Classic Chevrolet Nova Paint Colors & Factory Codes (1968–1974)

🔧 Restoration Tips: Finding & Matching Your Original Color

• • The Nova's trim tag is located on the firewall, and unlike some GM models the paint code appears as a two-digit number (e.g., '51' for Daytona Yellow) in the lower section of the tag — do not confuse the paint code with the interior trim code, which appears adjacent and uses letter prefixes; mixing them up is the single most common ordering error when sourcing Nova paint.
• • Fathom Green (code 43) was an extremely dark teal that looks nearly black in shadow and jewel-bright in direct sunlight — when respraying, the color requires a minimum of four color coats over a white primer to achieve the correct depth and translucency; applying it over gray primer will flatten the color and eliminate the characteristic deep-teal glow that makes it so distinctive.
• • Mulsanne Blue (code 26) is a highly saturated medium blue with significant metallic content; period-correct restoration requires sourcing paint with the original coarse aluminum flake rather than a modern fine-flake substitute, as the sparkle character is clearly visible to the eye and immediately identifiable to concours judges familiar with the car.
• • Many third-gen Novas, particularly base and L models, left the factory with minimal sound deadening, which means interior-temperature swings caused micro-cracking in the original lacquer finish over the roof and trunk lid decades before the rest of the car showed wear — inspect these areas carefully before assuming a car is unrestored, as localized repaints in these zones are extremely common even on otherwise original vehicles.
• • The SS (Super Sport) package on 1968–1972 Novas included a specific matte-black hood treatment whose boundaries are frequently mis-masked during restoration — reference factory assembly photos or a PHS/Bloomington-certified reference guide for the exact stripe geometry before taping, as the cowl-to-fender transition detail is particularly easy to get wrong and is immediately obvious to experienced show judges.