[68 SS]

I have a 68 SS with a buick interior.I've talked to a couple of other guy's that have the same. They couldn't tell me to much. I need some info. Why they did this? My car was built 04B Bal. 07177 The tag Also has three extra number's TR 765-158 B.I also found a 3x7 tag with punch hole's under the rear seat,It also has the same #'s

 

[Joe Y]

People that I've talked to have always stated that 1968 was a GM strike year and they used whatever they could to keep production moving. Buick and Oldsmobile interiors in chevelles were the result. mild68ss has his original buick interior in his 68ss. Very interesting indeed.

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Joe Y.
68 malibu
Bloomington/Normal, IL

 

[drptop70ss]

I also had a 68 convertible with the buick interior, it had the regular chevy console and shifter but buick seat covers and door panels..I also was told it was because of a strike year, so whatever fits gets put in! I dont know if Id be to happy if I had bought the car new and found out it had the wrong interior...

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70 chevelle ss396 conv
66 chevelle ss396 hdp/conv
55 chevy prostreet

 

[mild68ss]

the chevelles that have buick or olds interiors were mostly built in april of 68. some also were carried into may. i think it was only black bucket seat cars that this happened to.
my car was built the fourth week of april. (04D) at the kans. plant.the trim code is tr 766-178 the - 178 is the buick code.
the door panels and seats are buick too.
if i recall correctly the rear seats are narrower on the buick skylarks. so therefor chevelle covers will not fit.
i have recently priced skylark covers and they are a little pricey compared to chevelles. front and rear covers with foam go for about $500.
hope this helps.

 

[68 SS]

Mild68SS, My car is a Bench seat 4spd car. Does the buick int.hurt the value of the car?

 

[mild68ss]

i have not heard of the buick bench seat in a chevelle. i thought it was black buckets.
as far as the value, i guess it would be up to personal preference. it may not be correct or it was rare. i'm sure most people looking for a 68 would rather have a chevelle interior.
i thought it was interesting that your trim tag had a -b after the seat code.
i'm not sure what that means. i know mine doesn't. i thought it may be a buick intertior or at the balt. plant. i also looked at my 68 ss elcamino's tag. it has chevelle buckets. the build date was the third week in march 68. the code is 766-B. it and the chevelle are from k.c. so i have no idea what the B means.

 

[Joe Y]

Hey, that reminds me. The new malibu I got came with an olds interior. I'll have to look at the trim tag next time I visit it. I think it was originally a bench/auto car.

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Joe Y.
68 malibu
Bloomington/Normal, IL

 

[Ox68]

I remember coming upon an issue on this awhile back on the late 68s with the buick interior. Chevelle Concours if i remember right was their name. In the feature car section earlier on, Tom Hornbeck has his 68 chevelle concours in their. Not sure how rare, but I think I remember hearing that they ran out of chevelle interiors. Could have been the strike causing them to run out.

Tony
'68 Chevelle

 

[cews1968]

Ya know this brings me to an interesting discovery. My father when I was a year old stacked up a 68 chevelle. Well 19 years later we both went to the junk yard where it is sitting and I got some parts out of it. I noticed that the door panels had an unusual pattern with a chrome box so to speak where the malibu insignia is on the acual chevelle door panels with the dimensions of about 0.5" X 3". And it was mounted in an upright position. I was wondering about that for a couple years. And to strengthen Mild68ss's message, I got the clock out of it and it had apr something 68 stamped on the back of it.
Thanks guys for the interesting information.

 

[cews1968]

Just some more FYI stuff. The car my father had was a 2 door hardtop, Vin 13637

Pretty interesting facts guys

 

[Philip]

maybe that -B stands for bench seat.

 

[68 SS]

Thank's guy's for all your info.Everthing helps. The car only 66550 miles and I want to keep the body correct. Thank's again

 

[wildbill]

I also have a chevelle (convertable) with the buick interior, built in april in kansas city, buckets and console. drive it like you stole it! wildbill

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[thornbe]

I glad I found this thread. This topic has been discussed on and off. My interior is different than a standard Chevelle. The front and back seat patterns are from a Skylark GS Custom. The door pannels are also Buick with longer arm rests than the standard Chevelle arm rests. There is also carpet on the lower 1/4 of the front door pannels. There is also a different headliner in the car too. I can remember right now but I think it has more ribs than the standard Chevelle. My car was also produced in Baltimore on 03D (last week of March). My TR reads 765-980 B.

I think we are on to something with all of these people comming forward. I always thought my interior was from the factory, but had no way to prove it. It could have been swapped sometime during its 30 year life.


Two issues ago in Chevy High Performance, there was a letter dealing with this same issue. They would like more letters on the subject. If you need any thing else let me know.

I will try to take some pictures of the interior and post them to a web site.

68 SS - I checked out your profile after I posted. Wow, I am in Wellington, OH. It's a small world.

[This message has been edited by thornbe (edited 12-31-1999).]

 

[mild68ss]

after seeing that there are 765 bench seat cars that blows my belief that the buick interiors were bucket seat cars.

i'm confused about what the trim codes after the chevelle codes are. the two bench cars have different codes.one -158-B the other -980-B. could one or the other be an olds or maybe a bench with a armrest?

has anyone found a build sheet in these seats?

i'm pretty sure the -B isn't for buick because my elcamino has 766-B with chevelle buckets.

i have seen the h.p.c. article about the weird things g.m. did in 68 and can add my car also has a carter quadrajet instead of the more common rochchester.
i have heard that rochchester had a fire then g.m. contracted carter to tempararily manufacture quadrajets.

[This message has been edited by mild68ss (edited 12-31-1999).]

 

[68 SS]

I havn't found the build sheet yet.I still need to drop the tank. The only sheet that i did find was the small 3x7 with punch holes.Here's all the #'s seq.-trim 135851 Body-no.07177 insp.seq.no.147275 c 2 B55 All of these #'s run across the top of the paper.And these run down the side 765 158 3837 And I did find that a 68 skylark has the same bench seat design.Most of the #'s that i listed do match my cowl tag. thornbe i only live about 20 min. from you it is a small world!

 

[pro454chev]

that explains a lot found a 69 elky that i know was all orignial the fellow was parting it out i needed the buckets a friend of mine did the covers told me they weren't chevy the head rest locks were didderent but the chevelle covers fit perfect!

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[DV8R]

i'm pretty sure the -B isn't for buick because my elcamino has 766-B with chevelle buckets.


I agree im restoring a late model 68 SS with a 766-B trim code as well, all seems to be normal with the car except 3 small details. It has a factory installed custom 300 grill including the ultra rare header trim between the headlights (all 68 have a peice of chrome on the actual grill between the lights as well). Additionaly appears to have the holes pre-drilled for bumberettes but have somekind of oval plug unstalled on them. It is all original. I think the -B stands for something else. People have stated that they have additonal codes beside the trim code, I have 2 4digit numbers at the very top of my vin I cannot decode. I will post them for you guys to decode it you can tomorrow.

 

[elcamino]

I offer the following for you enjoyment. These seat codes are an adendum to the trim code on the trim tag, e.g 766-B. It was Fisher short hand for the type of seat installed when the trim number had more than one type.


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