Short wheelbase

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I believe there are more short wheelbase trucks out there now then Chevy
actually produced.

George

['68OrangeSunshine]

And they're all low mileage with original 5-digits on the odometers, and came with V8 Corvette engines.

[Steeveedee]

I wonder how they make the distributor spin with only 3/4 of a cam. 'tis true, though about the shorties. And the SS cars, and Z/28s, for that matter.

[tutone]

I have always pondered these tings but no-one ever really theorizes it. Bear with me on this. My adult son(37) at the age of 13 came to me wanting me to teach him how to play the guitar. Now I am a hack, a get by so it didnt take him long to outdo me. At the age of 15 he was playing at a professional level. Nashville studio work for his friends at 17. I was able to meet other bands through him and it sorta came down to this. There would be one boy or girl playing at that level at every good sized school in the surrounding area. Now, take that nation wide and it's easy to see that there are tons of players and on and on.
Now that said, roughly 15-16,000 built for 6 years comes to 90-100k swb chevies, not counting gmcs.
Lwb trucks were built for work and swb trucks by and large lived a sheltered life. Therefore, my theory is that a MUCH higher percentage of swb trucks survived to be restored than lwb trucks. The popularity of them is stronger than ever. If say, 40 percent of them never met the crusher, then 50 thousand shorties is alot of trucks. And that number may be higher. That number goes up one at a time with each completed "restoration" or cut down longbed.
Personally, I dont think that the overall # of cut downs is affecting the overall number that much.
And when you go to a bar and hear a 65 year old guy shredding the guitar, remember he was a rarity when he was young, but guys like that seem to be everywhere.

[Myself]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

And they're all low mileage with original 5-digits on the odometers, and came with V8 Corvette engines.

I'm still trying to locate this HUGE salvage yard full of Corvettes with missing engines.......I could use a couple rear ends..LOL!

[72SB]

SWB trucks are like 2 door sedans....more popular than 4 door sedans of the same models as the 2 doors

and yes there are WAY more 1st gen "Z28's a COPO's" than were ever built

like trucks SWB and true Z28, COPO cars were produced in far fewer #'s than their long bed or same model style muscle car, so they have a higher desire factor in the marketplace

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by Myself

I'm still trying to locate this HUGE salvage yard full of Corvettes with missing engines.......I could use a couple rear ends..LOL!

I know the one you're talking about. Unfortunately, it's gone now. It was in a 'bad' neighborhood then, but with Gentrification and Urban Renewal making the property values skyrocket, the lot was sold. What inventory was left after Obama's cash-for-klunkers campaign, was sold to China as scrap metal -- once crushed.
But there's an architecturaly interesting condo structure there now, with a clientele of young affluent hipsters populating the place, and it includes a cafe where you can buy an artisanally-crafted hamburger for $12.50 and wash it down with a $15 craft pale ale. They also can do a decent latte.
[Too bad I'm lactose-intolerant.]
Personally, I prefer black coffee. And I really miss the Taqueria across the road that was leveled. They had $2 Coronas and great tacos and breakfast burritos. I especially miss their Carne Seca Chimichangas for $4.
Used to be, I could cruise down to South Tucson, and buy real Chevy parts for decent money, then look forward to a real Mexican lunch, also for decent money and have a great time dealing with nice people.
Now there're parking meters up and down the block...

[CG]

Kinda like 32 Fords and Shelby Cobras, way more now than there ever were originals.

[jocko]

I'm glad swb trucks are all the rage, it keeps the focus off the real gems, the 3/4 tonners

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by jocko

I'm glad swb trucks are all the rage, it keeps the focus off the real gems, the 3/4 tonners

Me too. But I did buy a 1/2 ton lwb

I go to shows and there’s always 10 SS Chevelle’s . And only a couple are true SS cars .

[KW5413]

I had a 1970 Nova SS for 8 years. Documented via original Bill of Sale. The base Nova was $ 1,900.00. The 350 SS pkg with vinyl top and AC drove it up to just south of $ 4,100.00 drive out.

The Nova VINs were not itemized enough to prove out the SS pkg so there are a hell of a lot more of those than were ever manufactured. It was / is an original car with the original motor but, "built".

I really regret selling that one.

Sorry for the twisted picture.

[tutone]

Originally Posted by KW5413

I had a 1970 Nova SS for 8 years. Documented via original Bill of Sale. The base Nova was $ 1,900.00. The 350 SS pkg with vinyl top and AC drove it up to just south of $ 4,100.00 drive out.

The Nova VINs were not itemized enough to prove out the SS pkg so there are a hell of a lot more of those than were ever manufactured. It was / is an original car with the original motor but, "built".

I really regret selling that one.

Sorry for the twisted picture.

Good looking Nova
Flip for you

[KW5413]

Thanks for the flip. Definitely looks better that way.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by KW5413

I had a 1970 Nova SS for 8 years. Documented via original Bill of Sale. The base Nova was $ 1,900.00. The 350 SS pkg with vinyl top and AC drove it up to just south of $ 4,100.00 drive out.

The Nova VINs were not itemized enough to prove out the SS pkg so there are a hell of a lot more of those than were ever manufactured. It was / is an original car with the original motor but, "built".

I really regret selling that one.

Sorry for the twisted picture.

Up to the 69 model year all SS Chevelle’s vin started with 138 . 69 and up you need documentation. Canadian built cars documentation is easy to get from GM of Canada . Gm of America didn’t keep records .

I assume other early SS cars would be the same .

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by 72c20customcamper

Up to the 69 model year all SS Chevelle’s vin started with 138 . 69 and up you need documentation. Canadian built cars documentation is easy to get from GM of Canada . Gm of America didn’t keep records .

I assume other early SS cars would be the same .

Pontiac did the same thing with Tempest/Le Mans/GTO. That probably changed in '69, as well. I had a '65 Tempest convertible that I was restoring, but peace broke out in '91, I got laid off from my defense job and I had to sell it to make some mortgage payments. The guy I sold it to was going to "GTO it" for his girlfriend. Unless he had vin tags from a real GTO to swap onto it, if he tried to sell it as a GTO, he'd be one sad lad. The VIN had sequence numbers for each level.

[best view]

My 69 chevelle ss is Daytona yellow that and the orange color proves it is an ss ive had it since 78

[JQ-72]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

I believe there are more short wheelbase trucks out there now then Chevy
actually produced.

George

YES! And they are all Cheyenne Supers with dump truck tachometers, motorhome tilt columns and van AM/FM radios. Just saw a nice 72 short Super at a show and the owner was telling me how it had the super-rare stainless drip rail molding from the factory. It also had all the bells and whistles so I asked the guy if I could look at the SPID. He said decal had been removed. How convenient!

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by JQ-72

YES! And they are all Cheyenne Supers with dump truck tachometers, motorhome tilt columns and van AM/FM radios. Just saw a nice 72 short Super at a show and the owner was telling me how it had the super-rare stainless drip rail molding from the factory. It also had all the bells and whistles so I asked the guy if I could look at the SPID. He said decal had been removed. How convenient!

I guess if it had a Corvette motor it would have been installed after the Factory 400 SBC was worn out.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Myself

I'm still trying to locate this HUGE salvage yard full of Corvettes with missing engines.......I could use a couple rear ends..LOL!

Here ya go:

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Pontiac did the same thing with Tempest/Le Mans/GTO. That probably changed in '69, as well. I had a '65 Tempest convertible that I was restoring, but peace broke out in '91, I got laid off from my defense job and I had to sell it to make some mortgage payments. The guy I sold it to was going to "GTO it" for his girlfriend. Unless he had vin tags from a real GTO to swap onto it, if he tried to sell it as a GTO, he'd be one sad lad. The VIN had sequence numbers for each level.

Not quite.

For '65 (and '64) the VIN was the same. Some assembly locations (like Pontiac Michigan) placed a code "5N" on the cowl data tag to indicate the GTO option, but not all locations did this.

Really the only way to be sure is to buy the documentation from Pontiac Historical Services.

The model number was changed in '67, so from then on you can be sure.

One other trick is that if the VIN on a '64/'65 starts with a "6" then the car was originally a 6 cylinder vehicle and therefore could not have been a GTO.

But - your original premise is correct - there are a lot of GTO's out there that started life as a Lemans/Tempest. Potential buyers are advised to proceed with caution and do their due diligence.

K

[CG]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Here ya go:

Kinda hard to tell from the pic but that looks like the place that was in N.Seattle for years. If it is the place they had another yard way off the beaten path sort of in the Edmonds area that was full of tri-fives.

We used to go in the main place ... OMG they want 400 bucks for that fuel injection unit, robbery I tell ya ... haha!

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Not quite.

For '65 (and '64) the VIN was the same. Some assembly locations (like Pontiac Michigan) placed a code "5N" on the cowl data tag to indicate the GTO option, but not all locations did this.

Really the only way to be sure is to buy the documentation from Pontiac Historical Services.

The model number was changed in '67, so from then on you can be sure.

One other trick is that if the VIN on a '64/'65 starts with a "6" then the car was originally a 6 cylinder vehicle and therefore could not have been a GTO.

But - your original premise is correct - there are a lot of GTO's out there that started life as a Lemans/Tempest. Potential buyers are advised to proceed with caution and do their due diligence.

K

OK, I knew it was that way on my later model Le Mans, and mistakenly thought it would be the case for the older ones.