CORVETTE COLORS
Classic White Corvette: Every Year, Code and How Many Were Built
Classic White on the Chevrolet Corvette, 1970–1979: what the color is, the GM paint code in every year, how many were built and what share of the year that was, the interiors it came with, a picture gallery for each year, the chart of its run and the colors that came before and after it.
Quick Nav: The Story · By Generation · Chart · C3 · Related · Paint Codes · More White · Wallpapers · FAQs
The Basics
The Color: Solid white, the C3’s white from 1970 to 1979
GM Codes: 972, 910, 10
Years Offered: 1970–1979 (10 model years)
Generations: C3 (1968–82)
Built: 45,506 with GM counts; no counts for 1970, 1973–1974
Best Year: 1976, 10,674 cars (22.9% of the year)
Color Family: White (every white Corvette color)
Also Called: Code 972 (1970–72), 910 (1973–74), 10 (1975–79); the 1980–84 picture posts on the site are titled Classic White but the chart name was White
Paint Codes: 1970–1980: WA3465 / PPG 8631 / DuPont 5040L
Pictures: 12 picture posts on the site, one per model year
By Generation: C3
The Overview
Classic White was offered on the Corvette in 1970–1979: 10 model years across the C3 generation. GM’s color counts put 45,506 Classic White Corvettes on the road, 10,674 of them in 1976 alone; no per-color records survive for 1970, 1973–1974.
Solid white, the C3’s white from 1970 to 1979. Its share of a year’s production ran from 9 to 23 percent, and it was the best-selling color of the year 3 times. It was a no-cost color. The interiors most often paired with it were Black. The chart below shows the run year by year; the generation sections carry every year’s code, count, share, interiors and picture.
This page has every year Classic White was offered with its GM code, how many were built, its share of the year and the interiors it came with, the site’s picture gallery for each year, a chart of the run, the related colors, and the FAQs. It is one of 77 color pages on CorvSport; the White Corvettes page lists every white the factory ever sprayed, and Corvette Colors by Year has the full chart for each model year.
The Story of Classic White
Classic White replaced Can-Am White for 1970 and stayed on the chart for ten years, through three code systems, until Chevrolet shortened the name to White for 1980. It was the most popular color of the C3 era — the site’s count is 43,681 cars, and that is with no color records surviving for 1970, 1973 and 1974.
The best years were 1975 to 1979: 8,007, 10,674, 9,408, 4,150 and 8,629 cars, roughly one C3 in five. It was a solid, no-cost paint with the full run of interior colors, and it is the white of the L82 four-speed coupes and the last 1975 convertibles.
The site’s 1980 to 1984 picture posts carry the Classic White name because that is what owners still call it; the official 1980 chart says White (code 10), and those years are on the White page.
The Classic White Cars to Know
1976 Classic White (10,674, the biggest single-year count of any C3 color); The last 1975 convertibles; 1978 25th Anniversary coupes in Classic White.
Also on the site: a 1983 picture post titled Classic White — picture posts with no matching row on that year’s chart, kept here for the pictures.
MORE: THE MOST POPULAR COLORS BY GENERATION / 70 YEARS OF LEAST & MOST POPULAR COLORS / ALL WHITE CORVETTES
Classic White by Generation
Classic White across the 1 generation it was offered on: the years, the GM paint code each generation used, how many were built with GM’s counts, the biggest year and the interiors most often paired with it. Each generation has its own section below with every year.
MORE: THE C3 HUB
| GENERATION | YEARS | CODE(S) | BUILT | BEST YEAR | INTERIORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C3 Corvette | 1970–1979 | 972, 910, 10 | 45,506 | 1976 (10,674) | Black |
Classic White by Year: How Many Were Built
GM’s production counts for Classic White in every year it was offered, with the years GM kept no color records marked n/a. The peak was 1976 at 10,674 cars; the full table for each year, with codes, shares and interiors, is in the generation sections below.
Classic White on the C3 Corvette (1968–82)
Classic White on the C3 (1968–82): offered 1970–1979 as code 972, 910, 10. 45,506 cars by GM’s count, the best year 1976 with 10,674. No per-color counts survive for 1970, 1973–1974. Every year links to its research page (the full color chart, options and prices for that year) and to the site’s picture post for the color.
MORE: THE C3 HUB / THE 1976 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C3 COLOR POSTS / ALL C3 COLORS
| YEAR | CODE | BUILT | SHARE | INTERIORS | PICTURES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 972 | no record | — | Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Red, Saddle | Pictures | — |
| 1971 | 972 | 1,875 | 8.6%, #6 of 10 | Black, Dark Blue, Dark Green, Red, Saddle | Pictures | — |
| 1972 | 972 | 2,763 | 10.2%, #4 of 10 | Black, Blue, Red, Saddle | Pictures | — |
| 1973 | 910 | no record | — | Black, Midnight Blue, Medium Saddle, Dark Saddle, Dark Red | Pictures | — |
| 1974 | 910 | no record | — | Black, Dark Blue, Dark Red, Neutral, Saddle, Silver | Pictures | — |
| 1975 | 10 | 8,007 | 20.8%, #1 of 10 | Black, Dark Blue, Dark Red, Medium Saddle, Neutral, Silver | Pictures | — |
| 1976 | 10 | 10,674 | 22.9%, #1 of 10 | Black, Blue-Green, Buckskin, Dark Brown, Dark Firethorn… | Pictures | — |
| 1977 | 10 | 9,408 | 19.1%, #1 of 12 | Black, Blue, Brown, Buckskin, Red, Smoked Gray, White | Pictures | — |
| 1978 | 10 | 4,150 | 8.9%, #4 of 12 | Black, Dark Blue, Dark Brown, Light Beige, Mahogany, Oyster, Red | Pictures | — |
| 1979 | 10 | 8,629 | 16.0%, #2 of 10 | Black, Dark Blue, Dark Green, Light Beige, Oyster, Red | Pictures | — |
Colors Related to Classic White
The colors that came before and after Classic White, the ones it is confused with and the ones that shared its slot on the chart. Each has its own page or a line on its family page.
MORE: EVERY WHITE CORVETTE COLOR / ALL CORVETTE COLORS / COLORS BY YEAR
| COLOR | YEARS | BUILT | FAMILY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 1980–1992, 2023 | 63,313 | White | See the White page |
| Arctic White | 1993–2000, 2004–2027 | 104,561 | White | See the Arctic White page |
| Ermine White | 1960–1967 | 16,563 | White | See the Ermine White page |
| Polo White | 1953–1957 | 5,128 | White | See the Polo White page |
Classic White Paint Codes: GM, WA, PPG and DuPont
The codes a body shop or a judge needs for Classic White: the GM order code on the trim tag or service parts label, GM’s WA formula number and the PPG / Ditzler and DuPont mixing codes where they are documented. Where a code is blank the sources did not list one; the notes say where a source disagreed.
MORE: THE RPO CODES LIBRARY / THE VIN DECODER
| YEARS | GM CODE | WA | PPG / DITZLER | DUPONT | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1980 | 972 (1970–73) / 10 (1974–80) | WA3465 | 8631 | 5040L | Solid non-metallic white; same formula as 1968 Polar White / 1969 Can-Am White. Ditzler 8631 and DuPont Lucite 5040L are from the 1970 Chevrolet chart entry for Classic White (code 10); NCRS thread also cites DuPont stock 5040 for code 972 white. (confidence: medium) |
White Corvette Wallpapers
Desktop and phone wallpapers of white Corvettes from the site’s wallpaper collections.
White Corvette Wallpapers — the color collection
All Corvette Wallpapers — by generation and by color
FAQs
What years was the Corvette offered in Classic White?
1970–1979: 10 model years on the C3. Classic White replaced Can-Am White for 1970 and stayed on the chart for ten years, through three code systems, until Chevrolet shortened the name to White for 1980.
What is the GM paint code for Classic White?
GM used 972, 910, 10 across the years; the code changed when GM changed its coding system, not the paint. The paint-shop codes are 1970–1980: WA3465 / PPG 8631 / DuPont 5040L.
How many Classic White Corvettes were built?
45,506 by GM’s counts (10,674 in 1976, the biggest year); GM kept no color records for 1970, 1973–1974, so the true figure is higher.
Which Corvette models and editions came in Classic White?
1976 Classic White (10,674, the biggest single-year count of any C3 color); The last 1975 convertibles; 1978 25th Anniversary coupes in Classic White. In its years it was available on every body style and model unless the year’s note says otherwise; the year tables above say which.
Is Classic White a metallic, a tintcoat or a solid color?
Solid white, the C3’s white from 1970 to 1979. It was a no-cost color in every year it was offered.
What was the most popular year for Classic White?
1976, with 10,674 cars, 22.9% of that year’s production.
What colors are similar to Classic White?
White, Arctic White, Ermine White, Polo White. The White Corvettes page has every white the factory offered, with the years and counts side by side.
Where can I see pictures of Classic White Corvettes?
The site has a picture post for each year Classic White was offered — real cars photographed in the real color — linked from the year tables above and in the picture grids on this page; the White Corvettes page and the wallpaper collection have more.
How does the Classic White page fit with the rest of the Corvette colors research?
Every model year has a research page with the full color chart (codes, counts, interiors and soft tops), the Colors by Year page indexes them, every color with three or more years has a page like this one, and the twelve family pages (Red, Blue, Black, White, Silver, Yellow, Gray, Green, Orange, Purple, Gold, Brown) list every shade ever offered.
