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Old Aug 29, 2016 | 08:35 PM
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Default Odd 68 Interior

I have been trying to figure out what the interior was that came in a 1968 convertible that I am restoring and I have not found any post that talk about it. The car is a 327/350 car with a M21. I believe it had the off road suspension from what I can tell. What is unique is that it had a combination vinyl and carpet flooring and there were snaps along the dash, door panels and rear lid for a tonneau cover to attach. Was this some type of factory option. I am sure from the condition and age of the car it is original but unfortunately the build sheet was long gone. Any input would be appreciated.
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Old Aug 29, 2016 | 09:20 PM
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No interior tonneau cover was ever offered by Chevrolet, and the floor covering isn't factory either.

Just because something in a car is old, doesn't mean it's factory. It's not uncommon for people to modify a car, especially a Corvette, shortly after buying it.

I have a 71 El Camino that I bought new, and it has the same pins around the pick-up box, as you have installed in your dash. I had a local top shop install a tonneau on my El Camino a week or two after buying it.
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Old Aug 29, 2016 | 10:05 PM
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That interior is a bubba special!
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Old Aug 29, 2016 | 11:31 PM
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Originally Posted by chstitans42
That interior is a bubba special!




Actually it likely looked cool in that old school custom way when it was new but it wasn't a GM thing someone added at after the fact,
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 12:15 AM
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Bats......so.....you are saying someone took the GM car and Reverse Engineered it..........................

G.M. .................... M.G.





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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 07:06 AM
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Originally Posted by chstitans42
...That interior is a bubba special!...
Yes and no. Most of what I see is one year only factory correct 68 and that's the good part. The "carpet" appears to be old school roll and pleat. Bubba has been there, but for once he had the sense to leave most of the good stuff in place. Can't say for sure, but it looks like a three speed to me.

Last edited by Easy Mike; Aug 30, 2016 at 07:10 AM.
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 07:11 AM
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Thanks for clearing things up. That explains why I have not seen it anywhere. Here is what it looks like now.
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 07:26 AM
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Nice work.
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 06:38 PM
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Good lord that's a lot of red. I likey.
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 08:24 PM
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How long did it take you? Very nice job!
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Old Aug 30, 2016 | 08:31 PM
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Nice job. I notice you have a 68 telescoping column. Very nice. Pics of the rest of your car.please!


Oh yeah, that ain't no Bubba work. Ain't no baling wire or duct tape. Thats just plain old school customizing. I know Bubba, hes my cuzzin and he says he aint touched that car. When he fixed my car he used speaker wire to rewire my wiper system directly from the the alternator. He used duct tape and seat foam to hold in an aftermarket oil pressure gauge cuz the sawzall got away from him and the hole in the gauge panel got to big. Bubba knows how to fix stufff.

Last edited by Rescue Rogers; Aug 30, 2016 at 08:41 PM.
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 08:27 AM
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Looks great.

Question - did you replace a lot of the interior pieces? Or paint them?

vetfever


Originally Posted by msminnesota
Thanks for clearing things up. That explains why I have not seen it anywhere. Here is what it looks like now.
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 02:11 PM
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Thanks Everybody. I thought you might get a kick out of seeing what I started with. It had a hard life until 1984 and was then stored poorly. Here are a couple of more pictures for those who wanted to see.
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 02:12 PM
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Originally Posted by biker1059
How long did it take you? Very nice job!
it took about two years of my extra time,
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by VETFEVER
Looks great.

Question - did you replace a lot of the interior pieces? Or paint them?

vetfever
The carpet, door panels, quarter panels, pillar post, seats, brake console, shifter console and gauge cluster are new. The rest are original. I had to repaint everything to match because all of the pieces came a different shade of red even though I ordered them all from the same place. I originally use the Corvette America paint but did not like the color. I went to a local place and bought Dupont's version and redid it all. It came out way better the second time.
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Mike
Yes and no. Most of what I see is one year only factory correct 68 and that's the good part. The "carpet" appears to be old school roll and pleat. Bubba has been there, but for once he had the sense to leave most of the good stuff in place. Can't say for sure, but it looks like a three speed to me.
It was four speed car and most everything else was still original. You'll be happy to know Bubba had even cut in an 8 track player between the seats as an added bonus.
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 02:27 PM
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WOW !!! looks great!
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 04:11 PM
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Did that aftermarket hood cost ya extra?
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Old Aug 31, 2016 | 04:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Mike
Did that aftermarket hood cost ya extra?
That was a special upgrade for that year made obvious by half of the cylinders being full of water. As you know everything on a 68 COSTS YOU.
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