1973 Pinstripe question

[Ray S]

Was wondering if anyone out there might know the correct color or colors for the pinstripe on my 73 convertible.
I have the 1973 dealer salespersons book for ordering options and colors, which indicates a black stripe on a Colonial Yellow body. I also have literature from the Sloan museum which indicates a gold stripe for Colonial Yellow, and no charge for this item. Neither one indicates a choice, just states one color. I bought the car from the estate of the original owner and it had a black tape stripe but it was not original as the paint had been rodone on most of the car. It was also a single stripe, not a double line, and it ran under the door handles instead of above as I have seen in some photos.
Ironically, the 73 full line brochure pictures all Centurions without any stripes, including the convertible in Colonial Yellow! I'm just curious if the car could be ordered with or without stripes, in a choice of color, and if they were paint or tape, and single or double ? My 73 Riviera GS has factory gold tape stripes in a double line, one wider than the other. Photos on this website of other 73's vary, some have a double stripe,some have none, though I suspect many have been repainted at this point. I decided to remove the black stripe on my car and replaced it with a gold, double line stripe running above the door handle. So,..... does anyone know? By the way, great website!!!

[Centurion]

During all three years of Centurion production, the cars could be ordered with or without the striping. It is not unusual for the brochure photographs to show cars without the stripes. This was certainly the case for the '71 models as well. I would need to review my '72 brochure, but I am quite certain that the Formal Coupe in the brochure also lacked the stripe. I do not recall the '72 4-door hardtop photos, but I think that a Fire Red '72 convertible was shown with the stripes.

The stripes were painted on the '71 and '72 Centurions, but I believe that the stripes are taped for '73. This should be a double stripe as you expected, and I believe that one of the stripes was thicker than the other. And these would be located above the door handle, on the upper side of the body contour.

In '71, the small color/trim folder indicated the paint stripe color for each exterior body color. I suspect that the same would have been true for '73, but I do not have that piece of literature in my collection.

[Smartin]

Disregard my post, wrong info... as I deleted it.

I just looked in my 71 trim book. It does designate one color stripe for each paint color. I think my white car would've looked odd with a red stripe and blue interior!

Does anyone have a 73 trim book?

EDIT again - I found a wholesale car order, and on the back it states color combos.

Colonial Yellow = GOLD stripe.

[Ray S]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the info. I have both a 73 Trim book and a wholesale car order form, both of which give different info. The Trim book says the stripe should be black on a Colonial Yellow car, the wholesale order says gold stripe. If a car could be ordered deleting the stripe, I would think that a color could be specified on cars with a stripe. Of course the dealer could always add a stripe to a stock vehicle, though I know my car was ordered from the factory as the original owner was a dealership employee. I have a copy of the original dealer invoice and the Sloan museum build info, none of which specify color. I don't have the original window sticker either. And yes, typical GM for that period is a double stripe, with one line slightly wider than the other. I also looked back at the photos of my car on the website, which were taken with the black stripe, and I think it was a tape double stripe. It was not however, in the correct spot above the doorhandle. I decided to redo it in the correct place over the doorhandle in gold.

[Centurion]

Ray, I assume that this is your car from the Registry -- and it is certainly a beautiful example.

http://www.buickcenturion.com/1973/ray_s/73%20ds.JPG

Be sure to share an updated photo with us, showing your new pinstriping.

[Ray S]

Brian: yes, that's my car. You are right, I should post an updated photo. Another change I made besides the stripe was the addition of the mini storage console, one of the few options my car doesnt have. I found one on E Bay a few months ago. The reason the car is so highly optioned is because the original owner worked at a Buick dealer, and it was ordered for his mother. I bought it in 2002 it had about 81K miles, now has about 87K. I moved from New York to Florida in 2004 and drove it to Florida with no problems. All options work except seat belt reminder buzzer. Thanks again for your input on the stripe question. I will try to post an updated photo, the ones on the sight were posted in 2003. Ray

[Ray S]

Oops. Just looked at the old photo, I had forgotten that the old stripe did run above the door handle, but it was in the wrong position on the hood and rear fenders, that's why I changed it. Will try to get a newer photo with the new stripe and mini console posted on the site soon.
Also, I checked the 71 and 72 brochures, and it looks like non of the Centurion models are pictured with stripes.

[The German]

Ray, I want to add such stripes to my white Centurion of 1971 because it will look better with than without. But I don´t know how to get the right double line stripes; could you tell me where I can order them ?

Thanks before and best regards

Rolf

[Ray S]

Rolf: most major auto "chain" stores in the US sell pinstripe tape, the one I bought is called MultiStripe, and has two lines of stripes the same color, one a little wider than the other. Another source is on line, a website I believe is The Stripeman, and on that site they sell all sorts of stripes, graphics kits, etc. in all sorts of colors, including the one I mentioned by MultiStripe. The Stripeman sells larger rolls though, typically 150 feet, where the MultiStripe roll is about 40 feet. Hope this helps. Ray