I have not done this trivia thing in awhile so here goes. Those much desired 1969 side pipes were restricted to one year. Why? (They are now available in reproduction at a very substantial cost. ) This was not an emissions matter as that did not come to a head until 1975 when the cat con was introduced. Nor was it SB vrs BB at that time. In fact I believe the side pipes were available with the SB and BB in 1969. So why were they one year only?? Mysteriously the provision for their installation at the rear frame area was carried through to 1979. You see it in a pic of my frame below. So.....Why?

 

The designers were proud of the C3's coke-bottle shape and felt that the side-pipes detracted from it.

 

Not a clue Paul :D

 

Because GM only had one rear valance panel for the '68, and that was the one with the holes for the exhaust in it.

 

I'm tempted to go along with Paul, because he knows more about these cars than anyone else I've ever met... but somehow that doesn't seem like a good enough explanation... Hmm. Something to do with the strike in '70? Shortage of parts? Change in the body with the fender flares? :confused:

Paul's probably right... :cheers:

 

Hi Paul, I don't know the answer, however, more information.
The sidepipes are in the '70 AIM. Complete instructions for installing
on a '70.
Only a guess, probably had to do with cost. Poor sales volume in '69 ??? :confused:

 

I thought it was the legalities of leg burns...just a guess :skep:

 

I remember seeing something about the leg burns also. Maybe not legislative, but maybe female owners / wifes / girlfriends didn't like it...

By the way here in Finland until recently it wasn't allowed to put sidepipes if they weren't offered as option... Thanks to EU we can now use sidepipes in almost every car! :hurray:

 

I think Ralph Nadar and his greenies had something to do with the demise. :D

Clueless in PA.

 

The N-14 side exhaust is actually listed in the 1970 AIM, but is shown as cancelled on these documents. A couple of reasons why this may have occurred:

Deproliferation - basically eliminating low volume options or those options with low/no profit margin - This was a GM mandate (issued by John Delorean) that took effect beginning with the 1970 model year and had a dramatic effect in lowering the number of available options over the coming years.

Regulation - There were several states that took issue with side mounted exhaust systems and did not allow them on new cars delivered there. Off the top of my head, I want to say that either Massachusetts or Connecticut was the major problem state.

Supply - There was a major supply issue with parts for the side exhaust system around the middle of the 1969 calendar year. Somewhere in my references I have a photo of a couple hundred Corvettes sitting in the shipping lot, waiting on parts for their side exhaust systems... Cars that GM wasn't making money on. According to the original owner of my 1969, it was delayed for three months waiting for side exhaust parts (he was told that he could get his car within weeks if was willing to go with the standard exhaust; he decided to wait). I would imagine that GM didn't want to deal with this problem again and it played into their thinking as well.

You are correct... I believe the actual regulation issue mentioned above had to do with noise.

You are correct on this as well. They were available with either small or big block engines.

Cost. The tooling to create the frame rail with the holes (yes, there are several side exhaust specific holes outside of the ones pictured in your photo) was already designed and in use. It cost GM nothing to leave the tooling "as is" and punch the holes even though the side exhaust option was no longer available... Which is exactly what they did.

Regards,

 

I don't have the answer. Wish I did. It might have also been a noise issue. But I suspect it was supply and quality. Much like the early alloy wheels. Or perhaps more simply demand. Only 4,366 1969s were delivered with RPO N14. It is possible that lack of supply and non-acceptance by the buying public led to their demise by a stroke of pen by DeLorean. But they are sure much desired today!

 

I heard in past the hole pictured on the frame was used during transport on the trucks to the dealers. :confused: Some sort of hook and chain setup attachment point.

Dwayne


[Modified by BigBlockVette, 9:25 PM 1/10/2003]

 

Perhaps! When I put side-pipes on my 1979 three years ago, that is where they attached. (The Eckler's version with the fiberglass covers :U ). They lasted three hours. Too loud; too cheap looking.

 

My 69 is an original sidepipe car. The keyway is definately where the pipes connect to the chassis. They may be used for another purpose on non sidepipe cars.