So, if a car is built with no real options does that mean it was built for speed or the buyer couldn't afford to go fancy? I was just looking at our tank sticker and it doesn't have much on it other than necessities and I don't know what actually came stock with the car or what was an option that the buyer chose.

 

It means nothing fancy. The base price of the 69s included a three speed manual transmission, the 300hp base engine, and vinyl upholstery. Anything other than that had to be specifically requested on the order form and cost you extra.

Any options installed on your car will be listed on your tank sticker.

 

And, less to go wrong too. I don't know which is worse.....the crank up handles that come off in your hand or the power window motor that quits working.

 

Myself, I'd rather deal with the crank handle. That $2 clip is easier to troubleshoot and way cheaper than just about anything in the power window.

 

Summer 1968.....graduated high school....Local Chevrolet showroom......

1968 Camaro coupe $2600/$100 down/$84 per month.....or....

1969 Camaro convertible $2700/$100 down/$85 per month......or......

1968 Corvette convertible $4500/$200 down/$145 per month.

Decisions.....decisions.......

Dad would not co-sign for the Corvette/Dealbreaker!

I drove the Camaro convertible home.

 

I owed a black 1969 Camaro with white interior, bucket seats, 250hp Turbo fire, no power steering or brakes, dog dish hub caps and single exhaust and the oddity of "three in the tree". Who would have ordered a car such as this?

It was brought in to the dealer with just the basics as that is what sold in that area at the time. There was not much money for 396's, SS/RS rag tops and power everything.

No options has a story if you can chase down the order form. I owned a full load Oldmobile Toronado XSC with every option you can get except no tilt steering wheel. Further investigation showed the previous owner was a large man who used the steering wheel to enter and exit the car and wanted a secure "post" to assist him.

Lots of great stories out there when it comes to options as it can sometimes show a glimpse of the "original" owners tastes.

 

I have seen exactly one no option car in forty something years. She was a yellow 68 coupe which happened to be in the shop I was visiting at the time. I would love to see the tank sticker or order form for that car - there wouldn't be anything on it!!

 

as stated, the corvette was an expensive car compared to others back then.. just like today.. saving a few bucks on options is a head scratcher as to why..

look at the 69 Camaro options.. probably around 100 total options.. check out option V75, the liquid tire chain for 23.00$.. it squirted deicer from a can onto your tires...

 

In the 60's and 70's, options were all pretty much a luxury. Most people buying a Chevy, even a Corvette, carefully weighed what was and wasn't necessary, when ordering a new car. Unlike today, when every car comes with steering, brakes, air and a 10 speaker sound system, none of those things were standard, and many people didn't feel that they needed them. Options were just that, options, and people only bought the ones they felt were necessary.

I had a friend, whose father order a new Caprice in 69. The car was black, with a black vinyl top, power steering, brakes and air, but no radio! None of his previous cars, ever had a radio, and he couldn't see why the Caprice would need one either.

I bought a new Trans Am in 1974. A local dealer had the car in inventory. The Trans Am came with power steering and brakes standard, as well as a 400, 4 speed manual, and a 3:73 posi. This particular car only had 4 options, an AM/FM stereo radio, white lettered radials, stainless drip gutters, and the screaming chicken on the hood. It had no air, and didn't even have a console, just a carpeted trans tunnel with a rubber boot and a Hurst shifter. It was just what I wanted, a 4 speed Trans Am. I didn't need power windows or air conditioning.

Sometimes the decision of what options to order, was based on monetary considerations, and sometimes it was based on performance (no one back then, who was serious about going fast, ordered air conditioning), but more often than not, it was strictly a matter of personal preference.

Today, even the most basic econobox comes with every imaginable power and convenience option. 30-40 years ago, we weren't smart enough to know that we needed all of these options, to drive our cars.

 

Hi,
I remember the fellows that were buying muscle cars and Corvettes in the latter 60s and very early 70s were general quite ordinary working Joes and fellows returning from the armed forces.
It was pretty easy to look at the 69 price sheet for instance and see that an optional 350hp sb cost $131.63, and an optional 390hp bb cost $231.20. While a/c cost $412.90 and a stereo radio cost $278.10.
I think for many the choice was pretty easy.
Those really were the days in some ways!
Regards,
Alan

 

Are we Old Farts if we lived through those days? Mea culpa.

 

Hi Mike,
I often think how happy I'd be if I STILL didn't know what I didn't know then!
Stop at the local Chevy or Pontiac store and see how fast you could go for the $$$ you could put together.
Regards,
Alan

 

Well, providing I read everything correctly, according to the tank sticker our car only has a few options and one of them is 'not' AC.....

 

Hi ca,
Here's one with 2 options.
Regards,
Alan

 

So, are the 'comfort and convenience' things options? This is all new to me but I think I counted 8 on my car if I did it right.

 

There was a school of thought that any option that wasn't performance related was intentionally not ordered because of both cost and added weight or robbing of horse power. "Sleeper" cars were highly sought after back in the late 60's and only one of the many derogatory expressions for an overly optioned car was "all show and no go" (there were other names for these cars also, some of which are not appropriate for a family site). Of course this mainly applied to muscle cars of the era rather than Corvettes which were by definition not a low budget street car. In todays market the higher option cars are the most desirable but the time was when that was not the case.

To add another comment, I looked at a red '68 coupe before I bought mine that had no options other than a four speed and basic radio. No power anything and certainly no air. The only reason I didn't take that car was because of rust issues. The one I ended up with was a high optioned car but it had a solid cage and frame. My personal preference would have been low or no options.

 

Here's a copy of my tank sticker, I don't think there are too many options listed.
http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4c70e108.jpg

 

My Dad had a '72 Buick Skylark convertible with a 350 and three on the tree and no power steering. In high school, my friend had a triple black '65 Catalina with no power steering, no air or radio.
Big blocks and highly-optioned cars were a rarity in my youth, except for Cadillacs, Imperials and Lincolns.

 

Look again; it's a reasonable list. L-46, G81 and G95, M-20, PT-7, C07 and C08, U69, A01, and C50.

Ignore the 02 in front of each code. Ignore the two letter exception codes (AA, AB, KA, etc.) at the end of each code. The three character option codes remain.

Interior and folding top colors are listed for assembly purposes. Techincally, they were choices and not actual options since each was included in the base price.

 

O.k. then I was right when I thought ours had 8 to 9 options. I just wasn't sure what came standard and what was an option, I'm new at 'decoding' all the numbers and stickers!
Thanks!