@john-schildberg Hey John, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your dear friend. No, my book is a fictional story and while I am keen to make it feel and sound as real and authentic as possible (because that's just my way, I guess) the characters, and story itself are all complete works of fiction, and are not representative of any real person, living or dead, as they say in the copyright. I could only wish I had such a valuable resource as your friend Finis Barrow. If I did know him, or someone like that, I'm sure many of his experiences would make a wonderful story in their own right. Unfortunately, I don't know him.

@tiny Thank you Tiny, yes I noticed that in my link, about the years. Thank you too for color charts link.

Well, it does seem I need to pick a different color if I want it to give my character a stock car rather than a flashy modified version. I mean, he was in his late teens/early twenties when he bought it in the sixties, and serving in the Navy, so he might have had his head turned by a hotrod, right? But it definitely suits the story for his beloved car to be authentic stock. Thank you for helping me clarify that. I seem to have made a bit of a gaff with the loyal stock enthusiasts gushing over the 'hotrodded' art picture in the process though - sorry guys! 🙃 🙄 

Tiny, your picture is stunning 😍 Is the red detailing original too? Is it your car? Interesting about the visor being additional. I'd love to see the interior. I found a number of pictures online for that, but they're all a little different.

@rose Color, wheels/tires, deleted bumpers, and stance are immediately noticeable. Just look at the picture Tiny posted of his car. Do you notice these things? Any one of these things would be noticed by a "car guy/gal" if they saw the car from a speeding train. That's what makes us car guys. 

Mike

@35mike That's what makes you a valuable resource to a 'writer gal.' Thank you for the insights. Your passion for cars is like mine for words, tone, and narrative. Love your speeding train metaphor. 😎 Care to elaborate on 'stance' from the car guy perspective?

Posted by: @rose

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Incidentally, do you think more than just the colour was tinkered with in that picture? 

If you mean not original by "tinkered", a lot. The sheetmetal may or may not be OEM but it's missing the bumpers. The windshield isn't stock nor are the mirrors or headlights. The suspension and wheels are not stock which usually means none of the powertrain (engine, transmission, driveshaft, rearend) is stock.

@rose Let us know when your book is published so many of us can buy one.   I am sorry  that you didn't get to talk with Finis.  He would have forgotten more about 38 coupes than may of us know.  Except for Tony that is. Lol!

@rose By "stance", I am referring to the fact that the modified car sets much lower than an original car.

Mike

@tiny That's so interesting, thank you. I never considered how connected to each other all the individual parts are. It makes complete sense when I do! 'Tinkered' does seem like an understatement given such comprehensive alterations. It's just a facsimile of the original, like a counterfeit bank note! I don't like it nearly as much now! Please forgive my ignorance, (not that it will come as any surprise to you guys by now, right? 🤣 ) but what do you mean by OEM?

@35mike I see, thanks that's interesting, and definitely not something I noticed, or new to look for in considering the pictures I was searching. I like the real ones much better than the modified.

@john-schildberg Aw that's so sweet, thank you. I still have a ways to go, but I'll let you know. Is Tony Tiny? Finis definitely sounds like he was an interesting man.

Posted by: @rose

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@tiny That's so interesting, thank you. I never considered how connected to each other all the individual parts are. It makes complete sense when I do! 'Tinkered' does seem like an understatement given such comprehensive alterations. It's just a facsimile of the original, like a counterfeit bank note! I don't like it nearly as much now! Please forgive my ignorance, (not that it will come as any surprise to you guys by now, right? 🤣 ) but what do you mean by OEM?

Lord knows, no one is born knowing everything. I knew absolutely 0 about 38 Chevys when I pulled mine out of a barn in 2004. I've learned a lot since by necessity and still don't know close to "everything". I don't mean to sound critical. There are a lot of good people who prefer modified cars over stock. In some cases, me. 😀 Most of us in the VCCA prefer to maintain our vehicles pretty much stock but even that comes with an astrisk. There are very few vehicles still they same as they were "born". Many have made changes for convenience and safety sake. While my 38 is mostly stock, I have made a few changes that can be easily reversed by my son when the car becomes his, if he chooses to do so. Many of our members add turn signals and seat belts, make changes in the electrical system, change the type of tire and it goes on and on.

I just noticed your comment about the red pinstriping on the car. Yes, that is how the car would have come from the factory. The color of the stripes depends on the base color of the vehicle. A black car like mine would have red stripes. The pictures below show the remnants of the factory stripes that we used as a guide to duplicate them during the restoration.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. The term is pretty much synonymous for factory stock.

Posted by: @tiny

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The color of the stripes depends on the base color of the vehicle. A black car like mine would have red stripes.

Ok, hmm... that does make me wonder what the 'base' color for the other colors are now! Is it a stupid question to ask why the base color of each car isn't the same, given it's underneath the main color anyway? And would the other colors even have pinstriping, or would some of them just use the same finished color on those places? Oooh, and another one! Would the interior metal, furnishings, seats etc have be matched to the base color, or the main color? So, in a black 38 with red trim, the upholstery is also red, or the dash is? 

And now that I'm really picking your brain, here's another, hopefully easier one to answer: Can a 38 Master Deluxe be started up without a key in the ignition? Like would it be possible for it to be broken into and 'hotwired' (to use movie parlance). Or can it be started some other way that doesn't necessitate pulling at wires under the dash, cutting them and reconnecting them (seriously I do watch way too many movies - that might not even be how that's done). I'm thinking like in some old cars they had crank handles and whatnot.

By "base color" I mean the main color of the car. Different color cars could have different color pinstripes. I have a book that lists the colors but don't have it in front of me at the moment. Chevy tried to prevent hot wiring by placing the wire inside an armored sheath, called an Electrolock (spelling differs). On a 38 the Electrolock runs from the ignition switch to the top of the coil. A thief could defeat that using a pair of bolt cutters. The 38 had mohair upholstery tan in color. The dash was painted Plover Beige and Condor Gray. The window moldings were painted to resemble wood grain.

This is a very interesting conversation! I'm learning a lot about the definitions of terminology that is bantered about freely in the hobby.

Cheers, Dean