Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Looking for 1967 Barracuda paint scheme, in orange

I'm going ahead and set up a "Cream Sickle" ( thank you Steve E) paint scheme for my B44 sidecar rig.

I've seen some photos but can't really tell the details. The orange and white is pretty straight forward.......what I'm wondering about is any pin stripping. I'm thinking there was a black pinstripe on the side covers..(one of RR books).....but how about the tank?

I HAVE researched photos......but so far haven't come up with what I'm looking for.

I'm using the larger steel sculptured (1969 B44SS) tank so it's not going to be an accurate reproduction of the fiberglass 67 tank......but I'd like to get it as close as I can.

Any help out there?

Tanks in advance

Excellent! Looking forward to seeing it.

I can't help you, never seen one in person (wonder how many people actually have?). But after seeing gazillions with the same limited factory paint schemes, this will be a standout.

I'd suggest that you just do it the way you think it looks best. Doubt many critics will appear to tell you that you got the pinstriping wrong. However, I'll bet many will tell you that crazy "colour" combo is nothing BSA ever made...

Are you going to do white inserts on the side panels?

When I realized that I had one of the larger sculptured tanks here in nice shape and already in primer. It just makes sense to use it. Almost a gallon more capacity.

I want to copy the one pictured on the cover of Rupert's Everything But The Engine. So no sir, I'm not going to put the Ivory in the side panels. Brushfire Orange and Ivory. Looks like a black pin stripe on the battery cover? I have a fiberglass set of covers in Brushfire (69?)......and the battery side has a stripe but the oil tank cover doesn't? No way of knowing where they came from.

I have to use a different painter since Don Roe retired. But the fellow recommending the new guy has never let me down.

Not sure what to do about the badges. 67 was the single hole plastic......this 69 tank is large two hole metal.

I hear ya on not worrying much about it. It's not an attempt to create a replica. But heck if I gota pay to have it painted.......but I only want to pay for it once.....it's be nice to see a couple of good photos so I could decide. You've seen the same photo's online I have.....made it easy for me to decide not to go with the Ivory on the side covers. I'd love to see a shot of the top of the tank.......like you see of the Roadsters.

Wasn't original color Tangerine? Same as Brushfire?

According to Rupert's......Brushfire Orange was sometimes referred to by BSA as Tangerine......but not to be confused with the (70s?) Triumph Tangerine.

I have a set of covers......and a 69 B25 tank to use as examples. 99.9% sure about the tank....90% sure about the covers being a stock color?

I'm going to guess this could be a stock 67?......but it's just a guess.

Like I guess this could be a re-paint on a 68?

Gordon, have you seen this 69 on eBay?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1553190100...r=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Yes sir.....69 B25. I have a set of those. That tank is 3 gallon, steel.....which is larger than the earlier fiberglass. (and a better option for a rider IMO) BUT I want to use the even bigger tank at 3.9 gallon ( hence a need for a paint job...that tank's in primer) for my sidecar rig.

Thanks for the heads up though.

The 67 Barracuda would have had the fiberglass tank.......and unlike the 69 (250) it used Orange/Ivory on the tank instead of the 69's Orange/Gold.

Here's another example of BSA using Orange. One of the better attempts IMO.



I'd love to get my hands on an original 1967 (UK) Barracuda tank for my small collection.

Orange you glad I'm running out of options?

Heh-heh, I like this picture... using a Tri-square and a Stanley tape.

Non-OCD simplicity.

Turns out the "widest" part of the tank is about half way down between the badge indent and the bottom of the tank. None of the tanks I have like the one shown measure "exactly" the same anyway. Before I went to the trouble to measure them all this way......I was just pulling a tape across the bottom (oh heaven forbid) and "thought" I had different tanks because of the different measurements I was coming up with.....as much as 1/2" difference. Turns out I'm going to have to chalk that up to manufacturing tolerances.

Much respect for a fellow that can spot a Stanley...

Gordon,
That pic of the Bushman looks like it has the same motor as was in my Harley Hummer. I believe it started out as a 125 cc then went to 165cc, then 175c. It was made by DKW I think, My 58 Hummer had the 165cc version and would make 60 mph only with a tailwind and me laying out flat....but it had two wheels and was freedom I would not have otherwise had.

Mr Mike

Hope SidSnot (in NZ) doesn’t mind me stealing his photo.

Beautiful bike……I’m liking more and more the idea of using this color on one of my B44s. I’m wanting to go Ivory instead of gold to try and match some of the Barracudas

Looks bloomin lovely!

Update!!!!!

I FINALLY found a painter…….young fellow with a great attitude.

He’s got my large scalloped tank and a set of 69 B25 side covers…….also left a 67 fiberglass C25 tank so he has the correct paint layout and can match the Ivory.

Ed V says my engine will be ready soon too.

I’m excited about getting my sidecar rig back on the road and maybe my great adventure will actually happen.

A man needs dreams…..and a plan…..once you quit dreaming and planning…..well.

sounds great! you got to have a dream

How about this example which has the pinstriping on the tank and side panels.

The mudguards also seem to have been painted and have pinstriping as well, so not sure if original or not.

See This Link

Gunner, I haven't seen a real Barracuda....or at least don't remember it. I have a '67 C25 but it doesn't count.....it's in Nutley Blue.

There's a photo of what I "think" they looked like on the cover of Rupert Ratio's Volume 2. It doesn't seem to have pin striping on the tank but that might be a thin black stripe on the side cover???.

The 1969 B25 set of side covers and tank I have are in what I believe to be stock colors. They both have thin black pin striping.


That black stripe sure looks like the Barracuda's on this side cover.



This photo matches (best I can tell) the photo on the cover of RR Volume 2. So far I've not found another that doesn't look re-painted.



I'd love to add a set of those orange bits to my collection

I'm thinking the one in your link might be a repaint but I don't know for sure one way or the other.



I'm having my 3.9 gal sculptured metal tank painted to match that orange. I left a stock 1967 C25 tank with him ( in Nutely Blue) so he could match the layout and the ivory color. All this goes on my sidecar rig.

Tank's at least '68. No pinstripe on the side cover.

Was there an Orange option in '68?

I'm copying the earlier fiberglass lay out with the Ivory across the top of the tank. Probably try the thin black pinstripe on the side covers.

If it helps the "F" at the end of the UK registration means the bike was first registered in UK in 1968.
HTH

so does the "E" mean 1967?

Yes-- first registered in 1967.
But--- may have been built prior to that and languished on the dealers showroom floor----

Gordon, is that 68 tank possibly a 69/70 steel replacement, painted to match? Tail light is 67, seat looks to be 70, chromed parts, so...? Not much reliable to go off there, I'd guess.

(Edit- hmm, being a non-export model, maybe that tail light is a 68?)

I'd take the cover of Rupert's book as pretty strong proof. But then again, remember the cobbled VS on the cover of the Haynes manual?... maybe covers aren't such strong evidence.

Yes sir......I'd say that 68 is a repaint. Looks to be 67 forks too? The tank paint scheme doesn't match the 67 fiberglass....

I've been doing a little more research and found where a "gold" pinstripe was mentioned being used on the 69.......my set has "black".

Truth be known.......I'll never know for 100% sure what a 1967 Barracuda with the Orange option looks like.

I do like that black pinstripe on the side cover and might keep that for my cobbled together project.

That bike they picked for the cover of the Haynes manual..........never have understood that decision.

Yep, forgot about the forks, 67 it is. With commonly replaced steel tank, I'd guess.

I'm getting excited........tins at the painter and Ed V says the engine will be ready soon.

Who ever gets this bike after me will have the matching number engine to go with it.......but I'm not putting it in the frame. I've got an engine coming from Ed V for that purpose. The matching number engine has too much history for me and I want to just keep it where I can look at it.
John Healy, Ed V and Don Roe have all worked on it......you have to like that about it.

Just to add more confusion, I looked at the old Bacon Bible. Unfortunately b&w pictures, but it seems to show the C25 tanks as (possibly?) solid color, and the side panels with white inserts (and black pinstriping). Dunno if blue or orange...?

Rupert's engine manual has on page 6 a black and white of what he calls "one of the small number of orange ones..."

Hard to tell BUT to me it looks like the Ivory is across the top of the tank ( like all the fiberglass tanks I have here) and a solid orange side cover.

I have a photo around here somewhere that has the orange side covers with the Ivory inserts........hard to look at IMO.

All that said........there are a lot of photos showing an all Orange tank......with the small plastic badge (1967) This poor thing has a lame seat recover and painted fenders????



I don't know if you remember but the NOS 67 tank I got from British Only YEARS ago..........was a small plastic badge 250 tank.......in red?????? As far as I know that was never an option for the 250......but I have one. The reason you can tell it was for a 250 is the placement of the petcocks. BOTH are pointing straight down......the rest of my fiberglass tanks (red or blue) have one pointing straight down and one angled. With them both pointing down one fouls on a B44's engine.....but not on the 250. I put it off as an early tank and BSA changed gears before production. Someone said the fiberglass tanks were laid up at the workers home......not knowing that process I'm not sure if it could have just been a human error???? Anyway I purchased it as a B44 NOS 1967 tank........bottom line it wouldn't work on a 441.

I thought I let that tank go......but I still have it.

Good ole BSA.........keeping ya guessing

Interestingly, Bacon's description of C25 doesn't mention blue, only Bushfire Orange. Sez petrol tank is Bushfire Orange and white with black separating line. Bushfire Orange side cover and oil tank (no white or striping mentioned). Also interesting... chrome or white mudguards.

Hard to imagine Nutley Blue not being an option in the UK in 1967????

Just to confuse matters further, regarding the UK registration suffix, there was actually a cross over period from Jan 67, where instead of the suffix covering the whole year (Jan - Dec), it ran Jan 67 to July 67 (E suffix) and then Aug 67 to July 68 (F suffix).

So a 1967 model could have had an E or F suffix, see list below.

Jan 1966 - Dec 1966 - D
Jan 1967 - Jul 1967 - E
Aug 1967 - Jul 1968 - F
Aug 1968 - Jul 1969 - G

Since the F suffix covered Aug 67 to July 68, there is only a 50% chance or less that the bike was made in 67.

I thought I didn't have (or never had) Bacon's book........but I do, I just forgot. I haven't looked at it in over 20 years. I'm going to have to pull it out and confuse myself even more.

For a 1967 BSA Barracuda (UK only) offered in Bushfire Orange

1. Pin stripes or not on fuel tank?
2. Pin stripes on the oil tank and sidecover?
3. If it had pin stripes, what color?
4. Color scheme for the tank?
5. Color scheme for the oil tank and side covers?
6. Was there an Bushfire Orange option offered in 1968?
7. If there was......1-5 all over again

I know "It's only a Victor"

I just checked the colors on the RS Paints website Here and found this info for C25's and B25's :-

C25 - 1967, Nutley Blue or Bush-fire Orange, both with Ivory panel
B25 - 1966, 1967 & 1968, Nutley Blue with Ivory panel
B25 - 1969 & 1970 Flamboyant Aircraft Blue (candy) or Bush-fire Orange

Assuming the website is correct, a C25 from 1967 could be either Nutley Blue or Bush-fire Orange, both with Ivory panels.

The B25's from 1966 to 1968 were all Nutley Blue with Ivory panels, and in 1969 to 1970 they were Flamboyant Aircraft Blue (candy) or Bush-fire Orange, but no ivory panel.

There is no mention of pin-striping.

Don't go by Bacon's book for US bikes, he wrote them based on UK sales literature and unless some US literature leaked out he ignored US variations.

That’s the reason I haven’t picked it up in over 20 years.

I refer to it as "Bible" with tongue in cheek... Bacon's Singles Restoration has some information I've never found elsewhere, and has proved valuable in that respect. But to consider it the final word on anything would be a mistake. And yes, his American references are infrequent, and he usually doesn't distinguish them as such. It is just one component in figuring out BSA mysteries...

I still need to drag that book out and look through it again. I got lazy when Rupert’s came out…..but it’s not 100% accurate either.

I’m finding lots of photos of later metal sculptured tanks in all orange and wonder if that wasn’t an option in the UK for the early 1968 bikes? In the US we got fiberglass for 68.

1969 saw the exported (US) 250 in Orange……BSA still had a soft spot for the color. I believe it ran over to one of the OIF A65s too.

OIF A65s were a different colour again, the early press/catalogue images were more red in hue than orange, though the 71s were more a bright metalic orange when you start looking at original parts.

I've heard it said that the bushfire orange used on the C25, the US 69' B25 and the Bantam Bushman was a mixture of Post-office red and AA yellow. - don't know how much truth is in that but I like the story.

My “new” painter knows nothing about Brit bikes. He told me he’d need a year and model so he could come up with the paint numbers. I just kinda laughed and told him to just let his paint supplier use their tools for the match……nobody’s going to tell me it’s not correct. He’s got a good set of 69 side covers for the Orange and a 67 (Nutely Blue) tank to get the layout and to be able to match the Ivory. Not sure yet but I might get him to re-paint an early fiberglass tank for the shelf.

By the way, if you've found a good competent painter dude, you might share his contact info with a PM unless that's like giving away a prime fishing spot.....

All mine are retired or gone away from us ...

Lannis

Lannis......I'm going on a motorcycling friend's recommendation. So far, I like the guy. Young with a good attitude. Let me see how this goes and I'll report back. My friend gave me three names........this one was the fellow "most likely to finish the job this year"

I feel your pain......Having Don around spoiled me. I'm holding my breath.

That is because after his first few books the rest were ghost written.
Basically they are nothing more than the BSA publicity material that was sent to magazine he worked for.
he kept everything that came across his desk and apparently every thing that got tossed out by others as well
Then rearranged the bumph into a book
Every now & then period factory literature comes up and large swathes of them is to be found verbatum in his publications which by now is several hundred books .
So as the factory did not send a UK magazine the USA publicity packs, almost no USA specific is to be found in any of his books .
Also what the factory sent out pre season & what was actually made were often not exactly the same so there are a lot of these types of errors in all of his publications .
The only thing worthwile in his restorations books are the appendixes abut again a lot of what is there is wrong because it was what they were told was going to happen & not what actually did happen.
In particular the finishes as there are the UK only finishes not the US, ( east or west ) , Canada, Australia ,Europe or general export finishes all of which were often different .