1968 Body

[SSpaulding]

I have a '68 Camaro convertible (VIN 124678-------).  As I've become more familiar with the differences between the first generation Camaros I've noticed the front and rear fenders of my car do not have the side marker lights, similar to the '67.  Are most of the body parts interchagable between these two years?  The doors do not have vent windows.  Also, the car has the RS headlights but they're electrically operated.  Don't know if one of the previous owners 'converted' it into an RS.

[KevinK]

Since your subject is "1968 Body", ...and that you indicate the doors don't have vent windows, ...I'm assuming your car is indeed a '68.
  From your post, it seems you indicate your car does NOT have side markers, ...and has electrically operated RS h/l motors. That leads me to believe your car has a lot of '67 parts on it (I suspect done by a previous owner). On the other hand, (ya' never know) how EARLY is the VIN # on your car?
  Also, ...are the backup lights below the rear bumper? (RS cars have the backup lights below the rear bumper) Something else you may want to check is behind the master cylinder, ...look for the approx. 1" hole where the h/l vacuum line grommet would be) ('68 was vacuum, ...where '67 was electric, ...which it sounds you already knew)
 
  With that said, ...some of the (more obvious) differences with the sheetmetal...
  '67 Did NOT have side markers (they became a DOT requirement starting with '68)
  '67 doors (having vent windows) have a different hinge bolt setup than '68 (ie. doors can not be swapped. Door "skins' can be, ...but not door frames)
  '67 quarters  do not have the door jamb 'vents', ...where '68 does (with that said, my early build '68 conv. does NOT have vents).
 
  All exterior sheet metal will swap between '67 and '68 (may not be tech. correct, ...but it would fit)
  Hoods and trunk lids will swap between '67 - '69. (again, ...there are subtle differences, ...but they would fit)
 
   Kevin

[clwilcox]

Are the side marker lights present on the rear quarters?  Sounds like someone swapped the front clip with a 67 front clip.  Kevin did a great job of covering most of the other questions I would have asked.

[SSpaulding]

No side marker lights in the front or rear.  If I decoded properly (Protect-O-Plate), the car was built in August '67.  Also, I have not come across any coding that would suggest it was built as an RS.  Would that be on the plate?  If so, what's the code/option number?  Would it be relatively easy to change the front grill to the RS style?
Thanks for the good info.

[clwilcox]

It's easy enough to change the grill.  It's been done lots.  It's possible someone changed out the front fenders, RS assemblies, rear 1/4 panels, etc with 67 items, but I'm thinking at this point, you should be trying to locate the hidden VIN numbers beneath the cowl vent on the pass side, or beneath the heater box on the firewall if you decide to take the fenders off.  I'd like to compare the hidden VIN number with the actual VIN number.  Here's some help finding the partial/hidden VINs on the car:

http://www.camaros.org/numbers.shtml#PartialVIN

Is there anyway you could post pics of your VIN, Cowl Tag, and POP?  If you don't want to post them, email them to Kurt or Daniel.  If you don't have a digital camera, try to type out what's on those items.  We can help you much better with all of the info.  Besides, giving the CRG guys (Kurt, Daniel, Rich, Doug, ?) the info for the Registry is always a great idea.

Cheers,

[DougD]

I'd check (at least the rear quarters) for bondo or a welded patch over the marker light opening to determine if it is a legit '68 body.  There are of course the options as noted above for things to have been changed as well, but I would indeed be researching things carefully to see what you have.

[clwilcox]

Well I'm the suspicious type so I see it as you have 3 things that could have happened.

1) Someone replaced the front fenders and rear quarters with 67 sheetmetal
2) Somone removed the side markers and filled them in with a patch and/or filler
3) the car is a 67 and someone with dishonest intentions, swapped a 68 VIN , doors, and possibly a 68 Cowl tag on it.  (Which is why I asked you to check the hidden VIN)

[Mark]

Back in the day, GM (and repro places) only stocked 67 front fenders since the fenders were the same except for the side marker openings.  You had to cut the side marker lights out for 68's.  Apparently some people didn't go to the trouble.  Are the side marker sockets stuffed up in the front corners of the car?

[SSpaulding]

I've forwarded POP info and pictures to Kurt.  I looked for the cowl tag and can only make out one number.  Looks like a few coats of paint may have filled in the stamp.  I'm having trouble removing the cowl vent.  I not sure how to remove the chrome from the windshield without messing everything up.  Any advice?

There are no side markers at all.  Stuffed or otherwise.  Just the two rectangular running lights under the front bumper.  The backup lights are not below the bumper.  They're part of the tail light assembly.  I didn't see any jamb vents in the doors.  When I installed a new '68 (rectangular) driver's side mirror it didn't seem to sit properly on the door panel so I made a gasket to take up the slack.  Would this indicate a '67 skin?  I forgot to check for the 1" vacumm line hole in the firewall.

At this point I'm thinking (hoping) the car came as a '68 basic convertible and has been 'dressed up' with a RS front end.

[JohnZ]

I'm having trouble removing the cowl vent. I not sure how to remove the chrome from the windshield without messing everything up. Any advice?

You don't have to remove the lower windshield reveal molding - the back of the cowl vent grille just slides underneath it.

[SSpaulding]

I've provided Kurt with nos. from POP and a picture of the cowl tag.  I've removed the cowl vent to check out the partial VIN but it's very difficult to read (paint).  I can make out a character or two.  Any suggestions?

[KevinK]

 ...you mentioned  the backup lights are NOT below the rear bumper, ...OK, ...it's not an original RS.

... If you can read the first two characters of the partial VIN (ie. 8Nxxxxxx), ...what are they? (the first digit is the model year, ...the next (letter) is the build location)...
 

[SSpaulding]

I'll e-mail you a picture.  It appears that there is an 8 and an N.  Let me know what you think.

[clwilcox]

Anyone that's seen the pictures have any comments on this one?  This seems to be quite the mystery car

[SSpaulding]

What we've found out:  The car appears to be a '68.  The VIN, cowl tag and partial no. under the cowl vent all pointed to a '68.  No vent windows.  The car started as a basic convertible.  RS front end was added with electrically operated headlight doors.  No RS backup lights.  Most, if not all, of the skin appears to be '67 style.  I haven't dug deep to check on any bondo that may have been used to fill in the side running light locations.  My concern now is what would I order for weather stripping that attaches to the door and other window parts.  Which year do I go with?

I'd be glad to post a pic  but I couldn't quite figure out how to make it work.  Help!  Is there online help or instructions?  Is there a limit on the size of the file?  I've never really used this type of 'forum' format.

SS