C3 1968 Storage compartments

[Harmon C.]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

I looked at an original 73 today dated 392172 in a Nov. 72 build 73 and have seen this date codeing on lots of sharks. No black paint on the outside and a smooth pressed wood finish but at the top is starting to seperate and looks like cardboard. Lyle

[Kevin Whiteley]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

Joe, the outside is painted black, on the sides and bottom, however, it is not painted uniformly. The sides are more black than the bottom. And one side of the bottom is more black than the other. Also, on the bottom, where there is an indentation in the side of the tray, there are some "runs". The printing (33_1376) is inked/silk-screened in black, but it is visible due to the inconsistency of the "background" paint.

I haven't invested in a digital camera, but I will attempt get some pictures for your examination.

[Jack H.]

Orig from my '71is....

6.5-inches deep, flocked black inside (mostly intact), rough 1-inch band of black paint/flocking glue around the top outer, natural brown pressed cardboard, with red ink stamp on the bottom "28 2670" with the font of the leading 2-digit quite different from the later 2-digit.

[Jim T.]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

Having original owner 68 and 70, this is what I have. The one for the 70 has a stamping of 2 618 70 on the bottom. The 68 has no stamping. They are both about 6.5 inches deep. The 70 does not have any of the rubber bumpers around the top perimeter lip, has the holes but no rubber bumpers. I could of lost a few, but I don't think all of them, do not remember seeing them in this unit. The 68 has all but one of the rubber bumpers still in the perimeter lip, two in the front, tow in the rear, and one on each side. Another different feature of the 70's unit is that the back lip has been trimmed off and I didn't do it. Both units have the black paint around the top perimeter.

[Reba Whittington]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

In judging, we do see a few boxes with no date on them. (Sometimes the date gets removed during restoration.) Our guiding rule is that the date cannot be later than the car. Does 6/18 coincide with the build date of your car?

Another question on 1970: Does the lip appear to have been trimmed after production or is the edge finished as if it were done by the manufacturer? Some have been cut by a car owner to make removal easier. I think that at some point GM had this edge removed because it was so hard to remove the box. It may have come with the change in a supplier as Joe earlier noted the changes in materials. It is possible that the rubber bumpers were not on the later ones, but since GM was making a service replacement for 1968+, the holes were there for the earlier cars.

[Jim T.]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

Reba the build date for my 70 is 8 JUL, so the dates are about two weeks apart.
I bought my 70 off the showroom floor as a new 1970 on August 18, I haven't cut on the box to remove the rear lip, so it had to be done before I took ownership.I will look at the paint around the perimeter again tonight. The material for the 68 and 70 seem to be exactly the the same.

[Juliet P.]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

My original '70 storage box has the black paint down an inch or so on the outside. It does have the notch for the latch piece which appears to have been done neatly and cleanly and not haphazardly like the other parts the assy line workers hacked (ie, the cut foot well grilles). It also has some small holes around the perimeter, but they're empty and have been since I purchased the car with 44k miles. I've often wondered if I was missing something in them. I can't comment on stamped numbers as the car is at the shop to get the AC system overhauled. If you look closely at the edges (esp the top side of the finger holes or around the top lip) you can see a slight delamination of the substance - it looks like layered manilla paper. And when you knock it with a knuckle it sounds lower-frequency than when you knock on the much stiffer repro ones I've judged in other cars. ~Juliet




1970 Corvette Registry

[Jim T.]

Re: C3 1968 Storage compartments

Viewing my 70's compartment box it has a nice clean cut removing the rear lip like yours Juliet. It also has good paint covering up the the edges of this cut that matches the perimeter paint.
One new difference I just noticed between the 68 and the 70 is that the front of the 68's compartment box is smooth, unlike the 70's. The 70 has a indention of the compartment box that runs the full length from top to bottom located in the center where the compartment latch is located. This indention was formed in the manufacture of the compartment box.