After rebuilding, the R36 cars were repainted in a scheme involving a deep maroon red body, black front bonnets and anti-climbers, and a silver roof prior to returning to service. At first, the scheme was known as "Silver Fox", "Broad Street Red", or "Gunn Red" (after NYCT chief David L. Gunn) and was a graffiti-resistant red. By 1989, the Gunn Red would evolve into the "Redbird" scheme best known to many New Yorkers, with beige interiors, red exterior paint and interior doors and black, and silver exterior trim along with the car windows, roof, and undersides. In 1999, the R36 cars were the most reliable in the NYCT fleet, with a Mean Distance Between Failure (MDBF) rate of 194,150 miles, despite being 35 years old at the time. While in decent shape mechanically, rust holes and car body corrosion were beginning to form in the sides of most of the cars.