Model year 1981
1981 Corvette Colors and Paint Codes
1981 offers the widest colour list of the C3 run once the two-tone combinations are counted, and it is the only year where the colour a car could be ordered in depended on which factory built it. Below is the full list, the interior combinations, and where to find the code.
1981 exterior colors and paint codes
| Code | Colour | Built | Share of production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | White | 6,387 | 15.7% |
| 33/38 | Silver/Dark Blue | 5,352 | 13.2% |
| 19 | Black | 4,712 | 11.6% |
| 75 | Red | 4,310 | 10.6% |
| 59 | Beige | 3,842 | 9.5% |
| 84 | Charcoal Metallic | 3,485 | 8.6% |
| 13 | Silver Metallic | 2,590 | 6.4% |
| 28 | Dark Blue Metallic | 2,522 | 6.2% |
| 79 | Maroon Metallic | 1,618 | 4.0% |
| 06 | Mahogany | 1,092 | 2.7% |
| 52 | Yellow | 1,031 | 2.5% |
| 24 | Bright Blue Metallic | 1 | 0.0% |
| 33/39 | Silver/Charcoal | - | - |
| 50/74 | Beige/Dark Bronze | - | - |
| 80/98 | Red/Dark Claret | - | - |
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.
1981 exterior and interior combinations
| Medium | Dark | Medium | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charcoal | Red | Camel | Blue | Silver | Cinnabar | ||
| Code | Cloth | 19C | n/a | 64C | 29C | n/a | 67C |
| Leather | 192 | 722 | 642 | 292 | 152 | 672 | |
| 06 | Mahogany Metallic | --- | --- | R | --- | --- | R |
| 10 | Classic White | R | R | R | R | --- | R |
| 13 | Silver Metallic | R | R | --- | R | R | --- |
| 19 | Black | R | R | R | --- | R | R |
| 24 | Bright Blue Metallic | R | --- | R | R | R | --- |
| 28 | Dark Blue Metallic | --- | R | R | R | R | --- |
| 52 | Yellow | R | --- | R | --- | --- | --- |
| 59 | Frost Beige | --- | R | R | R | --- | R |
| 75 | Red | R | R | R | --- | R | --- |
| 79 | Maroon Metallic | R | R | R | --- | R | --- |
| 84 | Charcoal Metallic | R | R | R | --- | R | --- |
| 33/38 | Silver/Dark Blue | --- | --- | --- | R | A | --- |
| 33/39 | Silver/Charcoal | R | --- | --- | --- | R | A |
| 50/74 | Beige/Dark Bronze | --- | --- | R | --- | --- | --- |
| 80/98 | Red/Dark Claret | --- | --- | A | --- | A | R |
- The site's colour records carry a single figure of 5,352 against the two-tone codes rather than one per combination, so read that number as the two-tone total and not as the count for Silver over Dark Blue alone.
What to know about 1981 colours
1981 was built in two plants at once, St. Louis until August and the new Bowling Green line from June. Only Bowling Green had the base-coat clear-coat paint process, so the two-tone combinations were available on Bowling Green cars only. A two-tone 1981 is therefore always a Bowling Green car, which its VIN will confirm.
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 1981 specifications page.