Approximately on the same subject, I had a '66 mustang that was Firemist Blue (a 1970's GM color), but the engine compartment was painted black, with the blue on the underside of the hood. The paint job was awsome -- done by the PO. The car was definitely not done to resemble stock. I rather liked the way it was done.

Anyway my Z is in need of some body work (and then obviously paint), and I'm evaluating my options. I thought the blacked out engine compartment worked well for the Mustang. I'm wondering whether I should consider doing the same for the Z. I would probably be changing body color to a non-OEM color like a deep metallic red. Would a black engine compartment be a turn-off? Perhaps a semi-matte surface (unlike the Mustang, which was glossy)? Opinions?

Edited December 19, 201014 yr by FastWoman

I have a two seater that the PO or the PO before that changed from white to some bloody terrible shade of non nissan blue. The interior paint was left the original white and the whole thing does not do much for me at all.

The car is now going through a slow staged refresh starting from the ground up and I had the engine bay and the underneath of the car painted black while the engine and gearbox were removed. The rest of the car will be returned to white with black fibreglass bumpers, black vents in the bonnet and possibly black mirrors - can easily change any or all of the black exterior items to white if it does not look the goods. The interior is black.

I know the black in the engine bay has been discussed in other threads and members offered differing opinions on what they thought best. For me, black engine bays flow well into the underside of the car and look great when the car is viewed from underneath when they are raised on a hoist. I do think that the underside of the bonnet / hood looks great if left the same as the exterior colour of the car.

However, if I was Mike in the original post and doing a blast and full respray on a vehicle that is likely to be kept original, then I would probably only do a colour change if it was to be a full high quality respray.

Edited December 19, 201014 yr by boyblunda
Clarifying comment.

If your leaning toward original colors, I wonder about a complete color changeover to another original color. How would that effect the value? Do you like any other original colors?

If it's not a survivor wearing original paint, but the repaint is at least as good and comprehensive as the factory paint job was, I think it does not matter what color it is, the value will be stable...assuming you don't pick too eccentric a color or scheme.

Approximately on the same subject, I had a '66 mustang that was Firemist Blue (a 1970's GM color), but the engine compartment was painted black, with the blue on the underside of the hood. The paint job was awsome -- done by the PO. The car was definitely not done to resemble stock. I rather liked the way it was done.

Anyway my Z is in need of some body work (and then obviously paint), and I'm evaluating my options. I thought the blacked out engine compartment worked well for the Mustang. I'm wondering whether I should consider doing the same for the Z. I would probably be changing body color to a non-OEM color like a deep metallic red. Would a black engine compartment be a turn-off? Perhaps a semi-matte surface (unlike the Mustang, which was glossy)? Opinions?

Sarah,

FWIW, my personal preference is for the engine compartment paint to match the rest of the car. While a black engine compartment certainly looks much better than one with original paint that doesn't match the rest of the car, I believe 100% matching paint is the way to go on a classic Z car.

Our 240Z's had matching paint in the engine copartments.

However, many domestic cars of the same time period had matte black engine compartments, regardless of the exterior paint color. If I recall correctly, for some "show" Mustangs, the paint shop has to replicate the correct amont of black overspray at the base of the firewall or they lose points. Also, exterior paint surface finish is supposed replicate the correct amount of orange-peel.