No Spoilers in 67 ?

[jeffschevelle]

It appears to be universally agreed on the CRG research postings that there were no front or rear spoilers factory installed in 67.   I have 3 questions about that.  (I suspect they've already been answered on here before, but I couldn't find it.  So feel free to start any reply with "Dear Dummy"      )

1.  The 67 Assembly Instruction Manual has option D80 listed, with diagram of how to install the front spoiler.   The sheet has release date 11-30 (presumably meaning 11-30-66).  It also says to see RPO Z28 for "rear body extension".   If the front spoiler was never available, why is it in the AIM and not marked as "cancelled"?

2.  The Z28 section of the AIM, sheet B2, shows how to paint on the Z28 stripes, and it has a "View C" depicted for "RPO D80", showing the rear spoiler, and a "Section A-A" showing where the stripe stops on a spoiler car.  The Revision Record at the bottom of the page says that View C (spoiler) was added to the AIM on 12-15-66, and that the Section A-A (spoiler stripe detail) was added on 2-16-66.  If the rear spoiler was never available, why is it in the AIM and not marked as "cancelled"?

3.  On the CRG research topics page it is noted that the decklid changed in approx. March/April of 67 to add the spoiler attachment cutouts in the substructure of the decklid.  It is suggested there that this was the "introduction of the 1968 thrunk lid support structure" to the 67 trunk skin.  Couldn't it be that the holes were added to simplify mounting spoilers on 67's, rather than just gearing up for 68?

OK, I'm ready for y'all to educate me now!    Thanks!  Jeff

[JohnZ]

The Assembly Manual wasn't an assembly process document - it was an Engineering assembly aid, reflecting release schedules in the Drafting Room; actual production-line change incorporation dates were handled in a completely different system (NPC - Notice of Production Change), and those weren't published outside of GM.

Also, the AIM we have isn't the "end-of-year" version - the sheets were copied from various sources, so it doesn't represent a "snapshot" of any particular point in time; the latest revision date in mine appears to be 5/1/67, and more sheets were issued between then and the end of the model year which we don't have, so we don't have the complete history for that model year.

It wasn't unusual to have a change shown or an option released on an AIM sheet that never saw production - some of those had "Cancelled" sheets noted, and some didn't.

It was normal practice to "pull-ahead" die changes in body panels (especially inner panels) for the following model year early, to avoid a high workload of die changes all jammed into the brief model change downtime; all of those inner panel holes were pierced in the stamping plant, before the inner and outer panel were joined and hemmed together and sent as an assembly to the car assembly plants.