1-Color names Year of models & codes Compétition Orange (M) 1969 (3) Vermilion (F) 1970-'71 (1) Calypso Coral (F) 1970 (2A) Medium Coral (F)
Make & model availability 1969 Mercury Comet/Montego/Cyclone 2 doors 1969-'70 Shelby GT 350 & GT-500 1969 1/2 Mustang Boss 302 only 1969 1/2 Cougar Eliminator only 1970 Torino,Mustang & Maverick 1970 Mercury Cougar all models Montego/Cyclone all models 1971 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler only 1972 Ford Pinto
2-Yellow (M) 1969 1/2 (9)
1969 1/2 Cougar (Base and XR-7 only-not available on Eliminator).Dupont lists this as originally a 1969 Ford Truck color,Dupond also lists this as a 1969 1/2 Ford car color,but no other sources confirmed this as a car application.
3- Competition Yellow (F,M) 1969-71 (D) Grabber Yellow (F) Bright Yellow(F) Pinto Yellow (F)
1969-70 Shelby GT 350 & GT 500 1969 1/2 Boss 302 only 1969 1/2 Cougar Eliminator only 1970 Torino,Mustang,Maverick 1970 Mercury Montego/Cyclone,Cougar 1971 Torino,Mustang,Maverick,Pinto 1971 Mercury Montego/Cyclone,Cougar,Comet
4- Competition Blue (F,M) 1969 (J9) 1971 (J) 1972 (3F) Grabber Blue (F) Pinto Blue (F)
1969-70 Shelby GT-350 & GT-500 1969 1/2 Cougar Eliminator only 1970 Mustang/Cougar 1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler only 1970 1/2 Torino (probable midyear addition-not verified) 1971 Torino,Mustang,Maverick,Pinto 1971 Mercury Montego,Cyclone,Cougar,Comet 1972 Mustang,Maverick,Pinto 1972 Mercury Cougar / Comet
5- Competition Green(F,M) 1969-'70 (Z9), 1970 (Z) Grabber Green(F) (Solid color-not metallic)
1969-70 Shelby GT-350 & GT-500 1970 Mustang 1970 Cougar,Cyclone Spoiler only 1970 1/2 Torino :(probable midyear addition-not verified)
6- Competition Gold (F,M) 1969-'70 (u9) 1970-'71 (U) Grabber Orange (F)
1969-'70 Shelby GT 350 GT 500 1970 Mustang 1970 Cougar (all models) 1970-'71 Cyclone Spoiler only 1970 1/2 Torino (probable midyear addition-not verified)
7- Grabber Lime (F) 1971 (1) Bright Lime (M) Pinto Lime (F)
1971 Mustang (including MachI & Boss 351 models),Maverick,Pinto 1971 Mercury Cougar,Comet
8- Grabber green metallic (F) 1971 (Z) Competition green metallic (M)
1971 Torino,Mustang (including MachI & Boss 351),Maverick,Pinto 1971 Mercury Montego/Cyclone,Cougar,Comet
9- Medium Yellow Gold (F) 1972-'74 (6C) Medium Bright Yellow (M) Medium Goldenrod(M)
1972 Ford Mustang 1972 Mercury Cougar 1973-'74 applications unknown
10- Medium Bright Yellow (F,M) 1971 1/2 (2,6E) Bright Yellow (M) 1972-'73 (6E)
1971 1/2 Unknown availability,but possibly applied to 70 1/2 Ford Torino,Mustang,Maverick,Pintoet Mercury Montego,Cougar & Comet 1972-'73 Torino,Mustang,Maverick,Pinto 1972-'73 Mercury Montego,Cougar,Comet (Dupont paint charts list this color as added "late in (model) year".)
11- Bright Lime(F,M) 1971 1/2 (4) Medium Lime(M) 1972 (E) (4E)
1971 1/2 Specific application unknown ,but suspect availability only on '70 1/2 Mustang/Maverick & Cougar/Comet 1972 Mustang/Maverick 1972 Mercury Cougar,Comet (Both Rinshed-Mason and Dupont paint charts list this as a late 1971 model year addition.) 1972 Mustang,Maverick 1972 Mercury Cougar,Comet
12- Candy Apple Red (F) 1966 -'71 (T) Red (M) 1972,1974-'75 (E) Used across most car products during these years,includes 1969 and 1970 Ford Mustang ,Shelby GT 350 & GT500,Mercury Cougar, Ford Torino,Mercury Montego/Cyclone (except 1970 Spoiler),Ford LTD/Galaxie,Maverick Continued into mid-1970's for full-size cars (LTD,Galaxie,Marquis,Montery),but not used on subcompact,compact,sports compact,and intermediatecars in 1971 to 1973
13- Memo:Bright Red (F,M) 1971 (3) Pinto Red (F) 1972-'76 (2B)
1971-'73Ford Torino,Mustang,Mavrick,Pinto 1971-'73 Mercury Montego,Cougar,Comet 1971-'72 Mercury Cyclone 1971 Cyclone Spoiler 1974-'76 Mustang II Other applications unknown
14- Memo :Light Grabber blueF) 1973 (P) Bright Blue(F,M) 1973-'74 (3N)
1973-'74Ford&Mercury produits plus Ford pickups;other applications unknown.,This was not used on any passenger car applications in 1973,but was a regular passenger car color in 1974 whit application including the 1974 Mustang II,but not specifically limited to yhat model.This is believed to be the color used on the rocker panel areas of the rare 1972 Mustang Spring (White with blue lower rocker panel and"USA" decals),Some Mustang references refer to color code (3N) as "Medium Bright Bleu Metallic " for '74 Mustang II's, but Ditzler & Dupont paint codes match Light Grabber blue (F)
Note: The following colors were not unique to the muscle car years (1969-'73).However, Candy Apple Red and Bright Red were popular colors for Ford and Mercury muscle cars,and Light Grabber Blue carries the "Grabber" name even though it wasn't really associated with use on muscle cars.
Color Restrictions for Performance Models:
-1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Wimbledon White,Calypso Coral Acapulco Blue,Bright Yellow
-1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Raven Black,Candy Apple Red,Royal Maroon ,Black Jade
-1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Competition Blue ,Competition Orange,Competition Yellow
-1969-'70 Shelby GT 350 > 500 Acapulco Blue,Pastel Gray,Royal Maroon,Black Jade,Silver Jade, GulfstreamAqua ,Candy Apple Red,Grabber Blue,Grabber Green, Grabber Yellow,Grabber Orange,Competition Orange (1970 Shelbys were actually '69 Shelbys that were reserialized with an added front spoiler and hood blackout.Thus all but the "Grabber" colors and Candy Apple Red are really 1969 colors that weren't otherwise available in the '70 Ford paint lineup.)
-1970 Mustang Boss 302 Candy Apple Red,Light Ivy Yellow,White,Pastel Blue,Medium Blue Metallic,Bright Blue Metallic ,Medium Lime Metallic ,Bright Gold Metallic,Calypso Coral ,Grabber Yellow ,Grabber Orange,Grabber Blue,Grabber Green
-1970 Mustang Boss 429 Grabber Blue,Grabber Green,Grabber Orange,Calypso Coral,Pastel Blue
-1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Competition Yellow,Competition Blue,Competition Gold,Competition Green,Competition Orange,Pastel Blue According to Mercury Muscle Cars, Red and Bright Gold Metallic were midyear additions.
-1970 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Competition Yellow,Competition Blue,Competition Gold,Competition Green,Competition Orange,Pastel Blue
-1971 Mustang Mach I & Boss 351 Black,White,Bright Red,Light Pewter Metallic,Bright Blue Metallic,Dark Blue Metallic,Grabber Lime,Grabber Yellow,Grabber Blue,Grabber Green Metallic,Medium Yellow Gold
-1971 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Competition Yellow,Competition Blue,Competition Gold,Competition Orange,Competition Green,Bright Red ,Pastel Blue
-This one's pretty easy-Candyapple Red (one work from 1966-'68 ) (left), was the red of choice for Ford and Mercury cars from '66 to '70. Bright Red (right) replaced Candy Apple Red on all Ford and Mercury small and midsize cars starting in '71 and running through '76.
-Here's where things start to get interesting. Competition Orange/Calypso Coral (left) first appeared in 1969 on Mercury and Shelby products. Competition Gold/Grabber Orange (middle) was really a yellow color with a lot of orange. More toward the yellow end of the spectrum was medium Yellow Gold/ Medium Bright Yellow/Medium Goldenrod, a distinctive color that sold reasonably well on '72 and '73 Ford Motor Company pony cars.
-Starting with "Medium Yellow Gold "from the previous photo (left), other yellow colors from the muscle color range include a rare midyear color simply called "Yellow" (left center),which was limited to 1969 1/2 Mercury Cougars. Next comes '71-'73 Medium Bright Yellow,(center right),and finally on the far right,'69-'71 Grabber Yellow/Competition Yellow.
-The "muscle green" palette at Ford lasted from 1970-'72 with these four colors.Up front is Grabber Green/Competition Green,which was only available in '70 (except for '69 Shelbys). At the upper left is the '71-only Grabber Green Metallic.In the middle lies the rare '71-only Grabber Lime,followed by even-rarer '71 1/2-only Bright Lime.
-The two cars on the left are painted Grabber Blue/Competition Blue, a color that was available from 1969-'72. The model on the far left is painted with Testors Model Masters "Grabber Blue,"which gives a very hight gloss straight from the can.This color contains just a hint of yellow,making it a close match for Ford's genuine Grabber Blue (cen- ter).The color at right is left Grabber Blue,found on '74 Ford and Mercury products,with possible additional applications in '72 and '73.
-Taking a closer look at orange colors,you can clearly see the dif- ference between these two hues.However,the color nomenciature is confusing- The color on the left carried at least four different names, including Competion Orange,Vermilion,Calypso Coral,and Medium Coral, depending on the product line and model year.Grabber Orange/Competition Gold (right),was most widely available into 1970, with very restricted availability in '69 and '71.This is one of several muscle colors available in areosol spray and airbrush-ready bottle form from MCW Automotive Finishes.
-These three yellow colors look very close in this photograph,but they're clearly different to the naked eye.On the left is the rare 1969 1/2 Cougar-only Yellow.On the right is the best known yellow, which at various times was called either Grabber Yellow,Competition Yellow,Bright Yellow,or Pinto Yellow during its '69-'71 run.The Medium Bright Yellow/Bright Yellow color in the center appears to be a mix of the other two, and reflects the sensibilities of car buyers as they entered the early '70 after the heyday of muscle colors.
-Two of the least-known but most audacious colors of the muscle era from Ford are these Lime colors.Grabber Lime was Ford's answer to Chrysler's "sublime" color from 1970,and it was restricted to use on '71 Mustangs,Cougars,Mavericks,Comets and Pintos.The Bright Lime color replaced Grabber Lime for '72.This wild color doesn't photograph well-it's a searing shade of chartreuse that looks identi- cal to the color used on many '70s fire engines.
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