66-68 Arm Rest Question

[pjmoreland]

I bought a set of 66-68 arm rests from GMCPauls and they are made out of a single piece of rather hard plastic. They look nice, but they are not comfortable at all because they are so hard. I called classicparts.com and the person on the phone told me theirs is constructed like the originals and is foam wrapped in vinyl. Can anyone confirm this is the case or suggest another vendor that also sells a soft version of these arm rests?

[Grumpy old man]

They are all the same ,You want creature comforts from a 50 year old truck ? They didn't come with air bag suspensions or LS engines and most only had heat and a blower fan . it just drives me nuts as more and more enthusiasts want late model creature comforts .What's next an airbag ? and GPS location system so you don't get lost driving to the gas station ? next thing you know there will be a line at the charging station ...

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

They are all the same ,You want creature comforts from a 50 year old truck ? They didn't come with air bag suspensions or LS engines and most only had heat and a blower fan . it just drives me nuts as more and more enthusiasts want late model creature comforts .What's next an airbag ? and GPS location system so you don't get lost driving to the gas station ? next thing you know there will be a line at the charging station ...

What you are saying may be true for some, but as far as this thread goes all that is in your head. All I see in the original post is he is expecting the reproduction that is made in this modern world to be made the same as 55 years ago. Vinyl molded over foam, not hard plastic. I see nothing about wanting any creature comforts other than what these trucks gave when they were new. And in '67 these trucks did take a big step ahead in creature comforts.

I need a pair of black '67 arm rests myself. I had nice original red ones but switched to going with black

[duallyjams]

I have repro set in my 68, guess since it's a 4peed my left arm is always on the steering wheel, I never noticed any differences in the arm rest. I have an original one in my 65, I never notice any difference from the repro.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by duallyjams

I have repro set in my 68, guess since it's a 4peed my left arm is always on the steering wheel, I never noticed any differences in the arm rest. I have an original one in my 65, I never notice any difference from the repro.

Yep, I'm guilty of lazy right-hand-only steering most of the time. Where did you buy the repro set?

[duallyjams]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Yep, I'm guilty of lazy right-hand-only steering most of the time. Where did you buy the repro set?

I honestly don't remember, it was during one of the holiday sales.

[70STOVEBOLT]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

They are all the same ,You want creature comforts from a 50 year old truck ? They didn't come with air bag suspensions or LS engines and most only had heat and a blower fan . it just drives me nuts as more and more enthusiasts want late model creature comforts .What's next an airbag ? and GPS location system so you don't get lost driving to the gas station ? next thing you know there will be a line at the charging station ...

Tell us how you really feel, Grumpy

[1970 CST Short Wide]

Originally Posted by grumpy old man

they are all the same ,you want creature comforts from a 50 year old truck ? They didn't come with air bag suspensions or ls engines and most only had heat and a blower fan . It just drives me nuts as more and more enthusiasts want late model creature comforts .what's next an airbag ? And gps location system so you don't get lost driving to the gas station ? Next thing you know there will be a line at the charging station ...

lol.

[pjmoreland]

This solid plastic reproduction I've got isn't a good representation of what was in these trucks originally. The originals were soft.

[countr]

You just cannot beat OEM on these trucks!
Thanks Russ

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by countr

You just cannot beat OEM on these trucks!
Thanks Russ

That is the painful truth right there. Did you ever find a set of NOS fawn armrests?

[countr]

Found 1 nos set and 1 very nice OEM oem set.

Thanks for asking.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by countr

Found 1 nos set and 1 very nice OEM oem set.

Thanks for asking.

Nice! That must have taken some patience to find. I'm going to try and find a good OEM set in black, if available. I'm not sure what colors were available in 66-68 Chevy/GMC.

[countr]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Nice! That must have taken some patience to find. I'm going to try and find a good OEM set in black, if available. I'm not sure what colors were available in 66-68 Chevy/GMC.

I will keep a eye out for you on black. All i have is red and fawn right now.
Thanks Russ

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by countr

I will keep a eye out for you on black. All i have is red and fawn right now.
Thanks Russ

Thank you!

[sick472]

I rather like the ones I got from GMC Paul's like you photo'd, but I must not be the right body size/proportions as I cannot comfortably us them as arm rests. My arm wants to be on the door glass opening not the arm rest. Mine are rather firm, however.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by sick472

I rather like the ones I got from GMC Paul's like you photo'd, but I must not be the right body size/proportions as I cannot comfortably us them as arm rests. My arm wants to be on the door glass opening not the arm rest. Mine are rather firm, however.

The quality does seem good, they look great, and I'm sure they'll last a long, long time. It's mainly when I'm going around a right-hand corner at speed that I find the arm rest digging into my elbow.

[dmjlambert]

If classicparts.com says theirs is constructed like the originals and is foam wrapped in vinyl then I suggest give them a try and see what you get. Are they a small enough vendor where the folks can actually go over and lay a hand on the part and give it a squeeze, or are they reading a computer screen when they talk about the part? I wonder.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

If classicparts.com says theirs is constructed like the originals and is foam wrapped in vinyl then I suggest give them a try and see what you get. Are they a small enough vendor where the folks can actually go over and lay a hand on the part and give it a squeeze, or are they reading a computer screen when they talk about the part? I wonder.

I wonder that as well. I was hoping someone here had first-hand experience with them. I may just have to order a set to find out for sure.

[duallyjams]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I wonder that as well. I was hoping someone here had first-hand experience with them. I may just have to order a set to find out for sure.

I had both trucks in the garage over the weekend and did a squeeze test on the original verses the repro, I could not tell a difference between the two. The original arm rest fitment to the metal door panel is better then the repro, it is more of a flush fit if that makes sense.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by duallyjams

I had both trucks in the garage over the weekend and did a squeeze test on the original verses the repro, I could not tell a difference between the two. The original arm rest fitment to the metal door panel is better then the repro, it is more of a flush fit if that makes sense.

Thank you for doing that. Would you call them soft, or firm?

[duallyjams]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Thank you for doing that. Would you call them soft, or firm?

Definitely firm. Both trucks have buddy bucket seats, that might make a difference from a bench seat on the functionality of the arm rest placement sitting in the seat of the truck.

[pjmoreland]

Hmm, ok. Maybe my assumption that my reproduction arm rests are firmer than OE is not valid. I assumed the firmness of the 66 OE arm rests would be similar to 68-71 arm rests, which are reasonably soft.

[duallyjams]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Hmm, ok. Maybe my assumption that my reproduction arm rests are firmer than OE is not valid. I assumed the firmness of the 66 OE arm rests would be similar to 68-71 arm rests, which are reasonably soft.

I do not have a late 68 to 71 to compare them too but I can say that the 60-63, early 64 arm rest are softer then the late 64 to early 68 arm rest.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I called classicparts.com and the person on the phone told me theirs is constructed like the originals and is foam wrapped in vinyl.

I went ahead and ordered a set of these arm rests from classicparts.com based on what the guy told me on the phone, but they are exactly the same thing that is sold by GMCPauls (basically a solid chunk of plastic). They are Counterpart brand, and part number 64-56665-BK. I will be calling them tomorrow to see about returning them.