67-72 Development/Concept Photos Galore!

[197D_C10]

WOW!!! I just happen to stumble on this thread. Its an amazing read!!!

[72 tigger]

Bringing this back up for the newer members

[JMC1965]

Wow....just Wow. Thanks to all y’all that save the history of our trucks

[plowro8]

This is incredible, and it feeds the love for these trucks even more. We are a lucky bunch of guys to be associated with these great machines.

[factorystock]

Rare photo, courtesy maverickmk. Note a 3/4 ton hubcap on this Blazer. Never seen a 6 lug 16.5" wheel that accepts a 12" hubcap.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I'm happy GM chose against the 72 "next generation" model, and the 71 grille. Very interesting. Excellent thread, thanks for sharing.

[89AKurt]

Since I'm sort of a designer, this was very interesting to me. Good thing many of those ideas didn't make production! I like the slender side lights.
The Squarebody mockups look so much like what Dodge did, wonder if they had a spy?

[72 tigger]

Noticed in the proposed dash pic (January 69) that the door panels look like 72 style. Always wondered why they did the one year panels (72) knowing 73 was a new truck. Maybe trying to introduce some plastic into the interior in a effort to transition to the mostly plastic 73 interior?

[chewychevy67]

Wow. I sure am glad the dash never ended up looking like that. It looks like a botched ford

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by chewychevy67

Wow. I sure am glad the dash never ended up looking like that. It looks like a botched ford

X2.....

[toms68cst]

I posted a thread when I had about 40 origional pre production pictures. I sold them to a board member many years ago. They are proably posted on an old hosting site but I can't remember what it was. I looked through my old posts but it must have been from before the board change over in 2001.

[Sheepdip]

Just saw this for the first time today....Very interesting to say the least.

I noticed some of the photo's had some clay residue on the ground which I believe is how they used to shape some of the panels to get the effect/design they were after.

And in todays world the whole shebang is computer generated.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Sheepdip

Just saw this for the first time today....Very interesting to say the least.

I noticed some of the photo's had some clay residue on the ground which I believe is how they used to shape some of the panels to get the effect/design they were after.

And in todays world the whole shebang is computer generated.

Yeah, the artistic side is gone.

[SkidmoreGarage]

Not to disagree for the sake of disagreement, but the computer is just a tool and there are just as many, or more, artists and designers as there were in 1964. The problem I see is that they take the creative designs and focus group them to death. Most people off the street (buyers) don't know what is aesthetically good or bad when they first look at it... Then they layer in cost reduction. Everything becomes over-masculine, but streamlined, plasticy designs which could be made by any manufacturer and painted in silver, black, or white.

I think modern GM is one of the worst companies when it comes to risk and design. Arguably, their best current designs are retro based. I don't think anyone is rushing out to pick up a new blazer, hoping it's a modern classic.

[Stephen717]

I would actually like having that dash and similar tail lights. It'd make people stop and stare and it'd be fun to tell people that "this was one of the designs gm had thought up for the action line series of pickups". Idk I guess I would just like the truck to be more unique than the other c10s on the road

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Sheepdip

I noticed some of the photo's had some clay residue on the ground which I believe is how they used to shape some of the panels to get the effect/design they were after.

And in todays world the whole shebang is computer generated.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Yeah, the artistic side is gone.

Going back to address these earlier comments:

Not to be contrary but we (GM) still start with the clay. After the clay model looks like what the designers have in mind is is scanned and coverted to CAD data. The CAD styling data is what is sent to engineering to make it work.

It's an iterative process so as long as the clay is in the studio the designers feel like they can make subtle changes. Also - as engineering determines that some concepts won't work in real life the suggestions are cycled back through for studio response and input.

Usually the model is torn down and the clay recycled immediately at the conclusion of the project (which is probably for the best in view of the above). There were a few models that were retained, in expectation of historical significance, stored in the basement of the studio.

The CAD is no different than a 2D drawing, in terms of the technical and practical knowledge that guides it, except that it is more powerful for visualization because you can dice it and slice it and roll it around in ways you could never do with pencil and paper. It's like using a power nailer to do carpentry instead of a hammer and loose nails. Both require a skilled operator, both get the same job done.

In one case I'm standing behind a draftsman looking over his shoulder while he works on a computer, in the other case I'm standing behind a draftsman looking over his shoulder while he works on a drawing board. Or - I might be standing behind a sculptor looking over his shoulder while he peels bits of clay onto the floor. It is still me watching over the progress in any case.

So: Clay ==>CAD==>tools==>parts.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Going back to address these earlier comments:

Not to be contrary but we (GM) still start with the clay. After the clay model looks like what the designers have in mind is is scanned and coverted to CAD data. The CAD styling data is what is sent to engineering to make it work.

It's an iterative process so as long as the clay is in the studio the designers feel like they can make subtle changes. Also - as engineering determines that some concepts won't work in real life the suggestions are cycled back through for studio response and input.

Usually the model is torn down and the clay recycled immediately at the conclusion of the project (which is probably for the best in view of the above). There were a few models that were retained, in expectation of historical significance, stored in the basement of the studio.

The CAD is no different than a 2D drawing, in terms of the technical and practical knowledge that guides it, except that it is more powerful for visualization because you can dice it and slice it and roll it around in ways you could never do with pencil and paper. It's like using a power nailer to do carpentry instead of a hammer and loose nails. Both require a skilled operator, both get the same job done.

In one case I'm standing behind a draftsman looking over his shoulder while he works on a computer, in the other case I'm standing behind a draftsman looking over his shoulder while he works on a drawing board. Or - I might be standing behind a sculptor looking over his shoulder while he peels bits of clay onto the floor. It is still me watching over the progress in any case.

So: Clay ==>CAD==>tools==>parts.

K

Going back and re-reading some of my earlier comments -

The other thing about paper drawings vs CAD is that the paper drawings were stored all over Southeast Michigan: some were in Pontiac, some were in the Tech Center in Warren, some were at small job shops in Northfield, Pioneer on Nine Mile, etc.

If you wanted to look at something, like a layout or a part detail drawing, you first had to figure out where it was and who had it. You then had to drive all over tarnation to get it, find it in some cubby hole and unroll it to have a look.

These days I can pull up the CAD from my laptop and can do it from where ever I'm sitting - even if it is at my kitchen table.

K

[toms68cst]

Sometimes the images in the background are really interesting. The one COE design truck resembles the Deora. The picture behind it looks like a Harry Bently Bradly drawing. I also see what looks like an open roof El Camino design.

[70c10-08]

Originally Posted by toms68cst

Sometimes the images in the background are really interesting. The one COE design truck resembles the Deora. The picture behind it looks like a Harry Bently Bradly drawing. I also see what looks like an open roof El Camino design.

That COE truck kinda makes me think of the GMC motorhome if it was built as a pickup

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 70c10-08

That COE truck kinda makes me think of the GMC motorhome if it was built as a pickup

I do see that, too. Now someone needs to build one. That open top I have seen fullsize photos of. What a concept. If real life could only be so full of free for fun time to have a market that would bear the need

[JT_Trucks87]

I have spent the last hour reading through this thread and I must say it has been an absolute blast to read!

[conoco]

This is probably the coolest post I have seen on this forum. So much great information, I had no idea about. I would like to frame some of the photos for my garage. Well done digging all this stuff up!

[HO455]

It's been 2 years since this got bumped to the top.

[Bob B.]

If you look close at the Brazilian Fleetsides, you can see the indented line that starts at the grille and runs the length of the cab (above the door handles) and bed does not taper down towards the rear, it is carried through straight to the end of the bed. Of course the vertical seam at the bed corner and '60-'66 tail lights are a dead giveaway. The Brazilian fleetside bed is also different than the Mexican fleetside bed.

[special-K]

Great observations, Bob. I hadn't noticed the contour on the bed running straight. I've seen foreign-built trucks with '55-'66 Stepside fenders that barely had that distinctive sharp body line, as if someone toot sheet metal up to that line and wrapped over the fender below. All these south of the border beds were locally made. Not sure, but I believe the cabs were stamped in USA and shipped, even to Brazil. Cabs are the most expensive part of any truck to produce the first one