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I called my old race partner last night and asked if he remembered the afternoon/evening that we drove his 56 Rambler around to all the new car dealers in the area for announcement day to see all the new 1963 cars. He said yes, of course. Why. I asked if he remembered what month of 1962 that we did that and he immediately said September. "That's when all the manufacturers released their new models for viewing/sale".
It's possible that we're both wrong.
1st of all THANKS! Do you remember seeing Corvettes at any of the dealers you visited? If so can you describe them. Did you visit Felix? They were also celebrating their 42nd year on the weekend of the showing, September 28th or so. They newspaper ads say the 1st showing was the 28th. I own a red on red FI, 3067S100003. Could you have seen it? Someone else said Harry Mann and Don Steves had Corvettes before Felix, Beach City and Kent.
Brian
1st of all THANKS! Do you remember seeing Corvettes at any of the dealers you visited? If so can you describe them. Did you visit Felix? They were also celebrating their 42nd year on the weekend of the showing, September 28th or so. They newspaper ads say the 1st showing was the 28th. I own a red on red FI, 3067S100003. Could you have seen it? Someone else said Harry Mann and Don Steves had Corvettes before Felix, Beach City and Kent.
Brian
I think we visited two or three Chevrolet dealers on announcement day but we didn't see any Corvettes. As mentioned earlier, there were production startup issues at the Corvette plant and there weren't many dealers that had one at that time.
Your #003 car would have been one of the 20 pilot line cars that were built off line at the plant several weeks ahead of regular 63 production. It would have stayed at GM for months for various reasons. Some were used for testing, others for photographic etc.
I think I inspected your #003 car decades ago when Tom Turnas owned it? Very interesting car.
I think we visited two or three Chevrolet dealers on announcement day but we didn't see any Corvettes. As mentioned earlier, there were production startup issues at the Corvette plant and there weren't many dealers that had one at that time.
Your #003 car would have been one of the 20 pilot line cars that were built off line at the plant several weeks ahead of regular 63 production. It would have stayed at GM for months for various reasons. Some were used for testing, others for photographic etc.
I think I inspected your #003 car decades ago when Tom Turnas owned it? Very interesting car.
Thanks again for your comments. Darn on not seeing any Corvettes. Mine is a red on red FI convert. I have owned it since 1975. Did Tom own it before 1973? I have DMV records back till 1973. I found the car in LA and brought it up to Northern CA where I live. If you wan to see pictures of the car see either; C2Registry.org or http://www.pilotcarregistry.com/1963-corvette.html Again Thanks!
According to my monthly production totals paperwork from Chevrolet, 965 Corvettes were built by the end of September.. I don't know the actual "introduction" date but I know many were sold in September. Every other Chevrolet assembly plant shows lots of production in September. Janesville (the lead plant) built over 14,000 cars by the end of September. Some were built in August.
Verne
Thanks Verne. Sounds like GM was well into 63 production and selling 63's by the end of September 1962. That's more than just dealer inventory orders for that area. I would guess that this would mean the announcement day was in September.
Thanks Verne. Sounds like GM was well into 63 production and selling 63's by the end of September 1962. That's more than just dealer inventory orders for that area. I would guess that this would mean the announcement day was in September.
The production monthly totals I have from Chevy records all start with September totals, but I know there were many cars built in August. Here's a photo of an original cowl tag from the first '63 Impala Sport Coupe built at St. Louis.
I know the rivets were changed but the tag is an original. Passenger cars used a different coding for the assembly date than Corvettes. This tag indicates a 1st week of August build date.
I have also documented a pilot '64 Impala with a build in June.from the Janesville plant. As I said, Janesville was the lead plant and they built the first pilot Passenger cars.
The production monthly totals I have from Chevy records all start with September totals, but I know there were many cars built in August. Here's a photo of an original cowl tag from the first '63 Impala Sport Coupe built at St. Louis.
I know the rivets were changed but the tag is an original. Passenger cars used a different coding for the assembly date than Corvettes. This tag indicates a 1st week of August build date.
I have also documented a pilot '64 Impala with a build in June.from the Janesville plant. As I said, Janesville was the lead plant and they built the first pilot Passenger cars.
The production monthly totals I have from Chevy records all start with September totals, but I know there were many cars built in August. Here's a photo of an original cowl tag from the first '63 Impala Sport Coupe built at St. Louis.
I know the rivets were changed but the tag is an original. Passenger cars used a different coding for the assembly date than Corvettes. This tag indicates a 1st week of August build date.
I have also documented a pilot '64 Impala with a build in June.from the Janesville plant. As I said, Janesville was the lead plant and they built the first pilot Passenger cars.
Verne
Interesting. See: www.c2registry.org for some pics and updated numbers. Attached is a doc I was given by Noland in 1990.
Basically weird #s on the cars under 25. Normal afterwards. I own 30867S100003. It doesn't have a date code at all. I have been told SN 009 has 7B on the trim tag. I don't have a picture of #9. NCRS shipping docs say all cars shpiped under #25 were shipped on 8/29/1962. From the trim Can you explain Impala trim tag #ing system? Were the early cars different?
I see where you are going with this! I thought at first it was just a casual post for basic information and fun, but it now looks like a more serious attempt to search out some real history!
I spoke to Don Steves about his receipt of the MacDonald car and to Hooper about his car. Hooper just liked talking and telling stories, great guy but not the most accurate of recollections! Don was very precise on memory! At that time Steves was the leading Performance Dealership for Orange County, he had that car out in front of the old 401 Whittier Blvd location very quickly! He told me about Chevrolet's plan for the advertising campaign with the Coupe and Roadster which was all October! The important thing I remember him saying, was they had a new model introduction prior to that race. My Father was an acquaintance of Mickey Thompson, but from not as early as 1962. I believe (and I have tried to date it) from about 1965 when racing at Lions! I was too young, just running around in the paddock! My Mother shot about 7 minutes of film at one of those events of the Corvettes racing at Lions (C2s only) and I am trying to date that precisely! The LA Times constantly did run a Car Events, Race and show blurp prior to the weekends, as those car events were that popular!
I have all kinds of Dealership advertising but mostly from the Performance Dealerships at the peak! I have never thought to search out the earliest C2 showing in the various newspapers from back in the day! Thanks for that project idea! I might do that asap for the Don Steves stuff! I could also go out to my favorite library in Torrance and check the LA Times, but also the Daily Breeze had wide South Bay distributorship!
I will check Orange County newspapers in 1962, as I could probably get that done in a reasonable time frame! I have to settle a warning ticket out Santa Monica way in August, so might drop south and go thru the Torrance Library stuff! Check Baher, Gledhill, Cormier, Enoch, Kenneth, Martin, Ted White, etc Off the top of my head, don't remember like if Martins was Martins yet, etc. My Father thought his C1 was from Ted White! He did not buy it new! It was already modified!
So the 1957 was bought Ted White Chevrolet Redondo Beach ( Actor/Stuntman doubling for like John Wayne and many others).
The 1964 was Harry Mann Los Angeles car
The 1968 (Dad's since we have two) was Dana Chevrolet South Gate (my Brother did the NCRS thing for both of these cars- the 64 and 68 with the Roy Sinor era)! .
Our 427 Country Squire was Vels Parnelli Torrance!
Our 1970 429 CJ Country Squire was Vel’s Parnelli Ford and I think Chaffee Ford Hawthorne did the replacement 460.
My 1967 Camaro Z-28 owned by a friend still was a Harry Mann car. Info and claim all from my friend, because I thought it was an SS, but he says no! I never checked it, but it had a DZ punched out in it! He won’t show me the paperwork.
A 1966 Corvette L-72 I flipped in the 90s was Baher Chevrolet! Caused my slight disdain for Big Block ownership, was draining the wallet too fast!
My 1969 Camaro Z-28 was Gledhill Chevy! I had the paperwork with the purchase!
My 1966 Chevrolet 396 was actually not local, but Washburn Chevrolet, I drove it till I killed it! The Chevelle version of NCRS checked it for me!
Our 1958 Impala was Felix Chevrolet Los Angeles
My 1963/64 bastard race car was Don Steves La Habra brokered, not new! Only had the frame stamp, and I early on since the 70s started talking crap about the NCRS, so I have never did my 1963 Roadster, or the Race Car, or my 1968 T-Top or my 1965 El Camino!
Last edited by TCracingCA; 01-17-2020 at 12:04 AM.
Here is mine back in the day with the annual body style changes it was a big deal to keep the cars secret until unveiled the first Monday of October for the dealer introduction to the public.
Chevrolet sponsored the TV show Bonanza back in those days. On the Sunday night that it played before the dealer new car introduction they would run the show commercial free and save all of that time for the end of the show when they would give you a sneak preview of the cars that would be shown at your local dealer the next day.
In 1962 when I was 12 years old I really had never paid much attention to cars until the night I speak of above.
I was watching Bonanza sitting on the floor and they announced the “brand new 1963 model Chevrolets” the screen went black and we thought something was wrong with the TV. Suddenly a white (at least on our black and white TV) 1963 Corvette coupe appeared on the screen in side profile then entire room around it was black and car was brightly lite, on a turntable slowly turning the entire car to show every angle. it turned to the rear showing the split window and when it got to the front the hidden head lights rolled up. I was MESMERIZED. it was AWESOME!!! I remember thinking to myself, “when I grow up I am going to have one of those cars” It was the beginning of my life long love affair with automobiles. The funny thing is, of all the Corvettes I have owned I have never owned a 63.
I do believe Harry Mann (Milne) sat that up for the show with Chevrolet advertising! Not real sure on that! I do know he received and entered for that Riverside debut, but it didn't make that race- one of the Z-06 cars. I know on a certain night for the new models, they would clear the whole row during the night, hang all of the banners and flags, and at first opening they would have the whole new model lined up, with one also in the Showroom on display for the public. My Father was fast on spotting the new model and had a bunch of stuff saved, but didn't trade his 1957 in actually until 1964! He also was in the hate group toward the Split Window and I am a Roadster guy, so I never had to have an option! His 1964 was the Harry Mann car; the 1957, I don't have the VIN.
Last edited by TCracingCA; 07-19-2018 at 01:16 PM.
I will have to go through my various Felix Chevrolet pictures to see if any have Corvettes!
I only went to Felix once back in the day! Went to work with my Father as a kid to earn some Summer money, and his car water pump went sour, so he borrowed one of the other guys cars and we went to the closest dealership (Felix) to get it! Him and the guys replaced it in the business loading dock. He worked just north and slightly west of there on Pico Boulevard! I went in the fairly modern in the 1990s to shoot all of these Vintage dealerships!
The 1960s was cool! They had a Company party and had celebrities come tell stories! Met Jerry West and Merlin Olson. And Jack Snow talked about running into the goal posts! Had Angie Dickinson as the guest at one of these once!
Last edited by TCracingCA; 07-19-2018 at 04:01 PM.
The production monthly totals I have from Chevy records all start with September totals, but I know there were many cars built in August. Here's a photo of an original cowl tag from the first '63 Impala Sport Coupe built at St. Louis.
I know the rivets were changed but the tag is an original. Passenger cars used a different coding for the assembly date than Corvettes. This tag indicates a 1st week of August build date.
I have also documented a pilot '64 Impala with a build in June.from the Janesville plant. As I said, Janesville was the lead plant and they built the first pilot Passenger cars.
Verne
Thanks Verne. I think that's part of what confuses a lot of folks. The first 25 pilot cars were built in July or August of 1962. If you look at some of the pictures of their assembly/paint process, there are 62's still on the line at the St Louis plant.
Also, as mentioned, there were a lot of start up issues for the actual beginning of 63 Corvette production. I had a list years ago that discussed some of the issues. This is why not many dealers had 63 Corvettes in the weeks following introduction.
Interesting. See: www.c2registry.org for some pics and updated numbers. Attached is a doc I was given by Noland in 1990.
Basically weird #s on the cars under 25. Normal afterwards. I own 30867S100003. It doesn't have a date code at all. I have been told SN 009 has 7B on the trim tag. I don't have a picture of #9. NCRS shipping docs say all cars shpiped under #25 were shipped on 8/29/1962. From the trim Can you explain Impala trim tag #ing system? Were the early cars different?
We have to assume that the A month code for the 25 pilot cars was for July or August 1962. We know that these first 25 cars were built off line at the same time the 62 models were still in production at the St Louis plant.
The time code started over again for the actual production run using A for the first month of actual production.
Interesting. See: www.c2registry.org for some pics and updated numbers. Attached is a doc I was given by Noland in 1990.
Basically weird #s on the cars under 25. Normal afterwards. I own 30867S100003. It doesn't have a date code at all. I have been told SN 009 has 7B on the trim tag. I don't have a picture of #9. NCRS shipping docs say all cars shpiped under #25 were shipped on 8/29/1962. From the trim Can you explain Impala trim tag #ing system? Were the early cars different?
Well, first of all, the Fisher build dates were simple: A=Jan, B=Feb and so on. The letters are the calendar week starting with A. That means that A isn't the first 7 days; A is the number of days that appear on the calendar for the first week of that month.
As for Body numbers, each body Style was numbered consecutively at each plant but only designated by the V8 style number. What I mean is that for instance, a '63 Impala Sport Coupe would show an 1847 on the cowl tag regardless of whether it was a 6cyl or a V8 (by VIN).
Early vs Late: There were no numbering changes of dates or body numbers during production. Unlike Micheal's explanation of the way Corvettes were numbered, from pilot cars all the way through actual production, full size always got the actual date of body production. Only the ACC codes varied quite a bit, and those are something that Corvettes do not have, and which I have studied for 35 years.
Well, first of all, the Fisher build dates were simple: A=Jan, B=Feb and so on. The letters are the calendar week starting with A. That means that A isn't the first 7 days; A is the number of days that appear on the calendar for the first week of that month.
As for Body numbers, each body Style was numbered consecutively at each plant but only designated by the V8 style number. What I mean is that for instance, a '63 Impala Sport Coupe would show an 1847 on the cowl tag regardless of whether it was a 6cyl or a V8 (by VIN).
Early vs Late: There were no numbering changes of dates or body numbers during production. Unlike Micheal's explanation of the way Corvettes were numbered, from pilot cars all the way through actual production, full size always got the actual date of body production. Only the ACC codes varied quite a bit, and those are something that Corvettes do not have, and which I have studied for 35 years.
Verne
Correction to the above: The months are numerical with 1 being Jan, 2 being Feb, etc. Some plants preceded a single month digit with a zero as in 02, 03 etc. Sorry, it was late last night and there was bourbon involved.
Verne
"A" does not = January in production codes, but rather the FIRST MONTH PRODUCTION BEGAN, whenever that was.
Mr. Richardson's "003" was at the San Mateo NCRS meet at the Dunphey Hotel in 1980 and achieved a Top Flight, complete with its hand-laid fiberglass in the wiper area, inner fenders, etc. After 38 years and no reports of 001 or 002 (that I am aware of) perhaps we can concede the "Oldest Stingray" to 003 and what a beauty it was/is
Thanks. I was sure it was September for announcement day. Not October.
Well, it looks like that is right for fall of 62 for the 63s but I am guessing it MAY have changed from year to year depending on plant shut down and start up times during model change over.
Well, it looks like that is right for fall of 62 for the 63s but I am guessing it MAY have changed from year to year depending on plant shut down and start up times during model change over.
It was the same for 64 and 65 but I don't know about 66 and later. I think by that time the various mfg's were on their own for announcement day.
A good friend and I both went to the dealer on announcement day for the new 65 model to order new Impala SS cars. He ordered a black with white interior SS 409. I wanted a black/black 327 4 speed. A few weeks after that day, GM went on strike. The order was still active for a month or so after the strike started so he canceled the order and bought a new 65 Dodge with a 426.
07-18-2018, 06:04 PM
