1965 chevrolet truck production numbers

[collins10672]

i thought this might be of interest to 1965 truck owner's.i ran across this in a old magazine i bought in 1990.these numbers were published for 1/2 ton-1 ton trucks. c14 models are 115w.b.(short bed).c15 models are 127 w.b.(long bed).c1404 short stepside were 51,210 domestic 1,689 for export........c1405 panel truck 7,391 domestic 837 for export.....c1406 suburban with panel doors4,473 domestic 212 for export.....c1416 suburban with end gate 4,584 domestic 250 for export.....c1434 short fleetside 53,385 domestic 1,915 for export.....c1504 long stepside 27,295 domestic 137 for export....c1534 long fleetside 157,591 domestic 155 for export...4 wheel drive k10 short stepside 1,069 domestic 58 for export.....k10 panel truck 44 domestic 59 for export....k10suburban with panel doors 330 domestic 114 for export.....k10 suburban with end gate 395 domestic 38 for export....k10 short fleetside 567 domestic 66 for export.....k10 long stepside 502 domestic 11 for export....k10 long fleetside 1,450 domestic 9 for export.................c25 3/4 ton stepside 9,386 domestic 486 for export....c25 3/4 ton fleetside 46,407 domestic 201 for export...k25 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive stepside 685 domestic 204 for export.....k25 fleetside 1,317 domestic 47 for export.....1 ton 133 w.b. c3603 cab and chassis 10,454 domestic 1,188 for export....1 ton c3604 stepside 2,371 domestic 1,419 for export....

[firefinder24]

Just came across this post - pretty cool stuff!

[65 Suburban]

I bought my 65 Suburban a few months back and found your post, very cool. I'm curious why its so hard to find production numbers for these trucks from GM. Plus, I've tried cross referencing my vin and I can't make sense of it, the production number on the vin would suggest many more 65 Burbs were produced than what you listed...can anyone help me understand my vin. K146 5Z136766

[gmtech68]

Sequence numbers would be alloted by plant for the model year. At least that's how I picture it.

[Steeveedee]

The "1" after the "Z" (Fremont plant) is a vehicle line number for that plant. It would be a different number for another line, like GMC, I don't know which number, though. So, if it was a "2" then it would look like over 200k were built, but we know that that is far from true. So, your Burb is #36766.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by gmtech68

Sequence numbers would be alloted by plant for the model year. At least that's how I picture it.

Yes. Each plant increments up independently of any other plant.

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

The "1" after the "Z" (Fremont plant) is a vehicle line number for that plant. It would be a different number for another line, like GMC, I don't know which number, though. So, if it was a "2" then it would look like over 200k were built, but we know that that is far from true. So, your Burb is #36766.

VINs typically start with 100001.

There are exceptions; a few that come to mind:

a) Sometimes Chevy would start with 100001 and GMC would start with 500001.
b) Sometimes the initial digit might represent the engine type, like 6 cylinder VINs start with 600001.
c) For some model years with very minor changes the line did not stop (aka "rolling model change"). There were occasions of rolling model changes were the VIN sequence did not start over and just kept climbing from the previous model year.

Additionally, some plants have a "buffer" between the cab shop and paint, and again between paint and trim, so that vehicle bodies can be stored to keep the final line running in the event of a breakdown, or to reshuffle the bodies to level the workload downstream (ie, can't have too many manual trans jobs in a row, can't have too many A/C jobs in a row, cant' have too many multiple carburetion jobs in a row) or to store a body in the event of a sudden and/or critical part material shortage.

So - while the numbers were assigned sequentially - because of the above it doesn't necessarily mean the vehicles went down the final line in that order.

K

[Steeveedee]

I'm glad you added this Keith, because I'd seen your write-up before and wasn't 100% sure with what I had.

[gmtech68]

Are Canadian trucks different? Parts wise my 65 GMC 920 has a trailing arm suspension. Not sure about VIN decoding.

[short&wide65]

Originally Posted by gmtech68

Are Canadian trucks different? Parts wise my 65 GMC 920 has a trailing arm suspension. Not sure about VIN decoding.

Yes, Canadian trucks are different. The bodies and interiors are GMC but the engine and suspension were Chevrolet. Canadian trucks were also usually built in Oshawa, Ontario. The VINs were different as well.

I have a 1965 GMC 910 with a Chevrolet 230 and a trailing arm suspension.