1969 Paint

Paint Codes - 1969

It should be noted up front that there are no known numbers for any particular color for a particular series or body style whether it be a solid color or two tone. There are also no known numbers for the different colors of convertible or vinyl tops. So just how many red (or any color) SS 396 sport coupes (or any other series) were built is not known and cannot even be calculated. There are a known number of Hugger Orange and Daytona Yellow SS-only colors known but neither by series or body style.

1969 COLORS (9xx RPO)	PAINT CODE / SALES NAME / QTY Color	LUCITE	RINSHED-MASON	DITZLER
(910AA)	10 ~ Tuxedo Black - El Camino Black ~ 7,441	88L	A-946	9300
(916YY)	40 ~ Butternut Yellow - El Camino Yellow ~ 27,028	5036L	A-1715	81500
(911CC)	50 ~ Dover White - El Camino White ~ 33,152	5033L	A-2080	2058
(923EE)	51 ~ Dusk Blue - El Camino Dark Blue ~ 19,230	5016L	A-2098	2075
(913RR)	52 ~ Garnet Red - El Camino Red ~ 29,449	5099LH	A-2099R	2076
(922DD)	53 ~ Glacier Blue - El Camino Blue ~ 36,377	5015L	A-2100	2077
(921KK)	55 ~ Azure Turquoise - El Camino Turquoise ~ 22,980	5014L	A-2101	2078
(920VV)	57 ~ Fathom Green - El Camino Dark Green ~ 41,226	5013L	A-2102	2079
(919WW)	59 ~ Frost Green⁽²⁾- El Camino Lime ~ 81,883	5012L	A-2103	2080
(918SS)	61 ~ Burnished Brown - El Camino Dark Brown ~ 17,724	5011L	A-2104	2081
(917MM)	63 ~ Champagne - El Camino Champagne ~ 23,610	5064L	A-2105	22813
(915GG)	65 ~ Olympic Gold - El Camino Gold ~ 44,118	5010L	A-2106D	2082
(914NN)	67 ~ Burgundy - El Camino Maroon ~ 14,415	5063LH	A-2107M	50700
(912BB)	69 ~ Cortez Silver - El Camino Silver ~ 20,419	5032L	A-2108	2059
(924FF)	71 ~ LeMans Blue - El Camino Bright Blue ~ 51,060	5030L	A-2109	2083
(927QQ)	72 ~ Hugger/Monaco Orange - El Camino ⁽¹⁾ Orange ~ 5,194	5021LM	A-2111R	2084
(926PP)	76 ~ Daytona Yellow - El Camino ⁽¹⁾ Bright Yellow ~ 2,841	5026LH	A-2119	2094
Special & Prime	3,465

Notes:
⁽¹⁾ Only available with SS or COPO option and coded appropriately on the trim tag as 72 or 76. When special ordered on a NON-SS optioned car, the paint code would show - - (two dash characters unless vinyl top was ordered as well), blank, or the OEM paint supplier's mixing code will be shown. Some GM documentation calls the color Monaco Orange while others call it Hugger Orange. The PPG color chip chart lists it as Hugger Orange under Chevrolet except the Corvette section which is listed as Monaco Orange; both carry the same PPG paint code 2084. For consistency on this site paint code 72 will be referred to as Hugger Orange as the primary when referring to the 1969 Chevelle as that is how the color is best known; interesting that at least one Baltimore window sticker used the name Hugger Orange. Both colors were a $42.15 option when ordered with the SS 396 equipment package.

⁽²⁾ Both sales names of "Frost Lime" and "Frost Green" have been found on various GM documents.

⁽¹⁾ The 1968 Camaro was marketed as "The Hugger" for its handling characteristics. When the orange color was introduced as a factory color in 1969 the Camaro's sales name was called "Hugger Orange" where the Corvette was "Monaco Orange." Chevelle documentation shows both sales names.

Both Hugger/Monaco Orange and Daytona Yellow could be ordered on any non-SS Chevelle but the trim tag would reflect the paint code section with either a blank area, dash character ( - ) or the DuPont mixing formula depending on the particular assembly plant's standard operating procedure. A vinyl of convertible top color would be noted with the appropriate letter if applicable just as a normal color selection would be. Special order paint had to be approved by the Fleet & Special Order section of Chevrolet. Special order paint could be any color available by any automotive paint manufacturer except Cadillac Firemist colors due to the coarseness of the metallic in the paint and, supposedly, Corvette exclusive colors.

See my GM A-Body Special Paint Information page for more information on special paint colors.

* Interesting to note that even though the paint codes on the trim tag changed to numbers from letters, factory to dealer invoices still used letters to identify the paint color of the more 'standard' colors like 'CC' for white, 'RR' for red, etc. along with 50-50 DOVER WHITE in the Description, but Car Shipper paperwork shows 50-50 DOVER WHITE.

The lower body panel on Malibus for Argent Silver is DuPont mixing formula 927-95905 or 41253, Ditzler (PPG) color number is DE-8568.

Special paint trim tags show a dash character(s) or blank area on Baltimore tags. Two have been brought to my attention, both with 06D body dates as it turns out. One purported to be Hugger/Monaco Orange (72) has a code of B1357 just after the body date and another purported to be Rallye Green (79) and a code of 1699. These codes are found just after the date code on the bottom line and not in the typical paint code area.

Two-Tone
Lower	Upper

		53/50 (954DC) ~ Glacier Blue / Dover White ~ 4,590

		53/51 (955DE) ~ Glacier Blue / Dusk Blue ~ 798


		51/53 (956ED) ~ Dusk Blue / Glacier Blue ~ 833

		65/50 (957GC) ~ Olympic Gold / Dover White ~ 5,057
		65/50 (957GC) ~ Olympic Gold / Dover White ~ 5,057

		55/50 (958KC) ~ Azure Turquoise / Dover White ~ 4,754


		61/63 (959SM) ~ Burnished Brown / Champagne ~ 5,658

It should be noted the double-letter codes below are ordering codes. Where applicable on the Fisher Body number plate a single letter is used.

COLOR	CONVERTIBLE TOP CODE ~ COLOR
	A ~ White (RPO C05AA)
	B ~ Black (RPO C05BB)

COLOR	VINYL TOP CODE ~ COLOR
	B ~ Black (RPO C08BB)
	E ~ Parchment (RPO C08EE)
	C ~ Dark Blue (RPO C08CC)
	F ~ Dark Brown (RPO C08FF)
	G or S ~ Midnight Green (RPO C08GG)

Color Rating by Sales

It needs to be pointed out that there is no known breakdown of color and specific series or body style, numbers are for all 1969 Chevelles including convertibles where they would have a convertible top and sport coupes where they might have a vinyl top. Colors are listed total number of sales from most to least. Two-tone combinations are listed separately.

Popularity Number	Total Reported Sold	Color
1	81,883	Frost Lime
2	51,060	LeMans Blue
3	44,118	Olympic Gold
4	41,226	Fathom Green
5	36,377	Glacier Blue
6	33,152	Dover White
7	29,449	Garnet Red
8	27,028	Butternut Yellow
9	23,610	Champagne
10	22,980	Azure Turquoise
11	20,419	Cortez Silver
12	19,230	Dusk Blue
13	17,724	Burnished Brown
14	14,415	Burgundy
15	7,441	Tuxedo Black
16	5,194	Hugger/Monaco Orange *
17	3,465	Special & Prime
18	2,841	Daytona Yellow *
* Only available with RPO Z25 SS 396 Equipment option.

Popularity Number	Two-tone	Colors - lower/upper
1	5,658	Burnished Brown / Champagne
2	5,057	Olympic Gold / Dover White
3	4,754	Azure Turquoise / Dover White
4	4,590	Glacier Blue / Dover white
5	833	Dusk Blue / Glacier Blue
6	798	Glacier Blue / Dusk Blue

GM of Canada Paint Code Chart

General Motors of Canada, LTD. offered many of the same colors as their U.S. counterpart. Although these colors are listed as 1969 General Motors Buick-Chev-Olds-Pontiac - Canadian & U.S. Production on the paint code chart, it is unknown if these additional colors were available on Chevelles as well. Several Canadian colors were identical to U.S. colors, only the sales names were a bit different.

1969 Canadian Color Chart

Color vs. Sales Name

Paint color names often differ from the advertised Sales Name. One example might be where the factory paint color is simply RED but the sales name may be BOLERO RED or CRANBERRY RED. Yes, the paint mixing formulas are different between BOLERO RED and CRANBERRY RED but to the factory it was still just red. In a case where their may be two or more hues of a color with sales names such as DEEPWATER BLUE, NANTUCKET BLUE, and MARINA BLUE, the factory colors are simply shown as MEDIUM BLUE, DARK BLUE, or BRIGHT BLUE. A given paint color for a year may have a different sales name for Chevrolet than it does for say Buick, Oldsmobile, or Pontiac. An example of this is the 1969 sales name for Chevrolet of HUGGER/MONACO ORANGE is the same color as the 1969/1970 Pontiac sales name of CAROUSEL RED. Same color, same OEM supplier mixing formula, just different sales names for the two GM divisions.