Hi. I picked up my '68 SS-396 El Camino today, and I have a few questions (one of them is on the Tag Team forum). I was at the Summit terminal in Sparks, Nv today reading a book about El Caminos. The author mentioned that "in all my years doing reasearch on El Caminos, I have never seen a '68 with rear marker lights in real life, even though they were advertised in the brosures. I have only seen a picture of one with marker lights". Then I looked at the 5 pictures of SS-396 El Caminos on the page and none had them. When I picked up my car today I noticed mine has them, and too double check I looked at the lenses and the say "SAE Guide 68" which tells me these are not '69 markers. I might also mention that my front marker badges say "SS396" instead of just "396". Thanks for all the help on this subject!!

I heard the front SS396 markers were used only in early production cars. I've often wondered about the rear side-markers too.

Yeah, thats what the TC guys told me about the fronts, and I was just looking at a few "Featured Chevelles" (actually the 2 '68 Elkys, one a Malibu trim and 1 SS-396) and they both dont have the markers. I wonder if the rear markers had something to do with early production too.

The '68 El Camino sales brochure shows a blue SS-396 on the cover. That one has rear side marker lights. It is hard to tell if the photo was retouched, but it doesn't like like that part was. I've heard of a couple '68s with those lights. Sounds like maybe a few of the very early production cars got them. My '68 SS did not come with them. But it is not an early production.

Dan you mentioned in my Tag Team post that my car was built the 2nd week of October 1967, does this mean it is a VERY early model, or just early. Also, does the "SAE GUIDE 68" on the lenses of the rear markers kind of put athenticity into it? I'm just wondering if the '69 models have "SAE GUIDE 69" on the lenses instead. Thanks for your help!!

The second week of October is proabably only a couple weeks into the '68 model-year production. So it is an early one, but not from the first week. I don't have a '69 to look at so I'm not sure about the lens markings. Maybe someone here who has a '69 can let us know.

IIRC, the 69 markers were narrow and not wide like the 68 ones.

Originally posted by chev64:
IIRC, the 69 markers were narrow and not wide like the 68 ones. what are you talking about? maybe the FRONT maker lights... but this post is about REAR marker lights, and they were the large style on the rear 1/4 panel of a 69 el camino. Mine is in storage so i cant check... i'd bet it says 68 on them though, as i think that date indicates when the light was appoved by the DMV, not the year of production... so if it was the same light as the 68, it would still read 68... not sure though.

I can't answer your question, but here's some insight, ALL lenses have the SAE GUIDE __

SAE=Society of Automotive Engineers (means that the lens meets approval of design standards and government safety mandates. GUIDE was the division of GM the did design work on exterior components and electrical/lighting safety devices. For example, Guide division invented the Cadillac Autronic Eye headlight dimmer control in the 1950s, and perfected the "rubberized" bumper surround trim in the 1970s. The last (2) digits ARE the model year. If you have a 1968, it should have 68 printed on the lens. If you have a 70, it will say "70".

Perhaps the design of the rear tailight is responsible for the use of rear marker lights on the early 1968 elkys. In 1968, it was a government mandate that ALL 1968 model year vehicles have front and rear side marker lamps. The exception was, if the tailight lens could double as a rear marker light (that is a person could see the tail light lens illuminate when looking at the side of the vehicle), there was no additional rear marker lamp needed. This 1968 model year mandate was spurred by congressional hearings surrounding Ralph Nader and his book "Unsafe at Any Speed" calling attention to the US automotive industry and their design practices.

I never understood why most 68s DON'T have the marker lights... They have the same tailights as a 69, and ALL 69s had rear side markers, then they changed the tailight slightly for 70-72, and took the marker light away... i would have thought ALL 68s and ALL 69s had them, but it seems as though 69 is the only year that used them on all caminos.

That rear marker light in the 68 photo is for sure lower on the body than the one on my 69.

http://chevelles.com/elcamino/ec_68.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/djw69elky09.jpg

1968 was the first year that side markers were required.
It may be, since yours is an early model that they had to put them on the cars until they talked the federal DOT people out of having to put them on a "truck"

K

SuperN8,so are yours low like the GM airbrush retouch photo, or are they up where they were on 69s? Youre sure the truck never had 1/4 panels put on it i would assume? DjW, whats the guide date molded in yourside lights? is it 69?? Also, your elky looks sweet... i just bought a set of vintage mags and a second set of redlines for mine to "try a new look" this spring... I think it will give it that "hotwheels" look... (remember the old originals with the redlines?)

Ever consider the black SS sidestripe? i fought with the idea for a year til i finally got "talked" into putting it on, and am now glad i did.

Originally posted by Joey B:
DjW, whats the guide date molded in yourside lights? is it 69??Joey,

I'll check when I get home later tonight.

Thanks for the compliment, but it wouldn't hold a candle to yours. It just photographs well. smile.gif

The rear sidemarker lenses on my 69 have "GUIDE4" on one end and "SAEPI68" on the other. Interesting.

When they were eliminated from the quarter panels, weren't they incorporated into the taillights? All vehicles had them from what I've seen, even trucks.
Also the reason they were low and then raised was to line up with the front side marker lights those years, it's a styling detail.

Originally posted by JoeyB:
i'd bet it says 68 on them though, as i think that date indicates when the light was appoved by the DMV, not the year of production... so if it was the same light as the 68, it would still read 68...
Originally posted by Coppertop:
The last (2) digits ARE the model year. If you have a 1968, it should have 68 printed on the lens. If you have a 70, it will say "70".

Posted by DjW69elky:
The rear sidemarker lenses on my 69 have "GUIDE4" on one end and "SAEPI68" on the other. Interesting.
So Coppertop, i guess i win that argument ;) :D ... I still say the date on the lenses is when the lense was APPROVED for use, and has jack squat to do with the year of the vehicle... its just coincidental that often times the lenses have the same date as the year of the car because the light designs were changed yearly... but if they used the same light for more than one year, with NO changes, the lights can be original and have a date from an earlier year.

I didnt knowthis post was going to go anywhere, so I haven't check in on it. I know it's hard to believe from an Internet stand poind but I know for a fact those are original quarters on the car, the rear marker lights exactally line up with the front markers on the body. The only thing changed on this car was the motor and some '69 SS wheels, other than that the body has been sanded down and the quarter paint exactally matches the the rest of the car's original "Midnight Teal Metallic". It only has 86,000 original miles on it and has been parked in the back of a garage for 25 years. The guy I bought it from bought it in '69 from a rich kid who only owned it for 2 months. The car is at my mom's house in Cali right now (just 20 mi. away) and I'll be going up there this weekend to take some pictures of it up close and around the car to put onto the Internet. BTW, the tailights DO NOT have reflectors built into the sides of them like the '70-'72s do, I'm not sure if the '68s were supposed to have them without the markers or not, maybe someone can clear that up. Thanks!! smile.gif

I just went out and checked my 69 El Camino SS and my 69 Chevelle S/W. They both say 1968. The S/W lenses were NOS GM a year ago. I know the El Camino lenses are orig.
I've never seen lenses on a 69 that said 1969 except for those that are one year only, such as the tailights on a 2 door hardtop or the like.

Usually the mold isn't changed, even when the same lenses were used for years and years. So it's not uncommon to find lenses dated many years previous to the actual year of the car.

Look at a 1977 Camaro tailight lense and I'll bet it says 1974.

Take a look at the Chevy PU's. 73-87 uses the same tailight lense and I'll bet they are all dated 1973 ! 88-90 Duallies and Suburbans have the same body style as the 73-87 and I'll bet they have 1973 tailight lenses too !


Nate

Originally posted by SuperN8:
....the rear marker lights exactally line up with the front markers on the body.So yours are lower than the 69....like in the promotional photo? Makes sense, styling wise.

Holy Heck!!! Nate, thats twice now we agreed on something! And they say world peace isn't possible! :D

Usually the mold isn't changed, even when the same lenses were used for years and years. So it's not uncommon to find lenses dated many years previous to the actual year of the car.

Look at a 1977 Camaro tailight lense and I'll bet it says 1974.

Take a look at the Chevy PU's. 73-87 uses the same tailight lense and I'll bet they are all dated 1973 ! 88-90 Duallies and Suburbans have the same body style as the 73-87 and I'll bet they have 1973 tailight lenses too!I agree, that's like how the license light lenses are dated 1964 and were used for years after that (on my '70).

No Joey, it's whirled peas :D

Came across this post. My 68 elky has the side light markers as shown in the pic. Mine was built in late sept 67, within the first 4000. Just thought i let you all know.

Mike

Originally posted by dcarr:
The second week of October is proabably only a couple weeks into the '68 model-year production. So it is an early one, but not from the first week. I don't have a '69 to look at so I'm not sure about the lens markings. Maybe someone here who has a '69 can let us know. I thought new models were usually released in early September ? ..at least they were in the 50's. Wouldn't that make an October, 1967 assembly at least three months into the 1968 production year?

I've seen a 71 LS5 being sold that was suppose to be #13 off the assembly line in LA and it has a body number plate assembly date of Aug, 2nd week. May have been bogus advertising but if the assembly/release timeframe was Sept for new models in 1971, it surely would have been in 1968 as well. The POP vehicle build month codes for 1968 are listed in my GM parts book as going from Aug, 1967 to Jul, 1968. That indicates to me that assembly of the 1968 model year cars began in August of 1967. Am I wrong here?

sounds good to me Dale.


Nate

I have a '68 SS396 elCamino built Jan'68 and it does not have any rear side markers at all & has SS396 marker light on the front fenders. Dave

i thought it was the canadian versions only that did not have the light. they did not necessarily have to follow U.S. laws. i dont know though. graemlins/clonk.gif

I don't think any El Caminos were built in Canada before the '73 models. The earlier models were U.S. imports, and I think they were U.S. spec. The only difference would be the stuff that came in the glove compartment.
As for the dates molded in the lenses, I must agree that the model year for initial approval is what is molded in.
Curiously, here in Canada all major '68s carried side marker lights, but a few, like the Sunbeam Alpine & Tiger (which continued to be imported to Canada into 1968) did not. It wasn't required by law here until the '69 models. Many imported cars were dropped from the U.S. after '67 but carried on up here (the Austin Mini was available through 1980.) Importing a new car from the British Commonwealth was easy as there were few if any compliance issues at the time as I recall. Sorry if I got off topic a little.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dsr:
[QB] I have a '68 SS396 elCamino built Jan'68 and it does not have any rear side markers at all & has SS396 marker light on the front fenders. Dave

My car is a U.S. car built in Kansas City Missouri plant 4th week in January 1968. Dave

I'm not sure what the side marker law was, but the 68 Chevelle cars didn't have rear side marker lights (Maybe earlier ones did, like the Elky's in question, as I have seen them in promotional stuff). I think that with the rear taillight emitting light to the side of the car because of the wrap-around design, it probably satified the requirement of having a rear side marker. When the taillight design changed on the cars in 69, a rear marker would have to be used, and probably carried over to the 69 Elky, even though it technically didn't need them.

Those are my thoughts exactly, Gene. Since all '68-'72 El Caminos had wraparound tail lights, wouldn't that have satisfied the requirement? Especially since the '68 Chevelle wraparound light was much smaller than that of the El Camino.