Paint code problem

[Rigpig]

I have a plain White AE101 97 Corolla Sedan.

Assembled in New Zealand at the Thames plant.

Rego checks also show the car as being white

The Color code from the manufacturer plate on the firewall is 1C1 which comes up online as a silver metallic.

I´m pretty certain that the car has never been repainted as there are no signs of silver anywhere in the car either in the boot or the engine bay. It´s WHITE There is no overspray anywhere and all of the original stickers/plaques seem to be intact.

The car is in great condition in every respect other than the front bumper has some scratches and I want to respray it.

Some places online suggest that the colour code is also on the sticker with the tyre pressures inside the driver side door, not on my car its not!

So any help sorting this out would be great. It seems that the only white in 97 was paint code 040 so I could risk going with that but would prefer to get to the bottom of the "wrong colour code" before I go and buy paint.

Any suggestions? Did NZ have different colour codes?

Any help really appreciated.

Tim

[GDII]

USA cars have the paint code and chassis information on the door sticker. JDM and NZDM cars do not.

Try put your chassis code into this website. It's very accurate. http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q.html

[Rigpig]

That's the best VIN decoder I've seen yet. Thanks!

No info regarding the color though. Unless I am missing something.

[85AW20v]

Some panelbeaters/sprayshops, especially the bigger ones, are using spectrometers to get the correct paint colour as it will take into account sun fade and age. Have a ring around and see what they say.

[GDII]

That's the best VIN decoder I've seen yet. Thanks!

No info regarding the color though. Unless I am missing something.

It should have Colour Code listed.

[1I1]

There are a heap of 040 white options anyway - if you're getting some paint made up the best bet would be to take the car past so it can be matched.

[Rigpig]

That's the best VIN decoder I've seen yet. Thanks!

No info regarding the color though. Unless I am missing something.

It should have Colour Code listed.

The frame number on the Corolla is the same as the vin number with a gap after 9 letters. Either way I enter it it does not give me the exact vehicle. I still have to enter transmission type etc, maybe that's why?

I also have an Altezza and the vin code is not recognized but the frame number is. That brings up the correct paint code.

Thanks very much for all the answers. I guess I will try a body shop and see if they can match directly from the car.

[GDII]

I have had that problem before. NZDM cars seem to do this sometimes.
Best to get it matched as paint does change colour over the years.

Make sure the section of paint is polished up otherwise it might not be the exact colour. I have a 1990 EP81 Starlet that is 040 white. I've polished the whole car except the bonnet, the car is white but the bonnet is slightly yellow due to oxidation. Also bumpers/plastics change paint colour different to the body/metal parts.

[Rigpig]

I have had that problem before. NZDM cars seem to do this sometimes.
Best to get it matched as paint does change colour over the years.

Make sure the section of paint is polished up otherwise it might not be the exact colour. I have a 1990 EP81 Starlet that is 040 white. I've polished the whole car except the bonnet, the car is white but the bonnet is slightly yellow due to oxidation. Also bumpers/plastics change paint colour different to the body/metal parts.

Thanks,

I only got the car a few weeks ago for a city runabout, it's got 320,000 k's on it but the last owner had it for 11 years and obviously looked after it. There are new parts everywhere.

Cosmetically it was fairly sound but the paint was flat and dull, I gave it a good cut and polish, restored and painted the wheel trims and repainted some of the trim satin black and it looks very tidy now apart from the scratches on the front bumper and some stone chips. The scratches are not deep, looks like it's just rubbed up against something at some point.

The white bodywork came up good after being cut back and polished but there is a very faint yellowish tinge to it. Might come up a bit better with a buffer and higher quality products but that's probably being picky

I need to repaint the side rubbing strips but don't want to take them off so will try masking off one of the small bits on the wing and see how it comes up first.

And one headlight is new and the other faded so I'll have to get that sorted.

I prefer older cars but like them to look tidy and original. I'm using the Corolla to practice on before tackling some cosmetic work on the Altezza.