougar like my old car. That dark red on your cougar was only available on the 30th cougars..which was "dark toreader" i think it was called. That color is different than the diamond anniversary marks also, those are "cordovan" or whatever. I'm just talking about the difference between the toreader red like on my 97 thunderbird and the bright toreader red on the 96-98 marks.
as in the difference between the following
thaywood
Dedicated LVC Member
That makes sense. But I never could find touch up paint for my '96 which is why I had to paint the door handle with toreador instead of bright toreador. But you're probably right that they were different shades for different cars.
I really miss that car.
I really miss that car.
NoLimit95
Dedicated LVC Member
Good God, those headlights look like chit lol.
sprocket
Well-Known LVC Member
Mine looks just like that except mine has chrome side plates above the rockers. I always wondered if they were stock or an add on. Maybe there is rust under them and that is why they were installed. I can also faintly see where there used to be pin-striping. I'm pretty sure that is not stock.
thaywood
Dedicated LVC Member
:lol: The guy that bought it got some "better" looking headlights from a salvage yard and they did look a little better than the old ones. I just never had the time or energy to take them apart or polish them...