Original '65 Owners Guide

[Wayne M.]

Re: Original '65 Owners Guide - what's fair?

Be careful buying midyear owners manuals. As most of you know there were some boot leg copies made that do not say reprint.

Check the size of the paper as the reprinted ones had paper that was a tad smaller than the original. Also the colors of the ink are off.

John, others -- I have the original from my first car '65 #04835 (first edition, included with dealer warranty work orders with POP imprint) given to me by 2nd owner when I bought it, in Spring of 1968.

Also have a repro, probably from the mid '70s -- no doubt have been several bootleg and /or official reproductions over the years, and I don't know the provenance of this one.

Anyway, the differences become immediately noticeable. A few are:
-- inside rear cover "Chevrolet Owner Protection Plan" in black ink on original, but red ink on (my) repro.

-- original has darker pink background tables througout with finer (less bold) print than my repro.

-- "Contents" page [major difference], original has checkered flag on left; my repro has it on the right (as it is on the real car emblems); again, original now has 'contents' in red ink; repro is black.

Page 18; that grey table at bottom of page (lighting ...) has three major differences (original title in italics, red bullets much larger; 4 print paragraphs are much finer print (than my repro).

I suppose I could go on if I got really picky .

[Mike B.]

Re: Original '65 Owners Guide

I'll add to the survey. When I bought my '65 from the original owner he presented me with the original contents of the glovebox. AM/FM Pocket Guide, AM/FM addendum booklet, Warranty Book with Protect-o-Plate, and the Owners Manual (Second Edition December 1964) for VIN #14074 built April 1~2 '65.

He had these items in a manila envelope that was mailed to his home address from the dealership he'd purchased the car from. April 10th postmark. Were the contents of the glovebox kept in the car and the warranty book mailed to the new owner? He doesn't recall. The envelope is a bit too small to have had license plates inside. Anyway, I've always wondered what was mailed to him from the dealership. Any ideas?

Mike