CORVETTE COLORS
Dark Bronze Corvette: Every Year, Code and How Many Were Built
Dark Bronze Metallic on the Chevrolet Corvette, 1981, 1984–1985: 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 · C4 · Related · Paint Codes · More Brown · FAQs
The Basics
The Color: Dark bronze metallic, 1981 and 1984–85
GM Codes: 74, 66
Years Offered: 1981, 1984–1985 (3 model years)
Generations: C3 (1968–82), C4 (1984–96)
Built: 2,833 with GM counts
Best Year: 1984, 1,371 cars (2.7% of the year)
Color Family: Brown (every brown Corvette color)
Also Called: Code 74 at Bowling Green (1981), 66 (1984–85)
Paint Codes: 1981: WA7412; 1984–1985: WA7723 / PPG 3607 / DuPont B8325
Pictures: 3 picture posts on the site, one per model year
The Overview
Dark Bronze Metallic was offered on the Corvette in 1981, 1984–1985: 3 model years across the C3, C4 generations. GM’s color counts put 2,833 Dark Bronze Corvettes on the road, 1,371 of them in 1984 alone.
Dark bronze metallic, 1981 and 1984–85. Its share of a year’s production ran from 1 to 3 percent. It was a no-cost color. The interiors most often paired with it were Bronze, Charcoal. 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 Dark Bronze 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 Brown Corvettes page lists every brown the factory ever sprayed, and Corvette Colors by Year has the full chart for each model year.
The Story of Dark Bronze
Dark Bronze Metallic was a Bowling Green-only color in 1981, the first year of the new plant (432 cars, and half of the Beige / Dark Bronze two-tone), and it was on the C4 chart for 1984 and 1985 with 1,371 and 1,030 cars, usually with the Saddle interior and sometimes as the lower half of the Light Bronze / Dark Bronze two-tone.
It is the last bronze Corvette until Zeus Bronze in 2020.
The Dark Bronze Cars to Know
1981 Two-tone Beige / Dark Bronze (Bowling Green); 1984 Dark Bronze Metallic (1,371); 1984–85 Two-tone Light Bronze / Dark Bronze.
MORE: THE MOST POPULAR COLORS BY GENERATION / 70 YEARS OF LEAST & MOST POPULAR COLORS / ALL BROWN CORVETTES
Dark Bronze by Generation
Dark Bronze across the 2 generations 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 / THE C4 HUB
| GENERATION | YEARS | CODE(S) | BUILT | BEST YEAR | INTERIORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C3 Corvette | 1981 | 74 | 432 | 1981 (432) | Charcoal |
| C4 Corvette | 1984–1985 | 66 | 2,401 | 1984 (1,371) | Bronze |
Dark Bronze by Year: How Many Were Built
GM’s production counts for Dark Bronze in every year it was offered. The peak was 1984 at 1,371 cars; the full table for each year, with codes, shares and interiors, is in the generation sections below.
Dark Bronze on the C3 Corvette (1968–82)
Dark Bronze on the C3 (1968–82): offered 1981 as code 74. 432 cars by GM’s count. 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 1981 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C3 COLOR POSTS / ALL C3 COLORS
Dark Bronze C3 Corvettes: The Pictures
The site’s picture post for each year Dark Bronze was offered on the C3: real cars in the real color, which no swatch shows properly.
Dark Bronze on the C4 Corvette (1984–96)
Dark Bronze on the C4 (1984–96): offered 1984–1985 as code 66. 2,401 cars by GM’s count, the best year 1984 with 1,371. 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 C4 HUB / THE 1984 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C4 COLOR POSTS / ALL C4 COLORS
Colors Related to Dark Bronze
The colors that came before and after Dark Bronze, 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 BROWN CORVETTE COLOR / ALL CORVETTE COLORS / COLORS BY YEAR
Dark Bronze Paint Codes: GM, WA, PPG and DuPont
The codes a body shop or a judge needs for Dark Bronze: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 74 | WA7412 | — | — | Dark bronze metallic (C3). (confidence: medium) |
| 1984–1985 | 66 | WA7723 | 3607 | B8325 | Dark bronze metallic. |
FAQs
What years was the Corvette offered in Dark Bronze?
1981, 1984–1985: 3 model years on the C3, C4. Dark Bronze Metallic was a Bowling Green-only color in 1981, the first year of the new plant (432 cars, and half of the Beige / Dark Bronze two-tone), and it was on the C4 chart for 1984 and 1985 with 1,371 and 1,030 cars, usually with the Saddle interior and sometimes as the lower half of the Light Bronze / Dark Bronze two-tone..
What is the GM paint code for Dark Bronze?
GM used 74, 66 across the years; the code changed when GM changed its coding system, not the paint. The paint-shop codes are 1981: WA7412; 1984–1985: WA7723 / PPG 3607 / DuPont B8325.
How many Dark Bronze Corvettes were built?
2,833 by GM’s counts (1,371 in 1984, the biggest year).
Which Corvette models and editions came in Dark Bronze?
1981 Two-tone Beige / Dark Bronze (Bowling Green); 1984 Dark Bronze Metallic (1,371); 1984–85 Two-tone Light Bronze / Dark Bronze. 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 Dark Bronze a metallic, a tintcoat or a solid color?
Dark bronze metallic, 1981 and 1984–85. It was a no-cost color in every year it was offered.
What was the most popular year for Dark Bronze?
1984, with 1,371 cars, 2.7% of that year’s production.
What colors are similar to Dark Bronze?
Light Bronze, Zeus Bronze, Gold, Mahogany. The Brown Corvettes page has every brown the factory offered, with the years and counts side by side.
Where can I see pictures of Dark Bronze Corvettes?
The site has a picture post for each year Dark Bronze was offered — real cars photographed in the real color — linked from the year tables above and in the picture grids on this page; the Brown Corvettes page and the wallpaper collection have more.
How does the Dark Bronze 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.
