Remember When Supercars Didn't Have Stripes?

[72c20customcamper]

Newer cars and some older ones are wrapped. Seen new BMWs and other high ends on lots wrapped in weird compos. But like dying your hair it temporary

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

Newer cars and some older ones are wrapped. Seen new BMWs and other high ends on lots wrapped in weird compos. But like dying your hair it temporary

My yellow Corvette is wrapped. Only because it came that way. But I have to say that I like it. It protects the paint from the desert sun. It looks stock. The stripes were factory.

I was thinking of wrapping my old farm truck just so I wouldn't have to lose the original paint. I saw a guy do that with a 56 Nomad. It looked repainted but the original paint was still there.

If you wrap a car tastefully and not all crazy. It's really a good option.

[special-K]

I'd expect the sun to be hard on a wrap job same as paint, probably harder.

[Keith Seymore]

This thread is actually super relevant for me:

As some of you know, I retired from GM and am now staying out of trouble designing accessories for Nissan. Mostly clear film protectors, graphics and lettering and such (with some bed liners and covers thrown in).

I just finished a stripe package for the new "Z" car, which I designed pretty much on my own. We didn't get much input from the studio, so I developed four proposals and asked them to pick one. They chose a dual stripe pattern, with a pinstripe on each side.

The other thing that is kind of unique is that it is a "ghost stripe" material: it is somewhat transparent and lets the vehicle body color show through. It is a pretty neat effect and really pops on some colors.

I don't have any artistic photos yet, and I'm not sure I can share anyway. But - here was my inspiration (seriously).

What's funny is that I used to be the guy that peeled all that stuff off. Now I'm designing it.

K

Note: sorry about the sideways photos. I am posting from my laptop and they are absolutely straight up when viewed in my photo files.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by special-K

I'd expect the sun to be hard on a wrap job same as paint, probably harder.

So far, so good. It's holding up well. My Thunderbird already could use a buff but it's red and red paint is always a little finicky as far as fading goes. At least that's been my experience.

I like the dual stripes on the Camaro too Keith.

But I always did like them on the old Camaro's and Chevelle SS's. from the 60's and 70's.

I have black dual stripes on my Corvette. I think it breaks up the yellow a bit. My black Vette isn't getting stripes anytime soon.

[Boog]

Here ya go Keith

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Boog

Here ya go Keith

TY. No idea why it was doing that.

K

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

TY. No idea why it was doing that.

K

Computers... who can figure out why they do the things they do.

Kind of like women. I can't figure them out either. I try but it's pretty much a lost cause. I have the divorce papers to prove it

[72c20customcamper]

The 68 I gave to my son and my 69 AMX both are suppose to have the skunk strips . Like this one ,was pretty common on 60’s cars

[FleetsidePaul]

I think the classic stripes fall into a different category than the gaudy wrapped trash that you see today.

I have a friend that has a wrapped van. It's ugly. But it's a promotion for his business. It's advertising. I would do the same but if I put my ugly face on the side of a van it would scare business away.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Some people rely on external objects like fancy or fast vehicles to make them look important. I ain't important except to some of my family or friends, and I drive a Kia Forte to deliver the message.

Right on the money here. By the way, the Forte is actually a pretty cool looking car. I don't know anything about it, but they did a nice job designing it. Now you just need to get some stripes! Haha.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by lousyflyer

I remember when guitars didn't have stripes. Then this happened.

I thought that was pretty cool at the time. As my design sense developed, I'm not such a fan of carefully detailed randomness, haha. But no question that the design and guitar is an icon. IIRC, he had an OBS that picked up on that design.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Tom

This post is a bit ridiculous.
Should the supercars all be black and silver only as well? Ya know, so the bright colors don't draw attention...
Perhaps they just like the way it looks? I sell these cars all the time. Most owners don't give two Sh*ts what other people think. They have the money and it makes them happy.

Well now Tom, you sound a little bit bent out of shape. I think you forget that sometimes your perspective is a unique one based on what you do. I don't want you to think I was trying to be critical of the people who buy these cars but, yeah, I'm criticizing people who buy these cars and need stripes on them. I see these cars and I think of the good old days of the red Ferrari Enzo, and the white Lamborghini Countach. Iconic. Already over the top. Stripes would just be clutter. And I hate to break it to you, but roughly 9 out of 9 people who buy supercars and want stripes on them absolutely care what other people think of what they drive.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Right on the money here. By the way, the Forte is actually a pretty cool looking car. I don't know anything about it, but they did a nice job designing it. Now you just need to get some stripes! Haha.

Heh. I like the later model Kias with the black rocker and red accent within. Makes 'em go faster. I'm not dropping that kind of scratch on unneeded paint, though.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by special-K

LT7A, are you saying you don't find this paint becoming to the vehicle???

Hahaha! Maybe this one actually makes Tom's point, haha. There's no way you could care about what people think of what you drive if you drive that. But there's no question that person is trying to get noticed. That's kind of the heart of the matter. For me it's all about the car. What makes the car look it's best. And there is a growing disconnect between that and what people are willing to do to try to get attention. That wrap is about getting attention. It obscures the beautiful lines of the car. I'll tell you what I do like in that picture, whatever finish they put on the floor is outstanding. Subtle, but picks up the reflection of the car.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

This thread is actually super relevant for me:

As some of you know, I retired from GM and am now staying out of trouble designing accessories for Nissan. Mostly clear film protectors, graphics and lettering and such (with some bed liners and covers thrown in).

I just finished a stripe package for the new "Z" car, which I designed pretty much on my own. We didn't get much input from the studio, so I developed four proposals and asked them to pick one. They chose a dual stripe pattern, with a pinstripe on each side.

The other thing that is kind of unique is that it is a "ghost stripe" material: it is somewhat transparent and lets the vehicle body color show through. It is a pretty neat effect and really pops on some colors.

I don't have any artistic photos yet, and I'm not sure I can share anyway. But - here was my inspiration (seriously).

What's funny is that I used to be the guy that peeled all that stuff off. Now I'm designing it.

K

Note: sorry about the sideways photos. I am posting from my laptop and they are absolutely straight up when viewed in my photo files.

Keith, I'd like to see that ghost stripe material, it sounds pretty cool. Accessorizing has been a part of automotive culture, probably since day one. Henry Ford basically gave everybody a blank, black canvas, and I'll bet that that had an effect on some of the colors and striping and detailing that took place in the twenties and thirties. It'd be cool to see the accessories you're working on, as long as you're not disclosing something they don't want seen yet. I'm enjoying the interest this topic has generated. I think many of the cars we drive benefit greatly from accessorizing. I know that the first thing I want to do when I get a vehicle is to make it mine. Nowadays, with old trucks, returning to stock is a statement in itself. But accessories usually are the way of personalizing a vehicle. The essence of this thread though is like taking a statue figure by Michelangelo, if you had one, and putting a t-shirt on it. Might be funny, like the wrap in the previous post, but does nothing to improve the statue itself.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I like the dual stripes on the Camaro too Keith.

But I always did like them on the old Camaro's and Chevelle SS's. from the 60's and 70's.

I have black dual stripes on my Corvette. I think it breaks up the yellow a bit. My black Vette isn't getting stripes anytime soon.

There's no question that stripes look great on some cars. And I think it's clear by now that my point wasn't that all stripes are bad. In fact, I think these are some of the best looking stripes from the era.

[special-K]

I think we are talking "class" here. Sassy or classy. I can see wanting to add sassy looks to a supercar, but it takes class to resist and let the car (and hopefully your driving) stand out on it's own merit. I think Ford GT and I think white with blue racing stripe, iconic look. Graphics have been a part of sport styling since the '60s. The stripes pay tribute to the car's track performance, as do numbers and sponsor stickers. All through the muscle car era I never understood why I never saw a Nascar-inspired car on the road. It was jack it up and put big tires on the back with mag wheels and hood scoops, the drag racer vibe. Never a sports racing vibe which would be more suitable for the street. I always thought a Nascar-inspired car would have been really hip

[68bowtie]

I think so too.

[LT7A]

The NASCAR theme is one that I have thought through a few times. Never considered that it is actually more appropriate for street driving than the drag race look, especially with skinny tires up front. The thing I always ran into in my thought process was that even an approximation of the NASCAR look might seem over the top for the street. That truck above though, is clearly NASCAR derived, and manages to look good, racy, and sporty. So maybe my ideas are just trying to take it too far. I think a late seventies Chevy or Pontiac would be cool to do. Those wide steelies I think only are available up to 15, maybe 16 in. So it ought to be possible to fit tires without cutting the fenders like they were on the actual race cars. From there, the door height numbers, color combinations, and festooning with sponsor logos, all seem like too much. But if the car was black, it could look sinister or racy with wheels all the way from a dark gray, to silver, to gold, or any contrasting color. Black with gold wheels and some gold graphics would be more 80s in style, but might look cool on a late 70s sedan. And you could probably still modify one of those pretty significantly without getting too much hate mail.

[special-K]

People rich enough to buy supercars I am sure care what other people think, even though they may come off as that arrogant. They vary same as anyone, but they are people too. They may act like they don't care as part of their being rich, but like I said, they too are people. And I don't see most of them owning them due to being car enthusiasts to a higher degree as much as buying because they can afford it. More of a status symbol than anything, and that is all about caring what others think. To test this out, offer one to drive up to the country club in my '95 Suburban work wagon ex-K9 unit. See who cares what others think now!

[michael bustamante]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

a wise man never reveals his age...

i living man never revealed his wifes age...

[special-K]

Originally Posted by LT7A

The NASCAR theme is one that I have thought through a few times. Never considered that it is actually more appropriate for street driving than the drag race look, especially with skinny tires up front. The thing I always ran into in my thought process was that even an approximation of the NASCAR look might seem over the top for the street. That truck above though, is clearly NASCAR derived, and manages to look good, racy, and sporty. So maybe my ideas are just trying to take it too far. I think a late seventies Chevy or Pontiac would be cool to do. Those wide steelies I think only are available up to 15, maybe 16 in. So it ought to be possible to fit tires without cutting the fenders like they were on the actual race cars. From there, the door height numbers, color combinations, and festooning with sponsor logos, all seem like too much. But if the car was black, it could look sinister or racy with wheels all the way from a dark gray, to silver, to gold, or any contrasting color. Black with gold wheels and some gold graphics would be more 80s in style, but might look cool on a late 70s sedan. And you could probably still modify one of those pretty significantly without getting too much hate mail.

One could be done to varied degrees. Like the street cars that emulate drag cars, you just saw the stickers in the quarter windows and just a normal paint job. No "Eliminator", etc down the side. I'm thinking low with matching wide raised white letter tires, the wheels, dual pipes out in front of the right rear tire, roll cage, straps on glass, decals on the lower front fender, maybe a bold stock car style paint job, but mostly just the mechanical mods same as the 1/4-mile looking cars.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Keith, I'd like to see that ghost stripe material, it sounds pretty cool.

Here's a couple random photos.

It really reacts differently depending on the vehicle color.

K

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by special-K

One could be done to varied degrees. Like the street cars that emulate drag cars, you just saw the stickers in the quarter windows and just a normal paint job. No "Eliminator", etc down the side. I'm thinking low with matching wide raised white letter tires, the wheels, dual pipes out in front of the right rear tire, roll cage, straps on glass, decals on the lower front fender, maybe a bold stock car style paint job, but mostly just the mechanical mods same as the 1/4-mile looking cars.

Yeah, I think you're zeroing in on why I couldn't ever quite get it to work out in my head. The drag strip look usually, not always, but usually, happened with cars that were already cool in some way. Often related to the muscle cars. I guess what appealed to me about doing the NASCAR look on the street, would be using a less sought-after body style. Take the T-Bird from the late seventies for instance. Not my cup of "T" in any configuration really, no offense to anyone. But lowering and the wheels would look confusing without going full boat with the paint, etc. And then you're driving around with a vehicle that has the same visual impact of an NFL uniform. Just a little too much for me, haha. Going back to that truck recently posted, I think there's got to be a way to do it. Have to be well-planned in order to not look too contrived.