Best Colors for Chevy C10

Chevy’s C10 may have only been in production for twenty-five years, but considering it started production in 1960 and wrapped up in the mid-80s, it covered a lot of color-ground, from bright pops of saturated color to nature-inspired palettes. There’s certainly a little something for everyone in the C10’s repertoire.

We've compiled a complete list of the C10's available colors through the years, and after countless hours of studying photos of the C10, we’ve arrived at what we’re ready to say are the ten best colors for the C10.

Skyline Blue

This light blue is one of the most distinctive colors of the C10, and it’s one of the C10 colors that looks good whether or not you got a two-tone or stripe package.

Skyline Blue is a versatile shade, and it looks great with a patina finish, or polished and waxed to a full shine. In other years this color was also just referred to as “Light Blue” which suits it fine.

Hawaiian Blue

Hawaiian, or Medium, Blue, is an incredibly rich shade and it looks best with a little shine. When paired with the bright metal finishings and white of a two-tone paint job, the blue really stands out. We’re not quite sure why Hawaiian Blue was the right name for this shade, but there’s something about it that does seem at home on a beach.

Hugger Orange

Few colors have the kind of dedicated fanbase that Hugger Orange has. A deep red-orange, it manages to be bright while still allowing for a lot of flexibility. Though it looks great on its own, it also pairs well with everything from the ever-present wood trim to the classic Cameo White two-toned scheme.

Orange can be a challenging color to get right and too often ends up falling either into “safety vest” or “Halloween” territory, but Hugger Orange is almost universally loved for good reason.

Rosedale Red

Rosedale Red is a dark red that was sometimes referred to as Vermillion. Its dark undertone has really allowed Rosedale Red to age incredibly well, and whether patinaed or restored, it’s the kind of color that suits a truck spectacularly well.

It’s almost a reddish-brown, which works very well with the C10’s oft-preferred accent color pairings of Tan or Buckskin. Of course, it looks equally great with Cameo White.

Russet Metallic

Russet could have been as boring as a potato, but this deep copper-toned metallic is more autumn inspired. Here it is paired with the ever-popular Santa Fe Tan, and the combination of the yellow-undertone from the tan with the orange of the Russet really does make you think of fall leaves. Sadly, this handsome shade didn’t have nearly a long enough run.

Ochre/Spanish Gold

This is a divisive shade, but it’s also a unique shade. This color is inspired by the natural clay pigmentation that occurs in many parts of the world and was used as a traditional paint. The yellow-brown shade is distinctly “earthy” and looks most at home out in nature.

This color was also referred to as “Spanish Gold” hinting at the fact that it leaned more towards the yellow end of the spectrum than the brown.

Yuma Yellow

Yuma Yellow, on the other hand, is an absolute yellow, best equated to a school bus shade. This is a truck that knows how to stand out in a crowd. The C10 kept a yellow on the color selection wheel every year, and over time it became one of the things that really set the C10 apart from its less bold rivals.

Turquoise

This beloved C10 color’s brightness is what really draws people to it. Coupled with white, it looks cheerful and pairs well with a variety of trim colors. Though most years of C10 production did have a turquoise, this particular shade from 1971 is a good representative sample.

Somewhere in between blue and green, Chevy clearly took some liberties with the name “Turquoise.” Though Skyline Blue might be closer to what actual turquoise looks like, these turquoises are delightfully inorganic and candy-colored.

Cardinal Red

No list of best colors is complete without a bright red, and Cardinal Red is the C10’s. This bright, vibrant red makes sure that the C10 is impossible to miss, and coupled with Cameo white trim and chrome finishings it looks sharp even decades later.

Medium Olive/Yellow Green

Medium Olive is a terrible name for this light, yellow-green that really resembles a pistachio more than anything. What saves this shade from falling into the many pitfalls of other light greens is that it has a bright undertone. Though it may remind some of the green furniture and appliances of the 1970s, it wears its age well instead of pretending that it’s from a different era. This is the color of a vintage truck, and whether patinaed or waxed, it’s impossible to mistake it for anything other than a classic.

If we missed your favorite, we’re sincerely sorry. Obviously, best is largely a matter of opinion, and even the worst color can be made to look incredible with some solid decisions regarding the styling. Some colors only look good when paired with a secondary color on a C10 two-tone paint job. Others have aged well, and look best when left sun-faded and sporting evidence of their rugged lifestyles, while others need to stay fresh to stay sharp.

Whichever color of C10 is in your garage, there’s no doubt that you can make it look good and keep it looking good. Whether that’s deciding to give it a patina finish, or applying a solid code of wax. Some bold C10 owners have kept the factory color but added stripes that pull out the undertone that they first fell in love with.

Just make sure to keep your C10 maintained and enjoy your classic truck!

Image Credit: eBay, Mecum, Hemmings, Classic Cars, Bring a Trailer