Original Parts Group lists two different rear marker light, chrome bezels, for 69 ElCamino's. One is listed as standard, and the 2nd bezel is listed as SS. Is this true? Was there a special SS bezel. The reason I ask, the one they show in the picture as being standard, is the one on my very original documented 69 SS ElCamino. Anyone know about this?

Bill,
As you know, I have a '69 SS and my marker lights are not "SS-specific" (at least to my knowledge!) I looked in the G-U catalog and they show only the bezel I have for the front. I've never seen anything tht would indicate "SS-only" but I know I haven't seen it all. Have you talked to Albert? I'll look at some other stuff I have and get back to you.

Duke

I think OPG is confused. :confused:

I've only seen one style of rear bezel and I've looked at a bunch of 'em.

I can't answer the question but may add some confusion. We bought our base V8 '69 el Camino about four years ago so who knows what changes were made over the years. The rear marker bezels were rectangular with a rib around the outside with rounded corners. Between this rib and the lens were a series of horizontal ribs. Nothing like what is sold by the aftermarket. The rear el Camino markers were different from the Chevelle ones with a bigger hole in the quarter. I installed the new ones anyway. They seemed to interchange just fine. Being considered a truck, it seems that lighting regulations may have been different from cars. Look at the big front turn signals.

You can't always believe what you read or see in catalogs and OPG is not alone. In general, all of the vendors do a good job 99% of the time. The copy and picture are usually correct but sometimes liberties are taken.

Here's just one typical example: OPG sells plastic Cowl Grille Inserts. Their copy reads "This excellent reproduction replaces the often cracked or broken originals behind the hood." If you didn't know better, you'd think that these Buick and Pontiac A body grilles belong on Chevelles as well.Chevelles never came with them.

You've done the wise thing by posting your inquiry. It never hurts to ask. I think all of us are guilty of buying something thinking that it's correct or worse, hoping it's the right piece, only to find out after the fact that it's wrong.

Bill...this is the best I can do for a photo of my bezels right now. Mine are originals. However , my elky is NOT an SS so who knows. Bill..Keith...Do yours look like mine?

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/sidemarker01.jpg

These are what I put on our el Camino but not what was on it when it bought the car. I'll try to find the old ones and post a picture.

Thanks for the input guys. Here's the reason I asked the question. I found/bought nos bezels for the car a couple months ago. I'm finished replacing all the panels that needed replacing, and I am now fitting all the moldings/emblems/trim, so I can drill all the holes before the body work/paint. I was looking thru the OPG catalog, and noticed the different bezels they list for SS and standard for rear 69 marker lights. So of course I started wondering if the nos bezels I bought were correct for SS. So I located the originals I took off the car when it was disassembled in the fall, and they are the same as the nos bezels.

I understand a lot of what we read in catalogs is not true, but just wanted to check.

Here's a scan of the bezels in the OPG catalog. It's hard to see but they list the 1st bezel in the ad as SS, and the lower bezel as standard.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/marker.jpg


Here is a shot of the original bezel (top) and the nos (bottom)... They are identical.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/bezels1.jpg

On another note. I see in the picture Danny posted, his quarter has an el Camino emblem on the quarter panel. Is this something all 69's got, or early/late camino's got. The pics I've seen don't show any ElCamino emblems anywhere except the header panel in the front. Anyone know which is correct for 69??

Bill ...... you might want to check out the El Caminos spotters guide from the index page

although the picture's on the SS are kind of hard to see ... the EL Camino Custom appears to be the wide version on the bezel

on the Script yes 69 has it on all of them I've ever seen SS included

This is a photo of Joe Barr's 69 elky side marker. His was a feature car in 2004 here on TC. http://www.chevelles.com/feature/june2004.html

He painted the groove black. (He also painted the groove in the wheel well molding black. That's another topic for another day. ;) )


http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/untitled44.jpg

Check out this 69. It is a car on Colins' site. It is suppose to be the twin to my 69, although it needs a bunch of work.So what you're telling me is, this quarter's all wrong? It should have the el Camino emblem on it?
Sorry, I couldn't post the pic. Just click on the link below.

http://www.colinsclassicauto.com/zoom.php?car=197&pic=5

I know the accuracy of GM literature photos is sometimes debated, but this photo shows the elCamino script. Also....it's hard to tell, but that bezel does look a little different to me. ;)

http://www.elcaminos.com/ec/ec_69_2.jpg

Just looked at B-J Palm Beach results. Two 69's went through. One sure looked like the 2004 feature car. Went for $35,000. The other was a blue one that went for $21,000. Both had elCamino on the rear and marker bezels like mine.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/search/carlist_Details.aspx?&In_LotNumber=330

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/search/carlist_Details.aspx?&In_LotNumber=80

OK, I'm convinced the 69's should have the el Camino emblems on the quarters. I quess I shouldn't be going by the orange Elky I've been "learning" from. One more question I have then. The orange Elky does have an el Camino emblem on the header panel. Thats correct, right??? or maybe not??

http://www.colinsclassicauto.com/zoom.php?car=197&pic=4

Yep....a miniature version of the rear quarter emblem.

Yes on the header panel emblem :D

your having fun ;) you should have seen me trying to figure out the rear running light story on 68's :clonk: LOL

Yes on the header panel emblem :D

your having fun ;) you should have seen me trying to figure out the rear running light story on 68's :clonk: LOL

What rear running lights? :D:D:D

What rear running lights? :D:D:D

oh thats not even Half of it :confused:

does it have them ? yes or no .... yes very late from a couple of plants
what style are they?..... seen both bezels used
where are they located on the panel ?.....seen 3 different locations !!!

Please don't ask which way is correct !! as mine doesn't have them anyway !! :thumbsup:

Bill,

I have a NPD catalog that shows what appears to be the same bezel you show in your pic. They say is is for '69 Elky..pt # C-2575-102A. They DON'T say anything about SS or non-SS. I can't believe there would be 2 different bezels...too much $$ for GM to mess with for such little demand. The Elky pros here will get you straight!

Thanks for the replies guys. OK lets review. OPG has the wrong information as far as different marker bezels for 69 Elky's. All 69 got quarter panel "el Camino" emblems, and the header panel got the same type emblem only a bit smaller. Now here's a real difficult question: Why did they spell el Camino with a small e and a capital C ???

......Why did they spell el Camino with a small e and a capital C ???

Because it looks better. :yes:

I think that the small "e" in el Camino is the Spanish way of doing things. Not absolutely sure though.

Talk about a thread falling off of the track. :clonk:
Chevy was possibly wanting to stress the "Camino" part which BTW means "the path" or "the way".;) It's one of those philosophical style words, according to a customer of mine who has a Master's degree in Spanish. She said it doesn't mean "the road" in the sense of something that you drive on, more like the "road to perdition", or the "path to enlightenment".
:cool:
I'm taking her word for it, the Spanish I know are words like enchilada, tamale, chimichanga, etc. Dang, now I'm hungry for Mexican food! :p:beers:
BillL

This is the rear side marker bezel that came on our '69 base V8 el Camino. It also had the el Camino box side emblem. I don't really know what the car/truck was supposed to have but I used the ones that everyone else seems to be using. The two bezels interchange just fine. Casting number is 1384373 for the ones that were on the car/truck.
HMMMM. Path to enlightenment. So, us el Camino guys must be enlightened, or at least on the right path. Too bad for all those other guys. ;)