The blotches on the door are from dust in my camera. But I couldn’t resist shooting this Nova because of its color.
CC Outtake: And What Exactly Did They Call This Color?
– Posted on June 17, 2013
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Curbside Classics Archives
Hey, I think this is one of those Nova Medalists! I think the gold color was the thrust of this package. Medalists had subtle “Medalist” decals in black: one decal was on the decklid and one was just below the Nova script on each of the front fenders. Perhaps it has something to do with the Olympics(?)
Anyway, I found the carcass of one at the scrapyard last year…and of course didn’t get a shot of the “Medalist” script. It was the exact same color (under the trunklid anyway!).
Hopefully someone will know more about this. It’s nice to see one of these in such fantastic unmodified condition — look at those now-rare P01 wheelcovers 🙂
This was a std. “old lady car” when I was a kid, with these hubcaps, the base versions of these are so plain, I dont even think they have any pleats on the upholstery.
I would gladly take one of the cars clean no matter the color/trim level. Such a car, especially coupe, with 305/350, automatic and no other option but air would be plenty good everyday car. HEI pre CCC days with limited options makes for simple driving bliss. Plus you could throw some inexpensive AR Wheels make the car look good with little investment. Even a quick dual exhaust job make the car lively but not noisy.
I have a 76 chev camper van…looks like the same colour “Yuba Gold”
I naively believed that “Medalist” was only a trim name on certain JDM Nissan Laurels of yore, in line with other funny Japlish labels, like Daihatsu Mira Pit.
How wrong was I! Thank you for mentioning it.
There was also a super-low-line Mercury Medalist in 1956.
You’re welcome 🙂 I was curious & found a blurb on the http://www.novaresource.org/history.htm page:
“To commemorate the Olympic games in 1976, Chevrolet created the “Gold Medalist” Nova (RPO-Z78). It included special gold paint (paint code 53) and “Gold Medalist” emblems. While there are no specific numbers for the Medalist package, there were 5,489 Novas built with this special gold paint.”
Here’s what the rear emblem looks like courtesy of Mr. Google.
I don’t think it is a Medalist. Medalist was a 1976 color/option. This car is sporting a 1975 grille. I couldn’t find any bulletins for the color gold for any 75 Chevrolets. Plus this car is a plain jane cheap model. No moldings, no bumper rub strips. If I had to guess I’d say it was repainted this color. To bad no super close up shots. If it is a repaint than somebody did a good job. All the emblems are still on it.
You may be right there…unless the grille (fragile as can be) was broken and replaced with a ’75 unit.
I remember the corpse of the one I found in the junkyard was an el-strippo unit with L6, no moldings, and basic spartan interior…nothing on that car’s interior was different than any other base Nova’s I’ve run across.
It’s hard to say. I guess we’ll never know.
I’d say French’s Mustard
If that’s a ’75, it could be ‘Bright Yellow’. Really looks more like ‘Mustard Yellow’, so we could call it ‘Maaco Yellow’ perhaps?
Baby poo.
Ralleye Yellow Ralley Gold, Yellow Gold, Or Maize, Yellow Metallic
What did they call it?
Awesome, that’s what.
I seem to remember from a purely stylistic viewpoint in either Car & Driver or R&T, that the “critics” of that time were quite complimentary. They compared it to the BMW’s in that it was a good “clean” design. They left the comparison at that.
It is a very clean design, its 70’s no doubt, but its doesn’t carry the excess that some cars from this era did, and even though the car underneath date back to 1968, the styling on top is very contemporary.
I always thought that this restyle removed any character that the original design had. Sort of how the Volare kept the general dimensions of the Valiant but removed all of the interesting styling touches.
I felt the same way at the time — “another generic car from GM.” But I feel more kindly toward the design today.
I read something like that written about the sedan looking like BMW with the roofline. It’s more free flowing than the previous body style that’s for sure; the greenhouse area is larger but I can see where it lacks some character. I’m surprised it has the old style door handles when everything else was switching to the rectangular lift-up handles GM used forever.
Steely moose wins the prize. That’s exactly what I remember.
Looks like it might be a Cream Gold that was popular in the 70s part of all of the earthy tones. Even inside of homes got the treatment.
Looks more appropriate on a Datsun of the era.
Highly probable I was a repaint and the color might not be completely original either.
Among the 3 car shows that I attended over the weekend was a 1978 Novas coupe with 36,000 original miles in a red with black vinyl. Very very nice.
Urinalmist
ha
Disco Puke.
I think in French this color is known as “caca d’oie”.
Thank you for that “after work and just sucked down 3 mike’s hard lemonades” laugh…. caca d’oie…
“Paint Code: CKN-N9T – Wendy’s Golden Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce Light Metallic”
Ahhh memories… my mom had a very similar (’76 if that’s what this is) Nova, but in Autumn Poopie Dog-Dirt Sienna. I’ll never forget freezing in the winter without working heat, the scars on my thighs from the vinyl bench seat in the summer (no A/C), getting all itchy from the crumbling headliner padding raining down on my head or the teenagers who would constantly beep at us and yell “MISS, your car is driving sideways!!”
I hope that car is somehow still out there. I know it was given to one of my (much older) cousins after it got way too ratty for any respectable member of society to drive. It had over 200k miles on the 250 six at that point, and seemed to run fine. The body was straight too, although it did – literally – go down the road sideways. Would have made a great Lemons car, although it’s more likely it ended up at the Demo Derby or being driven to this day by the world’s biggest slob.
“Paint Code: CKN-N9T – Wendy’s Golden Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce Light Metallic” HaHa
Actually that was the Buick code. The Chevrolet code was “RAD-235 You Have Already Been Exposed Please Report To Decontamination At Once”
That’s darned close to Caterpillar Yellow…
Well, maybe tent caterpillar yellow….
Piss Yellow on the Nova, Puke Green on the Apollo, Omega and Ventura
This color is actually growing on me. Literally.
the blob…..
Please seek medical attention as soon as possible. Would hate to spread it to others.
Dont Ask Whats in the Trunk Ochre Metallic
Ochre was my first thought, too.
I kind of like it, colour and all. At least it hasn’t been monkeyed with and butchered like most of these cars, and the usual colour makes it more unique. There aren’t many left this original in the wild.
Malaise Maize Metallic
Snot yellow also available in snot green
I’m not sure what “they” called it, but “we” called it babyshit yellow.
It matches my Grandma’s refrigerator!
In the appliance biz, this was called Harvest Gold. For a period during the 70s, instead of the black, white and stainless choices we have today, all appliances were available only in Harvest Gold and Avocado.
Our kitchen featured Avocado appliances.
Coppertone was also a popular color then.
More than that, there was Sunburst and some sort of blue too.
It’s the same exact color as the 1974 Chevy C10 I sold two days ago.
That’s a hint folks. I’m not spoiling this guessing game.
Radioactive Jaundice.
This has to be close to the worst color ever, if not the worst ever.
It’s surprisingly nice in person.
Wow – I’m amazed.
Ha Ha, But compaired to leasure suits of the day it is really quite nice. 🙂
Not that it’s much of a compliment, but any shade of avocado/puke green is worse than this.
Objection!
I say the color was called Dark Yellow; I had a ’72 Vega that was almost the identical color.
+1
It’s paint code 33, although PPG/Ditzler says it was first offered on the Vega in 1975. But yours could’ve been a repaint…
http://www.tcpglobal.com/aclchip.aspx?image=1976-Chevrolet-pg01.jpg
Ford Australia have a very similar colour Citric Acid I’ll find one for you one day.
Please don’t no,it’s OK we get the picture!This brings me to another of lifes great mysteries do you restore a car to it’s original horrid colour?There’s a shit brown E body ‘Cuda I see quite a bit.Mopar had some of the best colours I’ve seen and someone bought a brown ‘Cuda
BMW had a Phoenix Yellow on the M3 a couple of years ago that was close to this Nova’s shade of yellow.
Chrysler Australia had this colour as Sundance Orange. My family had a 1977 Chrysler Galant in this with a chocolate brown interior. Reliable and nice to drive, but a real poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
All the put downs is why we have ‘grayscale’ car colors these days. Nobody wants their car to get made fun of, so they go with safe white, black, or silver. Rather be called ‘boring’ than a slang term for human excrement.
OTOH This mustard yellow color is fairly popular with interior paint. Check homes for sale and see walls in brown, tan, yellow, red, green, etc.
With housing, the style is all color, with cars, it’s like old 50’s sitcoms.
at MB, they called this “icon gold metallic”. fantastic colour!
http://www.classicway.de/Ikonengold%20metallic%20(Icon%20Gold%20metallic)%20_116/w_419/Mercedes_.htm
I believe it is PPG 2814 “Dark Yellow”
My 1976 Chevy van had the same paint and according to the paint chip chart which I still have from when I ordered my van back inn the summer of 1975 calls it “YUBA GOLD” and I believe the paint code was 53