'68 Owners Please Check Something

[Joe T.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

Quality Problems??? uh yea you could say that....the car review magazine writers told GM....no thanks, and refused to drive the the cars they were given to review, the quality was so horrid. Now thats cold.

As much as I love these cars, if youre really honest about it, all corvettes were not exactly the work of craftsmen.

I had a 68 427, and it was nothing but a pain in the a$$, plagued with problems.

Well these cars are the products of assembly lines. Still, consider the amount of manual labor before the days of robotics that went into these cars! Once example I found: The cooling fan on my 69 big block was actually shimmed to align the accessory belts, and this was done on EACH and EVERY car that came off that line! I also heard, but did not verify that the big block equipped cars had the front valances cut out for extra cooling. Again, on the line. Imagine all the other items that were manually adjusted and or fitted? If that much hand work went inot a car today, it would considered custom built! Craftsmen? Maybe not artisans, but certainly craftsmen...JMHO

[Gerard Q.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

Quality Problems??? uh yea you could say that....the car review magazine writers told GM....no thanks, and refused to drive the the cars they were given to review, the quality was so horrid. Now thats cold.

As much as I love these cars, if youre really honest about it, all corvettes were not exactly the work of craftsmen.

I had a 68 427, and it was nothing but a pain in the a$$, plagued with problems.

Maybe it was a 68 thing...as the original owner of a 68 Camaro I'd have to say it was the worst car I've ever owned.

[Jeff G.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

There are some really good stories in here. It sounds like the line workers were simply overcoming engineering / design issues. I also read there were some electrical issues too, is that true?
Jeff

[Reba W.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

I heard the late Phil Hawkins in a seminar at Bloomington address the issues GM had with the 1968s. He threw in something else to consider: Uncle Sam was taking so many of their young line workers that they were in a constant training program new ones. (For those of you born after 1975, that was during the large troop buildup in Vietnam.)

[Joe T.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

I had a 1967 442 Oldsmobile and had friends with the same era GTO's and SS396 Chevelles. These cars were FINE automobles as I recall. In point of fact, they still are. If you think the issues were with the '68 Corvettes only, maybe it was some engineering issues, but my recollection is that the drivetrains were NOT new for that year. The new body style did cause some issues such as cooling (yes IT WAS a problem!!!) and maybe the bodies flexed too much, but other mechanical issues should not have presented themselves in that particular year.
Oh...I apologize for highjacking this thread...back to the TJ-2 question...

[Anthony S.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

No holes in my '68,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but I have seen many '68's where the louvers and even the "Stingray" emblems have been added.

[Michael M.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

In reference to Joe's comments about the arrival of the 68's. Back in 67 in "Boys Life" magizine auto editor Ed Janici (not sure of the spelling) could not wait for the 68's to come out. He thought that running the C-2 body style for 5 years was way too long. Mike Markley (42753)

[Jim B.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

In reference to Joe's comments about the arrival of the 68's. Back in 67 in "Boys Life" magizine auto editor Ed Janici (not sure of the spelling) could not wait for the 68's to come out. He thought that running the C-2 body style for 5 years was way too long. Mike Markley (42753)

When I got out of College in 1968 I wanted a corvette in the worst way. It was almost impossible to get one unless you could pay cash up front for an order or knew somebody. (sounds like the Zo6/Zr1 issues) They were immensely popular. The new bodystyle was, as stated before, making the C2's obsolete.
I finally got mine in August of 1968 after they had stopped making them. When I started driving it in the fall of 1968 it was a traffic stopper wherever I went.

I never had any problem with the car and was very pleased with the way it held up. I started the restoration of the 327 350hp engine this winter and took it apart for the first time in 40 years. The Chassis was more like the 69 than the early 68's as they changed things as the model year went on.

To finish out the Thread, my 68 does not have any holes in the louvers as has been stated.

[Chuck G.]

Re: '68 Owners Please Check Something

I might add that the factory side louver trim was attached to the body via rubber "well nuts" and chrome machine screws.

The holes for the rubber well nuts are quite large, not small "drill bit" holes that someone made to use chrome trim screws.

SO, the factory used the well nuts in 69 installations, NOT trim screws. And as others have said, there was no side louver trim option in 68.

Chuck