Mustang Paint Codes

Trying to discover your classic Ford Mustang’s original paint colour can be a challenge, particularly for the early Mustangs from 1964, ’65 and ’66.

While your Mustang’s VIN can be decoded to reveal where your car was built and with what engine, it sheds little light on the colour it was originally painted. For 1967 and beyond, a Marti report can easily fix that by matching it with Ford’s historical factory build data. Owners of earlier cars, however, may have to rely on other means such as the data tag riveted to the door.

There – assuming it has survived all these years – you’ll find confirmation of your car’s serial number along with exterior colour, interior trim, axle, and transmission information. By looking up the ‘color’ code, you can establish the exterior paint finish of your car the day it left the factory.

If you’re embarking on a restoration, you may find that small areas of your car’s original paint still survive, hidden away under door sill kick plates or other trim pieces. Or perhaps you’d like to restore your Mustang to a different – but still period-correct – paint colour.

The list below offers sample swatches of most colours for the 1960s Mustang, shown with both their Ford body colour code and the PPG paint reference.

Colours came and went over the Mustang’s production cycle, and some even changed shade despite retaining the same name – Caspian Blue exists in at least two different forms depending on model year, as does Lime Gold.

Given the rather monochrome colour palette today’s cars seem restricted to, these 50-year-old choices seem quite refreshing, although options such as Emberglo may still have been a brave choice even then.

1964½

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969