Black Hills Gold January Color of the Month	Passionate Pink February Color of the Month
Emerald Green March Color of the Month	Eastertime Coral April Color of the Month

Four special order colors were offered as part of the 1968 national Color of the Month Mustang promotion. The Color of the Month promotion offered a special ordered color and sport options for each of the first 4 months of 1968. Black Hills Gold was offered in January for the New Years celebration; Passionate Pink in February for Valentines Day; Emerald Green in March for Saint Patrick's Day, and Eastertime Coral for Easter in April.

Here is an example invoice of a Passionate Pink 1968 February Color of the Month promotional Mustang. In this example, it appears that only the color was discounted as no charge (NC).

Color of the Month Special Paint Colors

Below is part of a letter from Ford dated June 1968, that indicates the following 4 colors for the 1968 Color of the Month (Mustangs). The letter has a header indicating that the promotion might be only a Denver district area promotion but we have found cars painted these special colors ordered in Los Angeles and Newark which were built in San Jose (VIN staring with 8R) and Metuchen, New Jersey (VIN starting with 8T). For this reason, we believe the Color of the Month was a national promotion.

This is a list of all 4 colors and the information we have found for them to date. Click on the color name to see examples of Mustangs we've collected. If you have more information please let us know. We've recently discovered that Emerald Green was available at least until 1988 as a special order fleet paint. We are still looking for examples of an Emerald Green Mustang, although we have found an Emerald Green Ford Bronco from the same time period.

Ford Paint Numbers were typically assigned in order, starting at 0001 in the 1950's preceeded by a M2J. By 1968, the numbers were in the low 3000s preceded by the letter M and typically an A at the end for an exterior gloss finish. In 1977, they were up to the mid 5000s. It also appears that very early on Ford reserved some numbers for special order paints at first with 5 digit numbers and later, in the 1960's, with a series of 4 digit number preceded by the letters WT (non-standard special order paints having 5 digits and preceded by the letters MX). The special WT codes are divided up as follows WT0000s for whites, WT1000s for off whites, WT2000s for gray, WT3000s for brown and gold, WT4000s for red, WT5000s for orange, WT6000s for yellow, WT7000s for green, WT8000s for blue, and the WT9000s for purple maroon and pink. The metallic paints were 500 and above in each set. This special use of reserved color codes is still being used today.

Ford Paint Number reuse is not that common. In most cases we see very old colors, such as Diamond Blue WT0921, don't change and is used a great number of years even though the Dupont formulation changes. We have been able to confirm that if a special order WT code paint is used as a standard offering for a year, then the 4 digit number does not typically change; just an M is added to the beginning and in most cases an A at the end.

If you have more information please let us know.