J R C

I know many will say that of course its up to my own personal preference, etc., etc. And I know that I'll have to live with whatever I choose, but of course many on this forum have seen both good and bad color combo's when owners decide its time to get body work done and repaint their C3 ... and hey, why not go with a "new" color In my case, the "original" orange color was painted over, its turns out about 7 times (my shop says that the car probably lost some major weight just by removing the several old paint layers; orange, cig' boat yellow with metal flake and several shades of red among others)! As the car will be close to being ready for paint very soon I'd like to revisit a paint combo that will be "classy" but use a "modern" color, without too much boy racer, funny car, what-were-they-thinking flash (no offense to those who like this look; it's just not my style). The things I will not change to keep the costs down a bit are: medium saddle interior and a white soft top. I had also picked up a removable hardtop that will be resprayed the body color. My shop plans to have the car shown (with some other great work) at ChevyVette Fest in early November (if all goes as planned). So far I've ruled out Pewter, Gold and probably Yellow because it would clash with the interior which is a more darker shade of tan than the C4's or 5's. My current list of possibilities include: (from C5's) Navy Blue Metallic and Torch Red, (from an '06 Range Rover Sport) Vesuvius Orange, (from '02+ MINI) British Racing Green Metallic and (from '02 Camaro) Bright Red. I was looking at C5 Anniversary Red; but this turns out to be a 3-stage paint which can be a b*tch to fix after you get a few chips or scratches so I'm staying away from 3-stage and sticking with base/clear coat paints. My body shop does a lot with House of Kolor so basically have a wide range to pick from. Lastly, I was able to see up close a low mileage '75 'vert at the Corvette Museum with my "original" color combo (Corvette Orange/ Medium Saddle) and to me anyway, it looked a little dated (no offense to the Orange Crush group) so if it went to a shade of Orange it would be a more modern one (although I'm not crazy about the C6 Sunset Orange color). Thanks for any and all comments and ideas ... whatever the choice picked I'll post progress links.

Here is a link to a "before" shot, last paint job was about a 20 footer (done ~ 10 years ago), you probably can't tell that the rear bumper has large cracks but you can probably see the gaps in the driver's door, poor fit after an old repair. The driver's door was replaced with a new frame & skin, both bumpers are now flex-fits and all of the cracks, etc. have been fixed along with taking everything down to the bare fiberglass. Currently the car's fiberglass has been prepped and its almost ready for gel-coat & primer (see second link).

Before

Current

J R C

Must be a slow day for opinions or everyone is watching the latest Rita news ... color choice is usually a hot topic. I'll check back later

73'Vette

My dad had a Z06 this color. It gets my vote!

Nate '69

The blue is a nice color and not overly common on a C3 (or C5).

zwede

Torch red will look great with a saddle interior & white top.

I imagine the metallic blue will too but I don't remember exactly what shade it is. Is it like the Viper blue?

I wonder how it would look in a medium grey metallic, like a pewter color? Could maybe work.

J R C

Zwede:

NBM is probably a bit darker than Viper Blue ... if you select the C5 "theme" at the home page of the Corvette Forum the car they show is a NBM. The photo really shows it in bright sunlight, in person its a bit darker. I'm not sure of medium grey with the medium saddle but I know that pewter is out, did a chip chart next to the seats ... let's say that you'd want to change them to black first! I know I can't go wrong with most reds ... Thanks for the comments so far

celeryman22

I like the red corvettes. But only some of the red colors. When I was looking at painting I was looking at magnetic red metallic. I ended up going with House of Kolor Brandywine over silver. Looks cool...

Mike

davidm_comp

Here is a pic of metallic blue on '77, not sure what the actual name or shade is.

Corz

no he didnt..

Z06 had Electron Blue (pictured here)

cal camara

I think you should leave it the way it is, not many out there like that multicolor. Or how about red with white coaving. Orange is IN however.
cal

Eddie 70

Love this color on C3 vettes.

71rdster

Rita coverage has been pretty important to us the last few days down here on the third coast. Now as for paint color, I am particular to certain shades of orange, and I will admit your car looked good in red. I guess there are a few colors that might not go with your light saddle interior. There were several great shades of blue used in the late C4's, C5's and C6's that are gorgeous, and there are a few retro metallic greens that would look good with that tan interior. Good luck with your choice.

Orville

davidm_comp

I agree, like the looks of current pic, just slap down a layer or two of clear coat and give her a nice waxing and your ready to cruise

Sharky Guam

With your interior and top color combinations, red seems to be a logical choice in achieving a high rate of approval from a large number of enthusiasts. Blue is a nice choice but not highly appreciated with your saddle interior.

I was thinking about a different color away from the norm that will place your car in a unique status. In the early 70s GM had a chocolate brown metallic that had microscopic gold metallic flakes in it. I think it was a Cadillac color. But I had it on a 74 vette convertible that I purchased used. The color was very nice with my saddle interior and off white top. I added a thin gold pin stripe on the top of the fender ridges and also on the hood scoop area. I also had BBS two piece wheels with the polished rims that had gold mesh centers. If you want your car to stand out from the crowd, I think this is your color.

As a second choice combination, a dark maroon metallic color would also be very nice.

The darker colors will highlight your wheels, interior and the fact that your car is a convertible when the top is up. I think that by picking a unique color, you will set yourself above the rest when it comes to appearance. You will be the leader and not just one in the pack.

But if you want to be in the pack like some of the rest of us, that is fine too. As for me (flame suit still on), I own a few vettes. One is a 69 vert which I transformed in to an 80 convertible (no verts were made in 80). Even the interior is from an 80. But the running gear, 427 (435 hp) muncie 4 spd 456 gears, is from a vintage C3. The car was white, but will be painted candy apple red in december. And I have an 82 coupe daily driver that utilizes parts from other different cars in order to make it more comfortable and fun to drive.

The choice is yours and like you previously said, you will have to live with it for a while, so be sure to pick a color that you can live with and not one that others told you to get.

dboz

If you like orange but want a modern look, check out the orange on the 350Z. I think it has nice metallic and would give a modern twist to the old color. I think the new vette orange is a little too dark. The ones I have seen in person don't have the flare. I do like the blue as you mentioned.

Techno

Since you asked... my opinion is to check out the HOK color card. Go with Kandy and if Kandy isn't an option go with something else. There are "kandy" colors that look like candy but aren't. Lots of other choices too.

Choose a color
Choose how far you want to go with that color.

No one here is going to help you. My opine isn't going to help since you want to go monolithic?
BUT I'll say it anyway. Not many green cars but it does look nice and isn't like the zillion of red cars out there.
Red you already had and know what it looks like, I've heard red cars cost more to insure.
Blue isn't bad but is more 'normal' than green. Take that either way depending on relativity.
None of your choices in color are bad. I don't know what they look like but who cares? You can get any look you want without a special name for it. HOK colors can produce this and shades that aren't shown on the card.

For repairs check with your paint shop I don't believe any paint shop paints several dings but the entire area or panel to match it. 3 dings the width of your hand takes several square feet to fix or match it if not the entire door or whatever.

JonnHeather

Red. It is one of those colors that always stands the test of time...

c3 in hawaii

I was in this dilema awhile ago..went from red, yellow. silver... ended up going with indigo blue. Got paint code from chevy dealer...from the 04 corvette color chart..

J R C

Now I'm leaning towards the Navy Blue Metallic (C5) after talking to my bodyman and seeing most of the body now gelcoated (he still needs to finish the bumpers and 'vert top panel). Got to see most of the former coats of paint on that panel (it didn't lend itself to getting soda blasted so will be hand sanded). Anything a bit brighter blue may be questionable (I looked up the original color combo's and "medium" blue wasn't offered with saddle). Rather than looking at just paint chips, he'll paint up two small panels that we can place along side the seats to get a better look at how it will look. He'll paint up two choices so I'm still thinking about my 2nd choice. Choice #2 may be that British Racing Green shade that I already mentioned but we'll see ... again I'm looking for elegant versus in-your-face or old man (think mid-80's Caddy DeVille or Town Car). Lastly, no offense to the Rita watchers; looks like most missed a major hit. Here in the upper midwest have to avoid the occasional tornado or micro-burst but nothing as wide spread as a hurricane!

panchop

man i think british racing green with a saddle interior would look great. I like red cars, i like bright color vettes but sometimes i think you want to be a little different. i think vettes have such dramatic lines that a more subdued color brings it out better. especialy a dark color. IMHO.