Rare 69?

[SamLBInj]

Here is a blowup--

[SamLBInj]

A Little Bigger..

[Keith Tedford]

What is a "pilot" car. When we did model changes, there would be the first few off the line with no VIN. These were pre-production models built to fine tune the tooling in the bodyshop and address other assembly problems. The doors, fenders etc. wouldn't fit very well as did other panels. When everything was acceptable, then they would build cars for sale with VINs. Some of these pre-production vehicles would be used for a year or two around the plant for yard cars then scrapped. I understand that some went to high schools and colleges for the tech classes to use. It's always possible that some of these eventually found their way onto the street through back door means. I don't think that pre-production and pilot are necessarily one and the same. The first LS6 Chevelles may have been called pilot models and would probably have been built quite a while before actual LS6 production began. A few get run down the line to pick out any unforseen production problems. These problems would be corrected so that the line runs smoothly once actual production begins. This is still done today and is especially important when doing rolling model changes. Pilots, without all the obvious pre-production problems, would be saleable vehicles.

[supercomp 8.90]

maybe this was an early car that was assigned a vin later??? maybe the owner should start checking the date codes on the car??

[Mark_C]

Look at the dents in the firewall around and behind the tag. Could the original tag have been on the car and survived without a mark on it? Maybe this one is a replacement tag installed on the line so the body shop would know what color to paint it? (not my idea originally but sounds plausible)

Pilot cars are not typically big block SS convertibles and not assigned VINs 4 months after they were built. The 508799 VIN is a Mid November of 68 built car.

[SamLBInj]

Could it have been the 1st 69 big block convertible? this one is pretty odd..

[Late BrakeU2]

Keith,agreed.Pre production models are just that.I have a backround in sports car racing at the pro level,and that gets me work with manufacturers doing R&D on a dynamic level with new product models.Some of the contract work has been with GM(Mesa facility) and I can tell you the "mule" or "betas"as the engineers refer to them are indeed"pre production"and are not intended for sale,as they are not fully DOT approved yet.Pilot cars in my experience are the first production run type vehicles intened for dealer networks.While some are monitored for evaluation in urban enviroments,others are designated for racing applications,usually in showroom stock type endurance events.This falls under"race on sunday,sell on monday" marketing,very valuable for accelerating fatigue on parts in a somewhat controlled situation.These particular vin#'ed "house"cars are also crushed as they would never be released to the public for saftey reasons

[indyjps]

i agree on the cars not being released to the public, my father worked @ a structural steel fab business that also ran a scrap yard. mitsubishi would bring in pilot cars witha crew of federal agents to ensure no part was useable. but who knows in '68-'69.
i work for GM and the "plant vehicle" cars are s-10's and now colorados some being pilot vehicles with manufacturer tags in plac of the vin, some of them turned out pretty odd. new vehicles with mismatching interiors, different mirrors all kinds of things. they are mainly used to run between main plant and shipping center. wish i could get pics but of course no cameras allowed in plant.

[SamLBInj]

Here is a copy of the email sent by Glenn:
Sam
The car is a SS396 325HP with factory air, deluxe interior, PS,PDB P-top factory tack dash with gas gauge in the middle. The car originally came with the SS lover hood but was changed out some years ago.
Thanks, Glenn

[Canucklehead]

At the Bj auction they had a bunch of pilot cars that were sold with the knowledge that they are "not" street legal and cannot be registered. So why would you buy one?