Early versus late production

[Dave K.]

I often hear people say they have an early production or late production car. What exactly does that mean; First 6 months of a given year is early and the last 6 months is late??

[Frank D.]

Re: Early versus late production

It depends on the year I think; for '63 'early' and 'late' can mean different things depending on what part you are talking about.
"Early" 63s had the toolbox depressions under the seat; later cars did not. Many times even those designations aren't fine-grained enough
and changes have to be specified by VIN range....for certain parts under discussion.

[Stephen G.]

Re: Early versus late production

There were MANY running changes in the 63 model year. Refer to the Judging Manual to help determine which part changes at what month/VIN number.

[Michael W.]

Re: Early versus late production

I often hear people say they have an early production or late production car. What exactly does that mean; First 6 months of a given year is early and the last 6 months is late??

There's no defined and accepted meaning nor would it serve much practical purpose. In almost every production year GM introduced a series of engineering changes covering individual components or assemblies that might have been introduced individually or in groups and were usually scattered across the entire production year. Some change overs might have happened in the first few weeks, others in the last few. It serves little purpose then to categorize an entire car as 'early' or 'late'.

[Harry S.]

Re: Early versus late production

Mike is correct. Thinking of a 63 or a 68 there were so many running changes on the line the term gives an indication as to what parts to expect on the car. A very early 63 has parts that are quite different than a late 63.

[Dan D.]

Re: Early versus late production

I agree with Michael. It all depends on context...and, it means different things to different people. To those of us who worked in the field for the manufacturer..."early production" generally refered to the vehicles from start of production until the assembly plant got up to normal line rate. Over the years...normally August cars/trucks. These vehicles were normally early ordered in June and put into production scedules in July. "Late production," to us normally meant "buildout'"...normally July cars/trucks. These July vehicles were usually ordered in May and were put into frm schedules in June. That being said...sometimes normal wasn't was what it was supposed to be...like when the dogs didn't want to eat the dog food...meaaning they didn't want to take what we needed to build to complete the line schedule. Carline mix was always locked in very early in the model run. If I've confused the issue with my rambling..I'm sorry...but I could tell some strange and some funny stories over the years

[Loren L.]

Re: Early versus late production

It's a cop-out. Short for "we know that there is a running change but we can't figure out when".

[Bill W.]

Re: Early versus late production

Dave . 65 BB didnt come out until March of 65 that is in the 12 & 13,000 range and they built the last 2 in August . I consider any 65 BB built before serial number 20,000 early and after 20,000 late. Thats just me !