original Lusso color

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steve t
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Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2003 12:21 am
Location: San Diego

original Lusso color

Post by steve t »

Hello fellow classic Ferrari enthusiasts. This is my first post to this forum. I am probably asking a question that has been asked many times in the past, my apologies. I own a ’63 Lusso and it is time to repaint the car. I am trying to decide on a color. I want to try and find out what the original color was and wondered if anyone out there knows how to get this type of info?
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Yale
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Location: New York City

Post by Yale »

Hi Steve, Nice car. Can you tell us how you got it and any other interesting stories about your ownership?

As for your color question, you can write Ferrari and get the build sheets for your car. It is a bit of a bizantine, typically Italian, procedure and they are missing quite a few. However if they have yours that would be your best bet. Here is the URL:

https://www.owners.ferrari.com/Feros/os ... eScaduta=1

Yale
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the site!

Besides looking for original documents and registering to the Ferrari owner's site, you can try some detective work on the car. Depending on how well a car gets repainted, some original paint may still be there. Look under weather stripping, or behind the door panels.

I'll welcome anything you'd like to post to the owner's section to this website.

Good luck.

Tom
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Jim
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Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2002 7:32 pm
Location: Pasadena, CA

Post by Jim »

Dear Steve:
Another good source who might have the info on the original color of your car is Gerald Roush, of Ferrari Market Letter, www.ferrarimarketletter.com. Be sure to include the serial # in your communication with Mr. Roush.
Sincerely,
Jim
steve t
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Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2003 12:21 am
Location: San Diego

Post by steve t »

Jim,
Thanks for the advice. Another member had provided me with Gerald Roush’s information on the car. The earliest info Gerald had was 1987 with the car residing in Marina Del Ray, Ca. color burgundy with black interior. The car is currently aubergine (eggplant) and still has the black interior. I got dinged in a parking lot around Christmas and have had a very experienced Ferrari shop look at the car. The paint guy said that he believed the burgundy under the aubergine was probably original. Actually the primer under the burgundy was his biggest hint that it was original. But I am trying to collect all the documentation that the owners.ferrari.com folks want so I can get the build sheet to verify the color. I will post when I get more info.
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Jim
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Post by Jim »

Steve,
If my memory serves me well, I recall that the Ferrari factory web site provided some basic info on my car, including the original exterior color, by simply entering the model and s/n in the web site. That is, I didn't need photos and multiple body/drive train s/n's to obtain the exterior color as it left the factory.
Regards,
Jim
steve t
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Location: San Diego

Post by steve t »

Jim,
Do you remember where on the Ferrari factory web site that you entered your model and s/n?

Thanks,
Steve
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Jim
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Post by Jim »

Steve,

Go to the the web site (www.owners.ferrari.com). You'll need to register, which gives you a user name and password. With these you can enter the site. Once in the site, go to Vintage, then Historic Archive, then Heritage Certificate. In the latter, fill in the requested info, and pray. No photos needed for Heritage Certificate (they are needed for Build Sheet). The heritage certificate will be downloadable from this site (they will leave you a message when the document is available-it's an Acrobat file).

Also, you can go to this web site and leave an email without registering.

On my Heritage Certificate, which is in Italian & English, they list the model, chassis #, Engine Type, Body Color, AND Interior Color, plus, the "Date of Manufacture," which I assume is the date of completion &/or shipment. It's kind of a neat item, with a pale yellow prancing horse in the background of the document.

Regards,
Jim
steve t
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Joined: Sat Feb 08, 2003 12:21 am
Location: San Diego

Post by steve t »

Jim et al,

I finally got the info from Ferrari on the original color for my lusso. It seems that the exterior was Grigio Argento 18940 M, which I have found out to be silver grey although I have not seen the code 18940 M previously. The interior was Nuvola (Pelle Nuvola VM 3015), which I have no idea what this means.

It was kind of interesting on how I got the info. I tried to submit a partially filled out page on the Heritage Certificate and it would not go. There were a couple of bits of info I have no idea what they are looking for, maybe somebody out there can give me a hand with. I know the engine type (168) but I can’t find the type for the gearbox or rear axel.

Also on the rear axel I found a collection of numbers stamped on the housing. First is the number 9X34 which I think indicates the drive ratio of 3.78. The second number is 16463 which I am guessing is the number of the rear axel. The third number was 539U which is the chassis type for a Lusso, I don’t know why this is stamped on the rear axel. The fourth number is 141 and I have no idea what this may indicate. Any takers on sorting out all this info?

The gearbox numbers still remain undiscovered. I did buy a mirror to try and peek up on top of the housing but have not given it a try yet.

Anyway to finish the story, I sent an email to the Ferrari Owners site and told them I was having trouble collecting all the numbers required for the Heratige Cert, and was primarily looking for paint info. They sent me back an answer with the exterior and interior colors.

So will I go with the Grigio Argento 18940 M? I don’t know yet. It's a great color on the car but may be a little to over used for me.
El Wayne
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Location: So Cal

Post by El Wayne »

Steve, according to Keith Bluemel's "Original Ferrari V12" book (even though it only covers cars from 1965-1973), leather color VM3015 is blue. I believe Nuvola means "cloud." Go figure.

As for painting it silver, I agree that that is just way overused. Doesn't Azzurro Met. look nice?
JonBrent
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Post by JonBrent »

Hi Guys,

I too had trouble guessing the format for entering the data into the Ferrari site, so went ahead and made a web page with the pictures and info. Wrote a friendly letter to them telling them about the page, and in a couple of days was told where to find both the Heritage Cert and the Build Sheets. Fantastic.

I have to thank Kerry a lot, as he was instrumental in going through this for us first and putting it all on his site, so it was really easy for me to get the pictures right the first time.

My results I posted here:

http://www.jb330gt.com/7537History.htm

Also, I have a page for the Ferrari colors, which may help interpret some of the names. I would love more pictures to post, if anyone has some showing the original colors, but have a bunch here:

http://www.jb330gt.com/Colors.htm

Cheers,
Jon
kare
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Location: Helsinki, Finland, Europe

Post by kare »

Grigio Argento Italver 18940M was a silver paint color used by Ferrari
in around 1962; I have notes of 3 S.2 Cabriolets being painted using this color. VM3015 is Connolly color code for blue leather (=pelle) commonly used by Ferrari in the 60's.

Lusso chassis, gearbox and rear axle all used designation 539U.
It was quite common that components were numbered after the chassis they were primarily used with. Engine type was 168U.

9x34 is driver ratio, 16463 is probably the parts number for the casting it appears on. 141 is very likely the running internal number of the rear axle. Gearbox number is in difficult position; copying it on wax may in some cases be easier tha using a mirror.

Can you share the chassis number of your car; I would like to put original exterior/interior codes to go with correct chassis as I collect this type of info. Have you located engine numero interno; it appears on right side of engine block, usually right below the chassis number as stamped on
block?

Best wishes, Kare
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