Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
WHO RECIEVED THE FIRST C-3'S OFF THE LINE, OR WERE THEY 
DEALER ORDERS,
FRIENDS ,
CEOS OR 
CHITWOOD? OR DOES ANYONE KNOW???
DEALER ORDERS, FRIENDS ,CEOS OR CHITWOOD? OR DOES ANYONE KNOW???
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Great Question ! Just want to add one thing.....the first C3's were all convertibles. The first coupes came after the 1st of the year. Like late January. Very slow coming at first. Remember the new 68's were suppose to come out as a 1967 model. Save the Wave.>George -
Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
not sure - Bob McDormans 68 serial # 2 is a bronze Coupe - I know they changed to full convertibles until Jan but I would assume only after some crappy produced Coupe'sComment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
It Looks Like A Coupe Was The First 70 Produced According To 70 Registry. Thanks For Your Input. 00009Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
SN 00008 lives a block from me. It's a convertible (L46 engine) and was delivered to a doctor near Denver...Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
We ought to straighten this out. Is this thread about the first C3s == 1968?
I thought the Old Fart thread was about 1970. Now it seems they are getting mixed up.
I am not aware of any effort to place the first C3s in the hands of certain people, like was done with the 1953s. That is not to say that didn't happen, though. I certainly wasn't too plugged into those kinds of events in 1968. :rollseyes:
One should be aware that the earliest 1968s and 1970s, and probably every other year, were pre-production (or whatever term was used at the time) cars. They were usually made in the production year before the new model year began and often spent the earliest months or years in the hands of engineering or marketing. Those cars are where the images (usually highly airbrushed) for the sales brochures and FSM came from. So rather than being in the hands of the public, they were hidden away deep in the bowles of Chevrolet or GM. Well except for the occasional late-night run on Woodward Ave.
TerryComment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Yep, there's two ways to interpret the subject of the thread (First C3's)...strictly applied to year of introduction ('68) or generally applied to each Shark model year.
On pre-production cars, I remember various plant tours at Chrysler and preume GM/Ford did things similarly... There's a startup need for samples of a new model year (shoot pix for marketing, run the car at the test track, submit to regulatory agencies, shoot pix for service manuals, Etc.).
Building these cars in the model shop costs a FORTUNE! So, how do you build a car BEFORE the assy line is actually tooled to run?
On my plant trips, I'd spot a single LH door sitting adjacent to the line at the station where LH doors arrived via overhead carrier lines. Then, look up/down the line and you'd spot a companion RH door at/near its assy point. Look some more and there'd be a matching hood, then a matching trunk lid.
These were model year 'next' pre-production parts sitting/waiting for the end of a shift when the line could be used to 'hand walk' a pre-production car through and assemble it with key personnel before the formal model year change over was executed to bring next year's specific tooling on board.
Now, how many cars were actually assembled this way probably varied each year with specific supporting department needs. These 'hand built' on the 'line' cars weren't cheap either. But, they were a LOT less expensive than the one-off's that came out from design/model shop labor!!!Last edited by Jack H.; December 11, 2008, 12:38 PM.Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
As to how many -- the evidence is there for 1970 (and I would presume other years as well). Trim tag. A batch of 1970s (maybe the first 5 to 10) was built O20 or O21 -- have to look at my files at home to get the exact date -- October 20 1969. Well before the start of regular 1970 MY production.
I'm not sure this was the same for every year, and those years were there were few or no changes might not have had any pre-production cars built. 1971 or 1972 come to mind.TerryComment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Very Intersting Info. Indeed !! Thanks #00009Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Well, I Do Know 70 #9 Has A-5 Build Date, I Am Not Really Convinced That It Was Actually Produced In Jan. If #4 Was Built In 69. Thanks For Your Info. #00009Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
If 00009 is A5 then that limits the number of pre-production 1970s they built -- as you said. A5 is the first regular production date on the trim tag. Whether any of those bodies came off the assembly line on Jan 5 is a whole other discussion -- but they surely didn't come off sooner.
I don't remember what numbers we have lower than 00009 -- I'll have to look at home where I track those 1968-1972 Corvettes I have actually seen.TerryComment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Thanks Terry, I Am Looking For Who Recieved The First C-3's, Maybe I Can Find A Clue As To Who Originally Ordered Or Revieved My #9 And Possibly Did This Before Or After 70 Each New Year Production. SteveComment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
SN 8 also shows a 1/5/70 date...Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
Jack, Do You Know If #8 Is Still Alive? I Have Not Seen That Car Listed On 70 Registry? I Just Wonder If It A Regular Production Car Or Pilot And Coupe Or Conv.Comment
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Re: Who Recieved First C-3's Off Line? Dealers? CEO'S?
If the trim tag date is A5 it is likely a regular production car. I believe most all the A5 and later 1970 Corvettes were regular production. The exceptions came later int he model year.
Be careful using terms like "pilot," "beta," and the like. At different times there were different terms for non-regular production (irregular production? ) Corvettes. They all had very specific meanings, but we will need to get those from the people who worked there at the time. We will only confuse the discussion by miss-using these terms.
TerryComment
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