1966 Atlas colour match

The P11A Ranger 750, was a candy apple red, or a metal flake colour, and the Atlas had a more of a maroon or darker colour finish.

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That could be for the export Atlas, that went to Berliner in New York, and may be not the home market. That part's book has so many mistakes, when a part number for a nut is really a washer. It also depends on when the bike was made, as it could have been dispatched in 1966 but constructed in 1965. Is it a home market Atlas or an export Atlas?

Candy Apple Red and Cherry Red were both metallic red colours used on Norton tanks  in the 1960s.  The Candy Apple version tended to be for the off-road hybrid bikes and the Cherry Red colour for the Atlas 750 road bikes. However, in the US the Candy Apple Red appeared as an optional colour on both the mark 2 Atlas and mark 2 Manxman. The latter actually being a 650SS in disguise.

The Atlas Cherry Red colour is made up from layers of primer, base paint and tinted  lacquer and is quite difficult to reproduce using DIY methods such as car paint spray tins. 

However, a few years ago the first generation of Citreon Cactus cars arrived in the UK and two models of these were painted in differing shades of metallic red. The brighter version of this metallic red, I feel, is very close to the original  Atlas Cherry Red. The Citreon  reds are  called Jelly Red and Sport. Though whether these are the metallic version I know not.

It's far too complicated trying to match up the Atlas red - I prefer the Atlas flamboyant green Part No : 22630A.   The red was a Matchless colour after all.  Cheers, Howard