Two Tone 1988 GT (Page 1/4)
Mythrondir APR 29, 08:15 PM
Just bought a 1988 GT and it's red with silver lower accent. In a matrix I found online, it indicated that the '88 GT didn't come with the two tone (lower accent) option. However, the previous owner had all of the paperwork back to the beginning of life for the car and we can't find anything indicating that it was painted that way. If it was aftermarket painted, they did an amazing job. Does anyone have any definitive knowledge of the production paint job of the '88 GT's?
skywurz APR 29, 08:51 PM
If the 10th digit on the vin is J its probably been painted or panels swapped. Does it have the vin tags on all the body panels?

See this chart from 88 database guy


As found here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/.../HTML/074587-18.html
Mythrondir APR 29, 08:58 PM
Sky, thank you for the response. That's a great idea to check the VIN's and I'll do that, it may clear this up. Thanks again.
fierofool APR 29, 10:59 PM
The paint code will also be on the RPO tag on the left front fender wall, near the master cylinder. It will have an upper and lower color that should match for an 88. If there are two colors indicated, and the VIN says 88 then you have a rare one.
Mythrondir APR 30, 12:05 AM
Thank you Fiero, another great path to solving the question. I'll post what I find tomorrow.
css9450 APR 30, 08:04 AM
I bet the original owner who bought the car was disappointed when GM did away with the silver on the lower body and thought it looked cheap. "Have you seen the new Fieros for 1988? All one color! Stupid penny pinching GM!" So they took it to the body shop and had them paint the lower body in silver to match the '86 and '87 GTs. Of course, 30+ years later the '88s are highly desireable and no one thinks they look cheap or weird.

[This message has been edited by css9450 (edited 04-30-2021).]

cam-a-lot APR 30, 09:21 AM

quote
Originally posted by css9450:

I bet the original owner who bought the car was disappointed when GM did away with the silver on the lower body and thought it looked cheap. "Have you seen the new Fieros for 1988? All one color! Stupid penny pinching GM!" So they took it to the body shop and had them paint the lower body in silver to match the '86 and '87 GTs. Of course, 30+ years later the '88s are highly desireable and no one thinks they look cheap or weird.




Two tone cars were stylish in the 70's and 80's, but tastes change. It doesn't make the car look "cheap" that is has one color instead of two. Just personal preference, or a design decision based on what they assumed was changing customer tastes Trans-AM , Mustang, etc of that area also started moving to a single color by late 80's

[This message has been edited by cam-a-lot (edited 04-30-2021).]

css9450 APR 30, 10:07 AM

quote
Originally posted by cam-a-lot:

Two tone cars were stylish in the 70's and 80's, but tastes change. It doesn't make the car look "cheap" that is has one color instead of two. Just personal preference, or a design decision based on what they assumed was changing customer tastes Trans-AM , Mustang, etc of that area also started moving to a single color by late 80's




I was merely speculating. It is possible the original owner preferred the two-tone GTs; hence why he might have had it painted. That is all.
Raydar APR 30, 02:19 PM

quote
Originally posted by css9450:
I was merely speculating. It is possible the original owner preferred the two-tone GTs; hence why he might have had it painted. That is all.



Probably the most likely scenario. I had a white 85 GT with silver, and really considered having the aero pieces painted monotone. Just to be different.
Mythrondir APR 30, 05:20 PM
Ok, on FieroFool's advice, and very "non-foolish" advice if I may, I checked the RPO codes and found that the paint is listed as 81U but no 18L is listed, thus effectively telling me that no lower code was present. However, that's a bit confusing since there is no reason to include the "U" if there is no upper AND lower codes to consider. Also, the Fisher code is WA-8774, again the Bright Red, but no lower code. Lastly, beside the Fisher code is another 81U with that confusing "U" thrown in there.

Can anyone confirm that a two tone RPO tag would clearly show something different. I'm 99% sure that it was repainted, but since I'm working on keeping the car as original as possible, I want to know for it's provenance sake. Thank you to everyone who has posted so far!