The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 1937 Chevy belt line color

My paint shop is getting close to laying paint on my 1937 1/2 ton Chevy project. The original body color was Brewster green and I want to stay with that. I have researched belt line color as best I can and I am not sure of the belt line color. Jim Carter sells Kildair green for this purpose, which I purchased. They also have an Emerald green pinstripe tape that is supposed to go in the middle of the belt line. I cannot confirm this from original literature although I did see reference to Gigilo green as a pinstripe on the Master Parts List, although I could not tell whether this was passenger cars or trucks. The same document did not have any color for the belt line.

This is the best time for me to do this right so does anybody have good information as to what colors are correct? Can we document belt line color and pinstripe color, if any, that goes with Brewster green. Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Kent

I cannot find 1937 truck color specifications, but, here are 1936 truck color specifications.

Thanks Tim, that is helpful. This confirms that the factory did a contrasting color on trucks. In reference to Brewster Green they say "Gigolo Green striping". I am not sure if that means pin striping in the modern sense or color of what I call the belt line, which includes a double belt line across the sides and back of the cab.
Tim's document raises additional questions. I believe that my truck did not come from the factory with black fenders, rather simply body color. Possibly the same for the headlamp bodies and supports. Was black in these areas standard or an option?

Ultimately, I can do whatever I want but I am trying to end up with a stock look.

Kent

Kent,

Supposedly, many original trucks came from the factory with "custom" paint jobs. As long as standard-option colors were ordered, there might not have been an extra charge. My guess is that it is possible fenders could be factory-painted as any standard color.

Go with what you like. If anyone asks, just say you matched the colors/combinations that you found on your original truck.

Pin striping would probably refer to that body/belt stripe and possibly wheel stripe/stripes?

Good luck - please post photos of your progress.

Turns out I can answer many of the questions myself. I have a reproduction Sales Handbook for 1937 Commercial Cars and Trucks. Regarding paint options..."Any one of the standard or optional colors shown on the preceding page can be supplied at no extra charge. On panel trucks, the panel insert may be painted one color and the remainder of the truck another at no extra cost. Refer to your price list for charges for various color combinations such as fenders, hoods, wheels, etc., that can be painted standard, optional or special colors. The cost of these options varies, according to orders by fleet owners, quantity, etc."

I am thinking that I may make the fenders black, along with the running boards, headlamp bodies and headlamp stands. This is a common scheme you see in the Stovebolt Gallery and with the above information certainly would be "factory correct". Brewster Green is a standard color and Black an option.

The sales book has several black and white pictures but the resolution of this reproduction makes it difficult to see for sure but it looks like there is pin striping in the belt line, rather than the whole belt line being colored. In one photo it appears the pin striping on the upper body belt line is a single line in the middle, and the lower body belt line (which is wider) there are two stripes. Unless I find more convincing factory correct pictures I may go with that style.

The Sales Handbook does not show pinstriping of the wheels, like you would have with Advance Design trucks.

The only issue I have left is to find a modern code for Gigolo Green. My paint guys could not find that. Can any body help with that?