1963...When did A/C first appear?

[Sydney G.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

[quote=Tom Christmann (1789);526200]I'm a little late on this thread, but I have been documenting 63 air cars since the early 80's (I also worked with Noland on the 63 air section in his book). I owned the Bunkie Knudsen serial 55 car and spoke with Bunkie personally, the car was a retrofit at the design center. I also have docs from the company that produced the molds for some of the ducts; they received the order to build molds in December and the molds did not physically exist until early January (that coincides with Nolands docs about an December release). Based on my list of about 150 air cars, personal inspection of many (and ownership of 6 including the big tank air car), production clearly began with cars serial number 13,000 and higher. I have no 12,000 cars on the survey, and two 11,000 cars that have not been documented. All cars below 13,000 that I have personally inspected do not have the correct, and unique to 63 only, air parts. Hope this helps.

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Hi Tom,

I was wondering if you were noting the trim tag data in your a/c research.
My #15,000 range Coupe is trim code 898E and it does not have a/c. This was confirmed to me by several past owners including the original owner.

The judging guide says that trim code 898E was supposed to have a/c.

Syd

[David G.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Tom: do you recall when the X interior code was added in 63. I think that the earlier cars did not use the x code. My red red Convertible SN 18848
used the x coded trim tag.
Regards. Dave Gray

[Tom C.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

(Hi Dave...nice to hear from you. Miss seeing you at Carlisle as I haven't made it out in a few years. Maybe this year. I don't have info on your convertible, drop me a line so I can get it listed: tcinlinc@yahoo.com.)

Re the X in 63 air cars, while I never made a study of them, I did capture trim codes when I could. The first X code appears at 16430 in my list. 15111 did not have the code, so somewhere in between it appeared. Interestingly I only have 5 15000 serial number cars, but have 19 in the 16000 range and 11 in the 14000 range (and since we're counting 8 in the 13000 range).

Regarding the 898, a low 15000 would likely not have the X. I have two cars with 898T and 898E below the 16000 and obviously no X. Interestingly I have "some" data for Saddle interior cars above 16000, but more importantly none with X. Between only a few Saddle interior air cars and incomplete data, I can not draw a solid conclusion.

[Paul Y.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Tom, do you have 16981 in your survey? It is a saddle/saddle coupe.

[David B.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Tom - For what its worth, Proteam just sold #13772, a Saddle Tan/tan coupe that has an 898E code. No mention in the ad of it being a former air car (not like TM to miss out on that!), nor do the pictures show any current signs of a/c. Maybe the parts were removed somewhere along the line? Or possibly the 898E code did not initially indicate the presence of a/c? Perhaps a mere typo on the trim tag? Link to ad and photos below:

http://www.proteamcorvette.com/cars/1027B.htm

[Tom C.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Hi Paul. I do not have that car on the list. 16980 is an air car. Please send me contact info so I can get in listed. tcinlinc@yahoo.com And since it is saddle interior, what is the trim code?

[Sydney G.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Hi Paul. I do not have that car on the list. 16980 is an air car. Please send me contact info so I can get in listed. tcinlinc@yahoo.com And since it is saddle interior, what is the trim code?

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Tom,

I don't think that #16,981 is an air car but rather a FI car.
Is that right Paul?

Tom, would you have the Body number for #16,980??
Paul, what's the Body number from #16,981??

Also, no air on the #13,772 car but correct on the trim code as far as I know.

Syd

[Sydney G.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Re the X in 63 air cars, while I never made a study of them, I did capture trim codes when I could. The first X code appears at 16430 in my list. 15111 did not have the code, so somewhere in between it appeared. Interestingly I only have 5 15000 serial number cars, but have 19 in the 16000 range and 11 in the 14000 range (and since we're counting 8 in the 13000 range).

Regarding the 898, a low 15000 would likely not have the X. I have two cars with 898T and 898E below the 16000 and obviously no X. Interestingly I have "some" data for Saddle interior cars above 16000, but more importantly none with X. Between only a few Saddle interior air cars and incomplete data, I can not draw a solid conclusion.[/quote]

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Tom,

I had no info on #16,430. Can you please tell me if it is a Coupe or Convertible and what colors etc.

Coupe #15,111 was recorded in the L. Brooks Registry but no mention of a/c in the late 70's. I've never seen this car.

Another Coupe built the day before mine in mid May 1963, low 15,000 range, also has the 898E trim code but NO a/c.

Syd

[Tom C.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

This just continues to confirm that pre 16000 did not use the X for ac. I regularly share info with Pro Team and they did not indicate this is or ever was an air car.

[Tom C.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Syd:

16430 is a coupe, 936A and 490XC. 15111 was on the Brooks survey, but I later ran across an owner and spoke to them personally. From my notes I determined it was an air car, Trim 490L (pre X). I have a couple other 898 cars after 16000 and now that I spend some time looking, am inclined to speculate that no 898 cars had an X. I would need to study on this a little more, and will try to focus on saddle interior air cars to get a definitive answer. Maybe we'll hear from some other owner out there. 63/air/saddle interior...let's hear from you on what your trim code is?

[Tom C.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Ken,

Thanks for sharing that old info with us. It is clear that Chevrolet scrambled to get air into production. Some other points: the decal used in the glove box until VIN 19000 was dated 1961, a passenger car piece, after 19000 it was specific for Corvette and dated 1963; the owners manual has NO operating info for AC, hence the small 5x7 two-sided card that was slipped into the owners manual at the factory to provide operating instructions; the red heavy guage power wire that runs outside the harness from the horn relay to the starter area, clearly an after-thought; and my info from the company that made some of the molds, it was given to them as a "rush" in December 1962 with instruction to quickly produce the molds. To date, your car is still the earliest documented car that I am aware of.

[Paul Y.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Yes, that's right. I was just hoping that survey holders had some information on mine. Sorry for the confusion. I am attaching the trim code plate

[Paul Y.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Body number is 8740 and 490N with 932A and J1

[Loren L.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

I am aware of a lady original owner who ordered her '63 CV with A/C in October 1962. As part of the deal the dealer agreed in writing that if the car did NOT come with A/C, she would get a full refund of her deposit.
She still has the car and, as Papa Smurf inidcated, it is in the early 14XXX VIN range. Se still has it...and thank for the post...it reminds me that I should touch base again.

[Robert Y.]

Re: 1963...When did A/C first appear?

Hi Tom (and others who have posted)....could not resist posting on this thread - long time, no see! Certainly brings back some fond memories regarding S/N 17,932; had trim code 490 XC as I recall, and was a full option coupe with automatic transmission. RIP...was my favorite car, lost in a fire in 1984 while doing updates for the upcoming Bloomington Gold meet. I had been chasing a "Gold" for two previous years, always coming up short, but had it nailed for this time - or at least I thought I did.

Gasoline and furnace pilot lights do not mix well, and resulted in some $70K damage, including the car and a portion of my home at that time. Ironically I never replaced the car with another '63 having AC, but should have! My currently owned "Top Flight" and former junker '63 black-saddle convertible does the job for now.

I was unsure if you had S/N 17, 932 on the survey - I passed it on to Nolan shortly after the fire, along with a picture taken by my neighbor of the car and garage at the height of the fire. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, it was the only copy of the fire scene I had. Do still have many pics of the aftermath, including the original (not to the car of course) KO wheels....talk about melt-down!

So, if you didn't have that S/N recorded in your survey, now you can!

To all of our NCRS members, here's hoping you and your families have a Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Regards,

Bob Young
Waxhaw, NC

P.S. - Tom (and others!)...you NEED to see Ken Schurr's convertible in person - it is a stunning example and I still drool over it!