The Mopar family of Chrysler brands gave us some of the most powerful and fun models of the muscle car era, like the Dodge Challenger and Charger, the Plymouth Roadrunner, and the Barracuda, which ceased production after 1974. A big reason for the joy these cars brought was the powerful V8 engines that powered them. But Chrysler’s designers paid as much attention to the exterior of these cars as the engineers did to their interiors. In the summer of 1969, Chrysler unleashed its range of High Impact paints on the world – a range of hues that made the colors offered by Ford and Chevrolet all look like washed-out grays and beiges by comparison.
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Chrysler’s 10 new colors cost just $15 more and can be applied to almost any car in the lineup, unlike the limited number of bright colors offered by Ford and GM. The High Impact paints were available until 1973 and can significantly increase the value of cars that have lasted the half-century. Here are our five favorites from this short but exciting chapter of Mopar history.
Plum Crazy paintwork made classic Mopars particularly valuable
Sheb Wooley’s novelty hit “The Purple People Eater” came out in 1958, more than a decade before Chrysler began offering its cars in a shade that turned these beasts into purple road-eaters. On Dodge models, the FC7 color code was known as “Plum Crazy,” while on Chryslers and Plymouths it was called In-Violet. It was only available in 1970 and 1971, and the 1971 Dodge Challenger pictured above is one of only 2,700 vehicles painted in this shade, according to Muscle Cars Universe.
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The $15 you would have spent on a coat of Plum Crazy in 1971 is the equivalent of less than $120 today, but the color makes these models worth a small fortune on the used market. A 1970 Challenger convertible in FC7 sold for $76,000 just under a year ago, and a hardtop coupe went for $165,000 in January. If you absolutely must have one, there’s currently a coupe for sale through GR Auto Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for $86,900. In 2016, Dodge brought back Plum Crazy as part of its Heritage Collection of colors for certain Challenger and Charger models.
EV2 appeared orange or red depending on the lighting
The EV2 color code was known as HEMI Orange on Dodge models and TorRed on Plymouths and Chryslers, and the shade appeared orange in bright light and red in darker conditions. It was originally offered from 1969 to 1972, but Dodge did not contribute to the red/orange controversy when it brought the shade back in 2009 as part of the Heritage Collection. Rather than settle the dispute over whether the color was orange or red, Dodge decided to offer two separate colors under its two previous names.
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Pontiac used a similar shade on the 1969 GTO Judge, a color that was dubbed “Carousel Red” but also looked orange in daylight. Classic Mopars in EV2 are also worth a premium today. Two 1970 Charger R/Ts sold last year for $72,000 and $150,000, and one of only 237 1970 Challengers with the 426 cubic-inch HEMI V8 sold just days before this writing for an incredible $329,500.
The paint code FJ6 also had two different names
FJ6 referred to a shade of green called Sassy Grass or Green Go, another color that glowed differently in sunlight and overcast conditions. The 1971 Dodge Challenger at the top of this article and the 1970 Dart Swinger directly above are both painted FJ6, but the Dart’s paint looks much less vibrant without sunlight. It was originally only available for those two model years, but Dodge later produced nearly 1,500 2011 Challengers in a similar shade called Green With Envy.
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In 2017, the color returned to the lineup under its original name, Green Go. The classic Sassy Grass/Green Go Mopar models command the same premium on the resale market as the other High Impact colors. A 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in this shade sold for $62,500 in early August, a ’70 Challenger R/T coupe with the “Sixpack” option with three carburetors sold for $78,000 earlier this year, and a convertible version of the same model and year sold for $106,400 just days before this writing.
Bahama Yellow was a bit muted compared to some other classic Mopar colors
Mopar color code EL5 was known as Butterscotch or Bahama Yellow, depending on the brand, and was offered between 1969 and 1971. It’s nowhere near as bright as many of its high-impact siblings, but still screams “classic” just as loudly as Go Green or HEMI Orange. This understated color option also wasn’t as popular as the more vibrant colors, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find classic Mopar models in Bahama Yellow for less than one in a bolder shade.
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Classic Lady Motors in Cornelius, North Carolina, is offering a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner like the one pictured above in Bahama Yellow for $67,500, and a similar 1971 model went for $48,995 at Streetside Classics in Phoenix, Arizona. Both of these examples were a bargain compared to the 1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda with the EL5 HEMI engine that was offered for a whopping $153,000 at Gateway Classic Cars in Las Vegas.
Panther Pink is perhaps the wildest Mopar color of all
While EL5 whispers to observers as if it’s in a crowded library, the FM3 color code screams as if it’s trying to get your attention across a packed stadium. This color was called Panther Pink at Dodge dealers and Moulin Rouge at Chrysler and Plymouth. It was only available briefly in the spring and summer of 1970. Auto Evolution believes it was only used on a few thousand cars in total and fewer than 100 Dodge Chargers. The video blogger who photographed the Panther Pink 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner pictured above at the 2019 Adirondack Nationals claims it was one of only 44 built. Many timid owners foolishly chose to repaint their FM3-colored Mopars, making it extremely difficult to find this color on surviving examples today
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The 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A was built as a homologation model for the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans-Am series, and Mecum Auctions claims that only about a dozen examples of this particular car in Panther Pink have survived this long. Mecum attempted to sell one of these rare Challenger T/As at the same 2020 auction that sold the green 1968 Mustang from the movie “Bullitt” for $3.74 million. Unfortunately, the $52,000 offer wasn’t enough for the highest bidder to take it home. If you think pink would look good on you, we found a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in this stunning shade for sale in Branson, Missouri, through Classic Cars.com for $63,000.
