Is B3 blue the same as UU1 Blue?

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Inspector71

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Mine is in parts so I can't do a good comparison. I have a 68 notch back Barracuda in UU1 blue. A friend has a 67 in B3 blue. He hasn't had time to come by house and we live in different towns. I saw his after it was repainted and compared it to some parts I've taken from mine plus pictures of my firewall. Mine appears darker. Is that simply my impression and they are the same or is there a difference? Thanks.
 
Damn you've got a lot of time on your hands. Some car, somewhere, is gonna be painted the same color as yours, just how it is.
 
oldmopardude said:
UU1 is close to B5,a lot more blue than my B3 was.
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I stand corrected by myself! B-3 Blue was first available in 1969.So, there was no B-3 in 67. However, DD1 in 67-68,Pale blue poly looks like 69 B3 light blue poly. 1968 UU1 light blue poly is darker, and first shows up in 68'. I gnore the names normally, the letter code is the main thing to look at.Sorry about that!:eek:ops:
 
No, they will be different. If they were the same, then they would have a similar paint code.


Here's how the color codes work for Chrysler. The last two digits designate the color, the first designates the year. Each year the first digit gets bumped. If it is a carryover color from the year before, the first digit will change, and the last two will remain the same.

Example: Red one year was PR4. The next year they carried over the same color but increased the first digit by one and made it RR4 (they skip Q as it can be confused with O). It was the same exact color with the same master color chip (R4).

Black was PX9 and then went to RX9. Etc....
 
That's not entirely correct.

69 and up, the first digit is the year of origin, the second and third digits are the color code. That's why it's important to distinguish the difference between GB5 and KB5.

68 and down, the PNT code on the tag likely will have two of the same letter and usually a "1". The first digit is NOT the first year the paint was available, like the 69 and up codes. For example- YY1 is the same color (but might be a different name) in 66 and 67, and there is no XY1 or ZY1.

IIRC a two tone car (say, a white hat special) would be WY2)

Note that numbers were also used- 881 (1968 and down) was very similar to EB5 (1969 and 1970).
The formula changed in 71 to GB5, and then in 74 to KB5.

The first letter is the same year code as engine block stampings.
 
My codes are on the PPG guide. The DD1 in 67-68 is the same paint color, as the chart shows. The letters are the shade, and all the paint codes have the numeral 1 at the end. My 68 GTS is JJ1, for gold top,gold bottom. The Parts manual makes that clear. My 67 Chrysler is BZ2. Black painted top, gold bottom , two tone(2) 67 GTX SS1 yellow/yellow. 67 Plymouth is PP-1, red top,bottom. Then, in 1969 the first letter is the color, the number is the shade. This ppg sheet is available online, and is easy to read. I only addressed the 67-69 years, no others. On the 67 sheet, some letters carried over to a different color in 68, but not all of them.
On my 69 dart sedan it shows W1 W1, white top white bottom.
 
Your answers were a bigger help than you can imagine. My friends 67 is nice but the blue a bit lighter than I prefer. Why did I think mine was the same? It sat outside in California from 68 to about 2000 so had faded quite a bit. What prompted this question was my disassembly process and I kept turning up pieces a darker blue that I actually like...not to mention the firewall was much bluer. So, Instead of changing the color (I've done it before and realize what a huge job this is) I am keeping it the same. There is almost no rust even under teh car and the trunk is good to go as if including the inside of the deck lid. So you have saved me a huge amount of work and confirmed that this is a blue I really like. You all have chosen the color for my car and I couldn't agree more. Thanks everyone.

PoisonDart74: Sorry, I didn't follow your post. Not sure what you meant about time or a car being painted the same color. Try again maybe

Oldmopardude: I appreciate the great amount of work you put into this and it really was a big help.
KrazyKuda and YY1, thanks to you as well. This is a big relief for me. I was not looking forward to all the work I was going to need in order to change the color. Your information did the trick.
 
Either way, I love the blue from B3 to B7 and anything close. They are very nice.


The best way to see the true factory color shade, is to take off something in the interior or trunk and see what color is under it. Then the color is not faded from being exposed to the sun and any weather. Anything visible without having to uncover it is probably faded somewhat at least.
 
Here is the 68 color chart. My Dart is paint code Q and I'll admit, it's darker then what I'd like. I'm a bigger fan of EB5. Any color that's worn out is going to look bad though. I'm sure it will look great when it's fresh. Make sure you match the color against a good sample of original paint from your car. Some areas didn't get much coverage and the color will be lighter then it should be.

http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/paintChipCharts/_1968PaintChipCharts-01.shtml?load_img=1
 
Even more help. I love this website.

KrazyKuda, you are so right. I was stripping everything off the somewhat faded firewall. I took off the heater blower motor. My friend Mike says, "Hey take a look at the blue that is under it and not faded. Are you sure you want to change that?" Not only was it a darker blue than I thought, it was metallic. Nice. You all confirmed what I thought.
 
The problem as explained to me is PPG went out of business, and the type of paint made today isn't the same. None would guarantee an exact match, be it Single stage urethane, base coat,or enamel. Water based is a good option, but more money. If there is a good example of the original shade, and large enough area, the shop can use a scanner of some type to read it, and get a good match. That is hard, as most of the paint on a 45 year old car is pretty faded. My Painter had the best luck with base/clear with Gold, so that is the way we are going.
 
On my Challenger, the painter sent me three spray outs. One was the color the book said it should be. The other two were very slight variants of that color. I peeled off the jack instruction decal on the under side of the trunk lid. I compared the spray outs to the original paint in the sun.

Make sure you get a spray out of the color. Any paint line should be able to be tweaked to get the color right.
 
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I've had my 72 b5 car parked next to a 70 b5 car and mine seams more "pearly" than the earlier shade.
 
Why do they have to make it so hard. Yeah, I know, because if I finally get this right, I'll really appreciate the work and what I have learned. All true. I bought some in an 11 ounce can. I'm going to try it on some brackets to see how it looks and go from there. Again, I am really thankful for the help. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me not to be in such a rush to change the color. The trunk idea was a good one. Looks good.
 
I always enjoy it when people include their car. That is one nice Dart. I am liking these colors more and more. When I started this project, I had little idea what I was doing. I have enjoyed learning and all the good info I've found on this site.
 
Inspector71 said:
Why do they have to make it so hard. Yeah, I know, because if I finally get this right, I'll really appreciate the work and what I have learned. All true. I bought some in an 11 ounce can. I'm going to try it on some brackets to see how it looks and go from there. Again, I am really thankful for the help. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me not to be in such a rush to change the color. The trunk idea was a good one. Looks good.
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The goofy dealers changed, and added shades all througoht he 70's . I really miss those days! You could choose up to 21 different colors, and probably eight different color interiors. Cars don't all look the same that way. Today, Chrysler is really cheap in that area, they can paint more cars faster with fewer choices. Your blue is a very nice color. Look for that color today! Nowhere.
 
full disclosure requires I admit I'm an old mopar guy too. Maybe older than you. I remember when these cars were brand new. And you are so right about all the options and colors and stuff compared to today. Is that your Charger in the avatar? I happen to have a 68 Charger (GG1 Green) sitting across the garage from the Barracuda. The Charger is from Misouri which is an old French word for RUST. so it may be a while. I bought the Barracuda, a 66 Plymouth Convertble Valiant, and a 66 Sport Fury when I lived out there for 10 years. Paid a grand total of $1050.00 bucks for all three. I wish I had brought with me the B5 blue Sport Satellite, Blue 65 Dart...yeah, I know, everyone has those stories. Your posts have really helped. I am excited about getting this done.
 
The body shop supply store I use has a really good "paint matcher" camera.

They have nailed my original YY1 twice for me and a couple of other colors, including the very hard to mix JY3.

All three times the match turned out better than the "formula" mix.

If my po-dunk *** town has one, I'll bet yours does too.

Don't be afraid to go to more than one place. Cameras, and operators vary.

This also takes fading into account. It's your choice to have them match the underside of the deck lid, or the top.
 
I use ppg paint. The problem I have found is ppg can not mix most the old colors in DBC, in witch is there better paint. So they have to mix it there cheaper paint ( base). I have learned that the cheaper base it thin & does not cover well. So if your gona use it do not thin it as they say to do. The cheaper base is called shop line.
 
I appreciate the great info here. My concern was not someone would have the same color. I like my friend's 67 but the blue is too light for me and I wanted something darker, My concern was that UU1 was a 68 code for a 67 paint. I really like turquoise but changing the entire car in and out was not something I looked forward too. Finding parts not exposed to the sun being more to my liking saved me from going through all this, plus what you all have posted. Now, if I can win my case with family services in Missouir (Hitler must be running this agency) and my garnishment lifted, I can finally finish my car.
 
Inspector71 said:
I appreciate the great info here. My concern was not someone would have the same color. I like my friend's 67 but the blue is too light for me and I wanted something darker, My concern was that UU1 was a 68 code for a 67 paint. I really like turquoise but changing the entire car in and out was not something I looked forward too. Finding parts not exposed to the sun being more to my liking saved me from going through all this, plus what you all have posted. Now, if I can win my case with family services in Missouir (Hitler must be running this agency) and my garnishment lifted, I can finally finish my car.
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Good luck with it Let use know how you make out
 
QQ1 on a GTX I did a couple years ago.This was the Omni line of paint.
 

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I'm sure you hear this all the time but that is really a nice car, primo, and I love that paint. Again, I can't thank you all enough for helping me as I was operating under the false belief my UU1 was the same as what turns out to be DD1 in 67 but I was wrong. No knock on DD1, I prefer a darker shade of pale.
 
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