C2 paperwork

[Jeremy Hedges]

I might be opening up a can of worms, but here goes. I would like to know if the stories of GM releasing the original paperwork on C2's is BS or not . I would like to know if they are and about how long it will be before it will be released (if it is to be released). I have 2 '67 big block cars that I know are correct (documented by tank sticker and owner history). If this paperwork is to come out, I would like keep these cars until at least the release of this paperwork. I think that the fakes out there are driving down the prices of "Real" midyears. Everything can be forged to make a car what you want it to be. It would be nice to seperate the real from the fakes. I hope someone can shed some light on weather or not his is going to happen.
Thanks

Jeremy Hedges
#31711

[Gary H.]

Re: C2 paperwork

More like a can of dead horse meat ;-) I have seen many posts about this both here and at CF. IMO, the answer is: GM cannot "release" what they don't have. It's a shame, but the existence of such records for C2s is apparently an urban legend.

[Brian M.]

Re: C2 paperwork

Don't hold your breath. I bet it never happens. We got a better shot of NICB releasing info. than the General finding paperwork.

[Kevin M.]

Re: C2 paperwork

"fakes are driving down the prices of "Real" midyears"
Did you see Barrett Jackson this year? Some people don't care.

Kevin

[Stephen W.]

Re: C2 paperwork

I've had wishful hopes this would be a reality someday too.
What I cannot understand is why Pontiac can do it for the GTO's but Chevrolet cannot do it for the Corvette? I thought the basic paperwork and record keeping would be the same for all of GM.

[Justin N.]

Re: Jeremy, Mine's the Rarest....

of all! I've got a 67 327/300hp 4 speed, M-20 coupe. Except for the speed warning, tinted glass, 4 speed posi, am/fm radio, it's bone stock. Everybody's got a bigblock 435 horse. Mine seems the rarest, or I'm the most honest compared to all the periodicals and auto-traders I read. It's got two engines, one that matches, and the matching tranny too. It has the original Marina Blue laquer paint showing through the Bubba-sprayed primer. As it sits, in very poor shape, it's the best investment I can make. The current prices from Barret-Jackson has added another $5000 grand for sure! Kevin, Happy St. Patty's you green-bearded weirdo! See you at Golden Gate!

Justin #41362

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 paperwork

Back in the sixties GM divisons were really their own integrated and nearly independent automobile manufacturers - had their own engineering and manufacturing plants including building their own engines. Each decided how to manage their own business.

Chevrolet, in particular, was totally vertically integrated dating back to the fifties when the DOJ threatened to file anti-trust action against GM (their market share was a little over 50 percent and growing), and pundits speculated that a possible outcome was separating Chevrolet into an independent corporation if DOJ ever filed, and GM seemed to be prepared for that outcome.

Nowadays the "car divisions" are just marketing organizations.

Pontiac apparently chose to keep their production records. Chevrolet did not - at least the Corvette production records after after St. Louis closed.

A respected NCRS member did an exhaustive search for the St. Louis production records under the authority of then Chevrolet General Manager Jim Perkins back in the late eighties or early nineties. That investigations came up blank.

There have been recent rumors of "shipping records" held by transportation companies, but I think that will be a bust, too. There's just no logical reason why a transportation business would keep over a hundred thousand 40 year old records.

Duke

[Warren F.]

Paperwork

I read in past articles about this searching adventure for the lost records for Chevrolets more popular models, ie: Camaro, Chevelle, Corvette, especially the 'high performance' option breakdowns.

From what I was told, the reason given the records do not exist, is because at those times, Chevrolet was OUTSELLING all the other DIVISIONS combined and the capacity to store that much paperwork was beginning to become a logistical nightmare.

[John H.]

Re: C2 paperwork

In addition, Pontiac didn't build anywhere near the number of cars that Chevy did; in the 60's, Pontiac volume was around 1500 per day, and Chevrolet built 12,000-13,000 per day (Impala/Caprice alone was 6,000 per day - required two complete sets of dies for body panels - no one stamping plant could run fast enough to supply 6,000 per day of any Impala/Caprice panel). Pontiac chose to keep production records - Chevy would have needed the Rose Bowl to store them.