1960 paint code question

[bpmcgee]

Hi,

This question is about my 1960 1/2 ton. The tag on the drivers side kick-plate has "RPO 721F" for the paint code. Autocolor library has paint code 721A which is pure white. Do you have any idea what 721F is? I went out and double-checked it -- it's not an "A".

Thanks,

Brian

[60-66 Nut]

I went here American Classic.com and looked at their paint code chart(vin decoder). All they show is the 721 with no letter at the end. The letter might be either a trim code or a slight variation of the color, not sure.

60-66 Nut

[apachetrucks]

Hello Brian,I will tell you the little I know about the color codes. RPO stands for Regular Production Option which indicates that your truck was probably gonna be another color and was changed during assembly to become the color that it is.This was GM's way of giving the assembly plants some flexibilty during production,also you could order GM pickup trucks and specify the RPO's that you wanted on your truck.Your truck could have been ordered PURE WHITE RPO 721F.
This same RPO approach carries over to other options as well,thats why we see some pickups with radios or air flow heaters etc etc.
Now having said all of that the 721 as you already know is the color PURE WHITE.The letter that follows the code designates whether the truck is one color or two tone.The color PURE WHITE is the only color that you could NOT get in two tone because the two tone color or secondary color on 1960 pickups was BOMBAY IVORY.(this changed to CAMEO WHITE in 1961)I suppose GM decided that the two colors did not look good togather.Therefore in the case of PURE WHITE the F designates full color.(This changed to an A designation in 61.)
All other one tone colors that were offered the paint code is simply the three digit paint code or is followed by an A.So a solid (or one tone) JET BLACK paint code is sometimes seen as 700 and other times as 700A,but in the case of a two tone JET BLACK the paint code would be 728L.(letter A being solid color or sometimes called over all color and letter L being two tone or sometimes called upper color.)
Back to your truck, the letter F is for the body of your truck with BOMBAY IVORY hubcaps and grille (except custom cabs,they have aluminum chrome grilles and hubcaps) all wheels are black on solid color trucks and main body color on two tone trucks. Had your paint code been 721FGH that would be PURE WHITE for the body,grille and hubcaps.I have never seen one with that code but they are out there.
The interior colors are the same for all exterior colors.The standard cab or Deluxe model is SILVER GREY METALLIC and the custom cab is the same with CHARCOAL METALLIC accents,dash,door panels etc.
Sorry for the long confusing explaination but paint and trim codes are really hard to dechipher.I hope this helps and let me know if you need futher explaination.
By the way is your truck a fleetside?One of my friends in our local Bowtie truck club has a Pure White 61swb fleetside delux custom cab with all the side moldings!!That is a awesom color!!!!

[bpmcgee]

Apache,

Thanks for you help. No, the truck is a 1504 (long step). My plan is actually to repaint it 705A (Hemlock Green).

Let me ask you another question since you seem to know alot about paint, etc. The truck was bought bone stock. My plan is to redo it with chrome grill and bumper, dual armrests, and dual sunvisors. Would that be the deluxe or custom trim? I understand that, since this is a stepside, there wouldn't be any cab mouldings on the custom cab, but does that mean that the custom cab wasn't available on a stepside?

Also, it seems that this truck was never fitted with an inside rear-view mirror. There's no holes in the metal to attach it with. Odd.

Thanks,

Brian

[apachetrucks]

Hello Brian,the Hemlock Green is a great color!!! The bone stock version of your truck is a De Luxe model and what you are shooting for is a Custom model.The custom stepside does have chrome scalp moldings on the upper cab behind the doors with a belt molding (very rare) across the back just under the rear window that runs from one side to the other connecting the two scalp moldings.The belt molding was NOT put on all custom cab trucks for some reason that I have yet to figure out.Also the windshield has stainless chrome moldings.
In addition to the armrest and sunvisors that you mentioned all of the knobs where black with chrome trim, the glove box door has a scripted Chevrolet nameplate and the custom cabs has a cigar lighter.Those are the most noticeable differances in De Luxe and Custom interiors.
The inside rear view mirror was considered an accessory and had to be ordered.

[64fleetside]

Apachetrucks, you know anything about 64, mine is 526 ivory, is the whole truck, grille,bumpers, etc all Ivory? Brian

[apachetrucks]

Hello 64fleetside,I know a little about your truck.The color 526 Ivory was offered from 1962 thru 1964 as a solid color and in a two tone combination with the accent color being Cameo White.The trucks that are two tone have a paint code of 541 or 541L and the solid or one tone trucks have a paint code of 526 or 526A.
The custom cab trucks have chrome grille,bumbers and hubcabs and the delux or standard cab trucks have those parts painted in cameo white.The wheels on two tone models are cameo white while on solid color trucks the wheels are black.
ALL 526,526A,541 AND 541L trucks have black tailgate lettering.
Does your truck have any trim codes on the data plate?
Hope this helps.

[64fleetside]

Apachetrucks, this one is STD, plain jane w/79,000 miles on it but had been rattlecanned black before I got it. I know Ivory was bumper,grille & two tone color, but if the truck was this color was the grille bumpers etc the same color or maybe the Pure white? I want to be close to original on this one.Thanks, Brian

[apachetrucks]

64fleetside,the other color for the grille,bumbers etc is DESERT BEIGE color number 528.This is a 1962 color number and you might want your local paint supplier to confirm that it carried over.GM was not completely clear as to these areas of your particular paint code.They used BEIGE as the color name but gave no code for that color.I have seen original 64's with DESERT BEIGE on the grille bumbers etc.

[apachetrucks]

64fleetside,I forgot to mention that I am painting a 64 fleetside custom cab with Cameo White with PURE WHITE as the secondary or lower color.The color breaks or changes at the bottom of the windshield post and has the PURE WHITE stripe between the chrome moldings on the sides.This truck belongs to one of the local guys here and it has chrome bumbers,grille and hubcaps with the CHEVROLET tailgate lettering in black.The only problem I see with his truck is the red color on the hubcaps.I personally dont think it looks good but he likes it and that makes me happy!!!

[64fleetside]

Wow, Desert Biege, guess I'll sand some on the grill & bumper & see what is under there. I wondered if it would have a diff color, as all one color just seemed odd compared to all other colors. Brian

[Project 1960 Apache]

Thank you for all of the info. I'm going to check my codes now. I wondered what the paint color code is. My truck still has some of its original color showing which is a cool looking green. The bumpers and grill look like and old brush painted white. I just had a blow out on my rear tire. So i stripped the rims which were also brushed white but had black under them. I painted them red for now. But would like to restore the truck to its original state. The hub caps were all different. I am going to purchase new tires and i think the right ones for that year are 2 1/4 inch white walls, is that correct?

[61K10]

Apache--as a few are asking you some questions, i have one. my trim code is 433t? my paint is 705a as is neptune green, my trim code, any info. truck is a base cab fleetside 4x4. funny about the silver gray metallic, if there is metallic in my gray you can't see it. looks like gray semi gloss (like a primer) ant info would be app.

[aerotruk63]

Information from the 1963 Chevrolet Truck Data Book. Interesting reading.

There are 1960 Chevrolet Truck Data Books on Ebay now. While these books do not have all the answers they are a great reference.

[Project 1960 Apache]

For my 1960 the paint code is a letter first(spray paint on it)? The numbers-0703A. Which according to this book looks like Neptune Green. Which is pretty cool color. And i guess because of the "A" at the end means 1 solid color? What is the prdceding letter or numbers before the 703A? Also what are the trim codes for? My trim code is PO258A. What an awesome forum!
thanks again,
Michael

[hkopp]

Did you ever find out what your trim code was? My 60 K10 apache also has the trim rpo258a. Its Grenadier Red, color RPO715A - no two tone.