What a great resource, thanks! I want to study this a bit more, but it looks like the Tropical Turquoise cars were only available with turquoise trim, and Larkspur Blue cars were only available with blue trim.
There is a tremendous amount of documentation on how tri-fives were built. That's why we can say thus-and-so with great confidence, and quickly recognize someone who hasn't done their homework. But, reliable documentation on the special ordering process for a customer who wanted something not on the lot is practically nonexistent, to my knowledge. And, at this point, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who worked at a dealership that did special orders who's still alive and accurately remembers how it was done.
We know with certainty how the interior and exterior colors were matched in standard production, but we don't know anything about nonstandard combinations. Would the factory accept an order for a white car with a blue interior? I have no idea. I can say with certainty they wouldn't accept an order for a 6 cylinder car with a Turboglide transmission, because the transmission won't bolt up.
Keep in mind the whole special order thing was still evolving at this point in time. The long menu of options with option codes so familiar to 1960s Chevelle and Camaro owners hadn't yet evolved. So, you can't assume that tri-five special orders worked the same way.
Prior to World War II, there were essentially no drivetrain options for just about any car. A certain model came with a certain engine and transmission, and that's that. (Higher-end cars such as Buick would have several distinct models with different wheelbases and different drivetrains, but a given model still had only 1 engine available). So, it was pretty much - pick your model and body style, pick your color, and add whatever dealer installed accessories you wanted. Done. If you look at the dealer-installed accessories, there were piles of them, but they were all items that bolted on, or only required a modest amount of drilling or cutting. If you study the tri-five accessories installation manual, that's pretty much how it had been done for a number of years.
Prior to WW II, I guess a dealer could have special-ordered a certain standard color for a certain body style, but that's pure conjecture on my part with no documentation to back it up. Other than getting a specific body style in a specific color, there wasn't anything
to special-order, as factory-installed options were pretty much nonexistent.
That would have carried over in the early postwar period, as new 1946-48 cars sold as fast as they hit the dealer's lot. Sales of new cars to the general population ended in February of 1942, and remained thus through the end of the war, so there was a huge pent-up demand for anything new. Things started to change with the introduction of the 1949 models. But, that's a whole different discussion.
