Model year 1979
1979 Corvette Colors and Paint Codes
Ten exterior colours were offered for 1979, the best-selling Corvette year ever, and Chevrolet recorded the split. Because more than fifty-three thousand cars were built, even the least common 1979 colour runs to thousands of cars.
Type a paint code from the trim tag, or part of a colour name. Both tables below narrow as you type.
1979 exterior colors and paint codes
| Code | Colour | Built | Share of production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Black | 10,465 | 19.4% |
| 10 | Classic White | 8,629 | 16.0% |
| 13 | Silver | 7,331 | 13.6% |
| 72 | Red | 6,707 | 12.5% |
| 83 | Dark Red | 5,670 | 10.5% |
| 82 | Dark Brown | 4,053 | 7.5% |
| 28 | Light Blue | 3,203 | 6.0% |
| 59 | Light Beige | 2,951 | 5.5% |
| 58 | Dark Green | 2,426 | 4.5% |
| 52 | Bright Yellow | 2,357 | 4.4% |
Swatches are on-screen approximations to tell the colours apart, not paint matches. Take the code to a paint supplier for an accurate mix.
Where to find your paint code
The paint code is on the trim tag riveted to the driver's side of the body, visible when you open the door. It lists the body style, body number, trim (interior) code and paint code together. From the later years of the run the tag also carries the build date, so the same plate that tells you the colour tells you roughly when the car was assembled. Two-tone cars show two codes, upper and lower.
1979 exterior and interior combinations
| Medium | Light | Dark | Dark | Oyster | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Red | Doeskin | Blue | Brown | White | ||
| Code | Cloth | n/a | n/a | 59C | 29C | 69C | 12C |
| Leather | 192 | 722 | 592 | 292 | 692 | 122 | |
| 10 | Classic White | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| 13 | Silver Metallic | R | R | --- | R | R | R |
| 19 | Black | R | R | R | --- | --- | R |
| 28 | Frost Blue | A | --- | --- | R | --- | A |
| 52 | Yellow | R | --- | A | --- | --- | R |
| 58 | Dark Green Metallic | A | --- | R | --- | R | A |
| 59 | Frost Beige | R | A | R | A | R | --- |
| 67* | Hilton Brown Metallic | A | --- | R | --- | --- | A |
| 72 | Red | R | R | R | --- | --- | R |
| 83 | Dark Blue Metallic | A | R | R | R | --- | R |
| *Code 67 may also appear as Code 82 |
What to know about 1979 colours
1979 built more Corvettes than any other year, so the production figures below are the highest per colour in the whole C3 run. That cuts both ways: a 1979 in an uncommon colour is still a long way from rare in absolute terms.
1979 colours by the numbers
1979 is the biggest year the C3 ever had and the biggest in Corvette history to that point, with 53,792 cars recorded by colour. Black leads on 10,465, nearly 20 per cent. That is the only year black tops the list among the eleven C3 years with colour figures on record, though four years have no figures at all so nobody can say it for the whole run. Classic White follows on 8,629 and Silver on 7,331. Bright Yellow is the least ordered at 2,357, and even that would be a strong number in most other years. The practical consequence of a year this large is that no 1979 colour is scarce, so condition and documentation decide value here far more than the paint code does.
The full colour list for every model year from 1968 to 1982 is on the C3 colour code page, and the interior trim codes are set out on the interior trim page. For the rest of what Chevrolet documented about this year, including production by month, the option list and the engine codes, see the 1979 specifications page.