1966 BMC Touch Up Paint (10 OEM Colors)

The 1966 BMC Vibe

It's 1966, and the British Motor Corporation is effectively the king of the "Swinging Sixties." Whether you were squeezing into a Mini Cooper S to outrun the law or taking a long-legged MGB down to the coast, your car was wearing a thick, honest coat of single-stage pigment. We've kept a close eye on the survivors, and while the streets are a bit quieter now, our database still tracks the 10 heavy hitters that defined the era. From the "professorial" look of Peat and Florida Green to the flat-out racing pedigree of British Racing Green No 2 and Pale Primrose, these colors weren't just paint-they were a lifestyle. Back then, if you didn't look good in Healy Blue, you weren't trying.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Single Stage Era, where the paint is thick, smelly, and entirely devoid of a clear coat. On a 1966 BMC, the color you see is the only line of defense between the steel and the British rain. The "Legend" is that this stuff is bulletproof, but the reality is Oxidation. If your Basilica Blue looks more like a dusty chalkboard than a deep ocean, that's the paint literally dying and turning to dust on the surface. Without a clear coat to take the hit, the UV rays eat the pigment for breakfast. It starts as a dull haze and ends with "chalking"-where you can wipe the color right off onto your sleeve.

Restoration Tip

Here is the golden rule for 1960s BMC finishes: It needs wax or it dies. Because there's no clear coat, you have to provide a sacrificial barrier yourself. If your Old English White No. 2 is looking tired, don't panic-it's actually got a lot of "meat" on the bone. You can usually buff away that top layer of dead, oxidized paint to reveal the fresh pigment underneath. But once you've polished it back to a shine, you're standing in the buff. You must seal it immediately with a high-quality carnauba wax or a sealant. If you leave it "naked" after a buff, the oxidation will come back twice as fast and twice as angry.