Every time I see this on Facebook it catches my eye. What color is it, and was it a special order color?

 

Assuming it's factory color, looks like Code 29 which was a standard color offering on all GM carlines in 1971.

Olds called it Monarch Blue, Chevrolet Command Blue, Buick Nocturne Blue, Pontiac Regency Blue and Cadillac Brittany Blue. Deep metallic blue that pops when the sun hits it right.

Code 26 Viking Blue was the special order color. The Service Guilds and Dealer Tech Bulletins have literally pages dedicated to getting a correct color match when doing paint repair on 26.

 

It looks very close to Pontiac's mid-sixties color called Nightwatch Blue. Could it be the same with a different name because it was later?

 

GM used a letter designation on paint codes thru 1968 and Nightwatch Blue and whatever names the other Divisions used for the color are Code E.

If the formula is the same for 60s E and 70s 29, it's same color. But the color stylists would often change the formulas a little bit year to year.

One thing I remember about the 60s dark metallic blue is that if it wasn't maintained or polished and waxed regularly, it would fade badly and take on a purplish or sometimes rainbow cast.