GM A-Body Special Paint Information
Special Paint was an option under RPO ZP3 beginning in 1966. Plants varied on the method special paint was shown on the Fisher Body Number Plate.
GM special paint info from numerous website discussions with Jim
Mattison (former Fleet & Special Order (F&SO office at GM) and owner of Pontiac Historical
Services.
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It appears that your car was special ordered through the Chevrolet Fleet &
Special Order Department (many of you folks call it the COPO Group).
During the years that I was a part of this group, we processed many
orders for vehicles with special paint. Although these vehicles were
ordered with "special paint", they are not considered
to be COPO cars. I'm surprised that more of these "special
paint" cars haven't shown-up, as many of these orders were for
performance cars.
The paint information (926-99568) that you have on both the build sheet
and on the trim tag "is" in fact a DuPont paint number. I
don't understand why your local DuPont folks can't identify it for you.
The "926" denotes that the color is a non-metallic and the "99568"
is the mixing formula. While this color may in fact be for Daytona Yellow,
it could also be for some other yellow, including a truck color, or
a yellow from another car manufacturer. The paint information that was
stamped on your trim tag was supposed to be able to assist you or your
body shop to identify the "special paint" color, if repair
or re-painting was needed at a later date.
If your local paint supplier cannot identify the paint code, I'd give
them a piece of this original paint, from an area that has not been
exposed to the elements. Hopefully they can scan the color and provide
you with a proper match.
Let me know if I can be of any other help to decipher the color.
Jim Mattison
The prefix "767" denotes that the color is DuPont metallic
wheel enamel. Non-metallic wheel enamel would be "766".
I am reasonably sure that I didn't process this order, and yes, the
entire wheel on this Chevelle SS would have been painted gold. Some
of the guys in my group didn't take the time to think about the possibility
of a car having some type of sport wheels. You have to remember that
the majority of our business was that of police cars, taxis and municipal
vehicles, which came with the standard steel wheels. Occasionally, the
plant would call and question the painting instructions, but not all
that often!
The next five (5) digits are for the mixing formula of the paint. While
I'm not 100% sure, I believe that "98457" is the mixing formula
for Anniversary Gold, which has been used on a variety of Chevy’s over
the years, to commemorate various anniversaries.
On your other Chevelle, the mixing formula "99616" is for
what we used to call "Road Commission Orange". This was a
very popular special order color on trucks, but some cars were ordered
with it too! Mostly on "hot rods"!!!
The "1001HA" is the pricing code for the special paint. The
charges for a solid color special paint would vary from no charge (1001AA)
to $125.00 (1001HA). We would paint a vehicle any color under the rainbow
except for the Cadillac Firemist colors and Corvette colors. Our special
paint book would have thousands of special colors in it, with more being
added weekly. Unfortunately, those days are gone forever!!!
I can still remember the cars that we special painted "Kelly Green"
for John Delorean, when he was general manager of Chevy and dating Kelly
Harmon. Lots of special "Pink" cars for Nancy Sinatra, too!!!
F&SO "RD0066" refers to the document number for the special
order instructions. My department assigned these numbers. This order
was the 66th at this plant for the 1970 model year. I believe that the "R"
is for the GM Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas?
I hope that this information is helpful.
Wow!!! It appears that there is a lot of interest in the special
paint process. I'll do my best to answer most all of everyone’s questions.
First, back in the late 60s and early 70s anyone could order their new
Chevy with a special color. Literally any color under the rainbow was
available, except for the Cadillac Fire mist colors.
The pricing for a solid color "Special Paint" would vary between
no charge and $125.00. Volume would dictate the pricing.
If the customer was a fleet account, or if the dealer would order multiple
vehicles in the same color, the pricing would be n/c. However, if the
dealer would order a single unit, the pricing could go as high as $125,
with various prices in between, based on many other factors.
Some of the other conditions that would require a car order to come
through my group was: "Delete Stripes" on a Z-28, Chevelle
SS, or other model with painted stripes. Colors that were current production,
but on a different model, would also require our approval. We did lots
of cars in "Hugger Orange" that normally didn't come in that
color as n/c. Also, you wouldn't believe the number of Chevrolet's that
were painted the popular 1968-69 Pontiac color, "Verdoro Green"!
I even remember a fair number of cars being ordered in the 1970 Chrysler
color "Plum Crazy"!
It is too bad that I can't get to the Supercar Reunion this year and
answer many of your questions in person. It would be so much easier
to explain in more detail. However, with the production on the F-body
coming to a close, GM has me scheduled to go to the Corvette Museum
and represent both Chevy and Pontiac on the same weekend at the Camaro-Firebird
Gathering, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Jim Mattison
The Cadillac Firemist colors were excluded due to them having such a
coarse metallic. These colors needed to be sprayed through a special
paint gun. Even on a Cadillac, the Firemist paint was quite a costly
option!
As for book........... I'll be the first to confess that I thoroughly
enjoyed the years that I spent at Chevrolet. Lots of things were going
on! It was a time in the automotive industry that we will never see
again, as the industry has changed so dramatically!
I'll be happy to talk to folks about some of my experiences at Chevrolet
(both the good and the bad), if I were to see you at a show or event.
However, I sincerely doubt if anyone would ever want to read about my
adventures. I was just a small fish in a big pond!
Jim Mattison
The pricing for "Special Paint" was based on if the color
was a current production color on another Chevy model, the number of
vehicles ordered and if the account was a "Fleet Account".
We would also have the ability to, at our discretion, change the paint
pricing on an order, if we felt that it was justified. Pricing varied
but I remember that 1001HA was a $75 charge and that 1001PA was a $25
charge.
As for the paint, DuPont would send an ample amount to both the Fisher
Body facility and to the corresponding Chevrolet plant. All of this
paint was "factory package" direct from DuPont, so color matching
wouldn't be a problem.
Also, on all special paint orders, a quart of paint would be shipped
in the glove box of the car, so that the dealer could do any touch-up,
if needed. A note would accompany this quart of paint, recommending
that the owner write down the paint number inside their owner’s manual
for future reference.
Special Paint Colors Found To Date
While not exclusive to 1970, special order colors seem to be more common with this year. Some DuPont paint code formulas found on build sheets and/or trim tags are: 926-76248, 926-99568, 926-98371, 926-99616, 926-97249, 927-98457, and 927-99918.
The first 3 digits denote non-metallic (926) or
metallic (927) paint.
The last 5 digits are the mixing formula for DuPont. Colors found
so far:
Unknown 926-27193, found on 1970 Van Nuys, CA. El Camino trim tag. Did
find a DuPont paint code 93-27153 which is an old (1958) GM paint color
of Spray Green and is a close match to a paint chip chart.
926-93253 - Orange
926-97249 ~ Red
926-98371 ~ Light Blue - 1969*
926-96881 ~ Light Blue - 1970*
926-98371 ~ Light Blue
- 1971-1972*
926-99539 ~ Orange (similar to Pontiac Carousel Red)
926-99568 ~ Yellow (1969 code 76, Daytona Yellow)
926-99616 ~ Orange (1969 code 72, Hugger/Monaco Orange)
927-98457 ~ Tricentenial Gold
927-99593 ~ Metallic Blue (1969 code 71, LeMans Blue)
927-99846 ~ Citrus Green (1970 code 43, Citrus Green)
927-99918 ~ Aqua
927-AF017 ~ Mulsanne Blue (1970 Camaro & Corvette color found
on Van Nuys Chevelle)
Build sheet would annotate a ZP3 special paint code and show the
particular DuPont mixing formula code or simply the Fleet & Special
Order (F&SO)order number with no indication of the color itself; it
depended on the assembly plant's SOP.
* There seems to be two paint codes attributed to 'Carolina Blue.' The DuPont mixing formula 926-98371 has been found on 1969, 1971 and 1972 model years while 926-96881 is found on 1970s. It is known that code 926-96881 is found on a 1970 build sheet and color is simply listed as "Blue Acrylic Lacquer" but no mention of 'Carolina Blue' specifically. A 1972 build sheet does show the wording CAROLINA BLUE but the mixing formula itself is obscured.
Matching wheels could also be ordered painted with the first 3 digits being 766 and 767 for non-metallic/metallic followed by the same 5 digit number for the body. As more colors are discovered, they'll be posted here.
Depending on the assembly plant a special order paint would show the DuPont mixing formula as above, some plants would show two dash characters or the paint code area simply left blank. The mixing formula would be designated on the build sheet. 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.
September 8, 2014.
Another variation has been brought to my attention. This time a 1970
Van Nuys El Camino with a paint code of 926-BM865. Appears to
be some shade of blue.
July 5, 2015:
Another 926-BM875 has been brought to my attention. Again, a 1970
El Camino from Van Nuys.
Researching it now - if anyone can assist please contact me.
