Rather Interesting '68

[special-K]

My buddy has this original '68 (survivor?) that I see as a great example of the various ways a truck could be ordered to suit. I think a dealer ordered this to put a very attractive truck on the lot that took spending little more than the lowest while giving the most. It's a C10 LWB Fleetside 6cyl/3spd painted Dark Aqua Poly outside and Fawn on the inside. The options are side trim,chrome bumpers,and hubcaps for looks,foam seat for comfort,then gauges,HD clutch,and HD rear springs to make it more truck. So,it was an attractive cheap truck that could handle the job...for most.
Here are pictures:

[special-K]

How about that grille guard? Too bad the doors are dented. It's really not awful with rust. Still has original corners. I looked at the cab supports and it's all clean under there. He just brought it over from his dad's to start messing with it

[Bad Jackson]

Cool! Can you explain the Foam seat option to a newb?? Doe that give the seat a different angle?

[tommys72]

Pretty neat little truck. That grill guard looks good on there.

[special-K]

Foam seat means just that. The standard seat is filled with straw. Ok,just kidding. It's extra foam. GM called it Full Foam on some SPIDs. The RF fender has been repaired and I guess that's when the painted bumper and grille guard went on. Probably figured chrome on the bumper didn't help much last time

[dirtyjim]

nice, I really like the color. very similar to my truck but mine has a white top

[toms68cst]

That is a pretty cool 68. Do you have Any pictures of the foam seat? I have never seen that option listed. I wonder if it's the same bench seat you get with the CST option.

[john]

Interesting it had all of the trim except the eyebrow and hood trim.

[jocko]

Nice truck Tim, thanks for sharing. Dk Aqua Poly is a BEAUTIFUL color when it's all resto'ed or re-painted. I knew 67's all had the fawn interior (or so I think), but didn't realize it followed into 68. Wondering if this was an early part of the model year practice before the interiors became body color?

[68Gold/white]

Not a bad starter project. Has a lot of good things going for it. Those cow catchers saved a lot of grills...LOL

It's a shame the drivers door is wacked, too. I find 25 good pass side doors to every good drivers door...

Probably a pretty common way for a dealer to order a pickup, "in the day". We forget about how things were back then, how money was and wasn't spent. Money was tight, even, in the 60's, lot's of folks still counted their pennies and dimes, remembering how things were in the depression....

[special-K]

Yeah,it shows how things were different back then. One thing seems sure to me,people were happier with less.

The seat covering is the standard vinyl style,but seems more full. I can take a picture. I've been working at his place this weekend. I always figured the Full Foam Seat option was the top of the line seat covered in a lower level cover.

John and Jocko,this thing got me wondering what I did and didn't know about year differences. In fact,I had referred to it as an early '68,then took that out to see what others noticed. It has all the '67 stuff inside and that front end trim thing. I'm surprised the back window doesn't show as an option. It doesn't have the '67 dash. Notice no colors listed on SPID?

He stopped and helped a guy with a '68 C/30 dump truck yesterday and took pictures. It had some unusual options. I'll get him to send the pictures and I'll see about starting a thread on that.

[Keith Seymore]

We always ordered all our trucks (never bought off the lot).

2wd swb, 6 cylinder, manual trans, rubber floor mat, manual windows, manual locks, vinyl seat, small mirrors.

The '87 I still have was in the middle of a long line of many such trucks; the only concession to modern living was the addition of air conditioning. After I ordered the truck I learned I was being transferred to the GM Desert Proving Ground so I had to track down the order and have them add air to it after it had already been submitted.

K

[liftmeup]

do you have his phone number ? I'm looking for a 67-68 brush guard maybe he is going to take it off ?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Special K:
Nice '68. [My favorite year.] Interesting that it has the '67 armrest. Must be an early model. And no icing on the hood and fender eyebrows. Fold-forward seat is '67 - '68 -only.
My Fremont-born '68 C/10 was a ''stripper'' -- possibly made for either Southern Pacific or Cal-Trans. Original buyer ordered a Stepside w/ 292 L6, SM465, 17.5 rims, WC Jr mirrors, 516 Orange, Fawn/Orange interior, DeLuxe Ashtray [on build sheet but not SPID] and not much else. All Manual- Trans, Brakes, Steering. No radio, no chrome, no armrests, rubber floormats. But it has the eyebrow and hood trim. I believe it was a late '68 product.

[toms68cst]

Is the dash and inside of the doors painted that fawn color? That's odd for '68s and more like the '67s if it's original. It's also odd that there is no paint code on the SPID.

[In The Ten Ring]

I don't think grill guards look the best but imagine hitting a deer without one!

I have a Luverne grill guard waiting to go onto my 1972 once it's ready for it (bought here on the forum).

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by toms68cst

Is the dash and inside of the doors painted that fawn color? That's odd for '68s and more like the '67s if it's original. It's also odd that there is no paint code on the SPID.

In my case just the Door Panels, Dash surround (not chrome like a '69-72), Steering Wheel and Column, Visors, and Dash Pad and Seat Cover were Fawn or, if vinyl, a medium gray. The rest was 516 [''Omaha"] Orange.

[Mindl3ss]

That's pretty neat. What are the plans for it? I love when odd combinations are restored to factory originals.

[Spartan]

She's a beaut' Clark!
Love that color new - faded - patina'd. And a 68 to boot.
I want it.
Thanks for sharing.

[special-K]

I'm bringing this oddity back since we have a new thread about a possible '68 small window. Not the same oddness, but it shows how the norm isn't always so norm

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by special-K

John and Jocko,this thing got me wondering what I did and didn't know about year differences. In fact,I had referred to it as an early '68,then took that out to see what others noticed. It has all the '67 stuff inside and that front end trim thing.

Very interesting survivor, must have been an early '68, still utilizing many carryover '67 features. My books always showed the aqua exterior and fawn interior as a standard '67 colors only. Any paper trail documentation? A build sheet? Vin # indicates this was the 3,497 truck built at that assembly plant, August, September '67?

[special-K]

It surely was an early '68 with that serial number and all the '67 features. Unfortunately, my friend didn't hang onto it long enough for me to look at it again. It was a true relatively unmolested survivor. I added the question mark because it had been out of commission a long time and it's fate was unknown. The person who bought it was going to keep it alive, so depending on how they handled that it may still be a survivor.
I've seen the rm rests carry over, but the standard pint interior is the oddest. The decision to paint all trucks the same color throughout was made long before the first truck hit the line. I would like to see if anyone else knows of any such, or other, carry over oddities on these trucks

Originally Posted by Bad Jackson

Cool! Can you explain the Foam seat option to a newb?? Doe that give the seat a different angle?

Sorry so slow to respond. Hello, you still there waiting? Hello?? I guess you're not such a newb anymore
Nothing different on the angle. The option was actually "full foam seat" and that gave added cushion to the seat. They were noticeable more comfortable, especially in a mid-level cloth seat. I believe it is the cushioning that the top of the line trucks had. I don't think there was a full foam seat option for those trucks