1968 Chevelle Concours Sport Coupe...mystery Chevy

Has anyone ever seen a '68 Chevelle Concours Sport Coupe? I vaguely remember seeing a medium green with black vinyl top specimen around our town, years back. They are not listed in the '68 Chevelle brochure, nor the '68 Chevrolet Showroom Album. A Sport Sedan edition is shown, however, with frilly-cloth Caprice-style interior, in those pieces of literature. The car I remember had a vinyl notchback front seat with center armrest. I'd love to see anything put out by Chevy that documents its existence.
Bill
Bill
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
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I googled it, and there were plenty of hits. In fact, here's one being restored, that even has a pic of that front seat you mention!
I'm guessing that it was an option package, rather than a separate trim level. I know that's a fine hair to split, but often with a separate trim level, they'll change the VIN #, but for an option package they won't, so it's harder to track down how many were made.
I posted a similar query on the AACA forum a year or more ago, and a fellow from out west sent me a couple pics of his Mom's light yellow with black vinyl top '68 Concours Coupe owned since new (no radio...strange!). His pics weren't great though...one of the dash, one of the exterior of the car from the front, and one from the back.
The sole coupe I remember years back had wheel opening moldings (other Chevelles didn't have these), had a big "Concours" front fender nameplate, and notchback front seat. Didn't say "Malibu" anyplace.
The seat trim resembled that of an Olds Cutlass Supreme.
I recall reading in a newsstand mag a year or so ago, about a '68 Chevelle SS that had bucket seats that looked to be right out a same-year Buick GS, that supposedly the interior supplier for Malibu trim had a fire so depending on the assembly plant, Cutlass or GS upholstery was used in 'upper' Chevelles. Mostly these were western-assembled cars, supposedly, that had the non-Malibu interior.
Wonder if the Concours coupe model/package was a last-minute, unintended consequence of a trim supplier company's fire?
Again, I have never seen a single piece of factory, or book, documentation on this model.
Bill
OK, I just consulted my go-to old car book (Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-75) and it states, in the 1968 Malibu section ".....Interior trim varied by body style and there was also a very special Concours four-door hardtop. It came with all-vinyl seating; lockable glove box with light; extra-thick foam cushioned seats; color-keyed wall to wall carpeting; black-accented wheel openings; black trimmed lower-body accents; ribbed bright metal rear deck lid latch panel plate; Concours signature scripts; chrome wheel lip moldings; special oval steering wheel with horn tabs and wood-grained dash panel inlays. It was called the Concours sport sedan and had a lot of extra appeal."
They mention 'regular' Malibu interior choices, then add that Concours Sport Sedan's special Custom fabric choice in Gold, Blue, Black or Grey-Green (which I assume were similar to the metallic-like brocade-ish Caprice cloth interiors.
This same catalog makes no mention of a Concours two-door, though.
For 1969, the section adds, "Some collectors look for are the Malibu four-door hardtop (Sports Sedan) with the RPO Z16 Concours package". No mention is made of the option for 1970 or later.
http://www.noneckschevelle.com/images/html/WildBill1968ChevelleConcours.htm
Here's some sales info from '68:
http://www.chevelles.com/years/68/concours.html
I have seen Concours Sport Sedans, like yours, although they are rare...but the '68-only coupes are almost like a 'phantom'--I can't even find anything about them in the brochures of the day but have seen a few on the internet and the one in person years ago. Again, it seems like they came about as a result of a fire in an upholstery plant that did Malibu interiors; hence the Buick GS/Old Cutlass Supreme interiors (vinyl notchback front seats) used.
Bill
We also have a 1968 Chevelle Malib. The 1968 Chevelle Concours has a lot of pieces that are substantially different like the notchback front seat with a center armrest that you mentioned. The door panels are also different than a standard Chevelle.
Can anyone guess what model in 1970 replaced the Concours?? Hint: MC
I own a 68 concours c2dr ht, which I got in original condition that had been in storage since 1981. The old guy who had it on his property told me that the concours trim was only available on the wagon and sedan bodies, but due to a short strike at either the interior anufacturer or the chev plant a couple thousand 2drhts were sent to the buick plant to be finished with the concours trim. Interior is identical to a 68 gs buick and includes bench seat with folding armrest, carpeted door panels, extra padding under the carpet and additional body insulation, rear armrests with ashtray, a 'concours' insignia on the steering wheel with fleur de lis, steel headliner trim, locking glove box, and deluxe headliner and package tray. The exterior has full side trim with shorter wheel well trim that stops at the level of the side trim, as well as a black stripe painted on the wheel and side trim. full tail panel trim, same as a canadian beaumont, that was a bit wider and is not available in repro. tail light bezels are also a little wider to match the tail pan trim, also not available. badges say concours on the fender sides where normally it says chevelle. I believe all came with a vinyl top originally as well.
Does the trim tag on your car specify Kansas? Does the TR field on the trim tag have the code 765-168 listed? Does it have black interior? I've seen trim tag codes for that same model year Chevelle Concours with the Buick bench seat and arm rest in black. There were other color combinations possible with Chevy's own interior trim. But when Fisher Body assembled them with Buick-Olds-Pontiac interior trim, it's always in black. Wonder why? Just curious if your car's interior might be a different color. Anything is possible.
I've also heard the stories about strikes/layoffs/parts shortages pointed out to explain the use of the black B-O-P interior trim on the 1968 Chevelle line -- not just the Concours optioned cars. But I don't know any source which has nailed down the actual reason for it. Lots of theories though.
Thanks
Mike
I found this website to be very valuable and very interesting.
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/7648/img0062wzx.jpg and I am cloning it to a SS 427
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2533/img0106ye.jpg 68 SS 396 rear clip, with rust free quarters, delivered from Arizona to Minnesota.
VIN said it was a 68.
I'm confused here....any help please.
Here it is:
http://www.admcars.com/inventorymanager.php?action=view&Id=478683
I never knew the Concours interior to be available on an SS.
Although that car looks great, I think it's a 'mutt'--a bunch of miscellaneous parts the owner/restorer liked and threw on one car.
If buyer remorse and litigation set in after the sale, might the seller have to prove that statement above? Or would the overall description of the car having been rebuilt with "upgrades" provide a defense that the buyer had no reasonable expectation that the vehicle equipment/options were restored as new?
If I were a resto-mod buyer I'd want it appraised as-is and decide if I liked it enough to make an offer. And if I were shopping for a bone stock trailer queen with correct chalk marks and stickers, I'd just pass because it obviously isn't that.
I actually owned a 68 Chevelle Concours 2-door, hardtop (no vinyl on the roof), sky blue. 307, 2 speed powerglide, vinyl interior, a/c, roll windows and manual locks. Wish I had her back.....My son says that he will buy me one again when he makes a lot of money - hope that happens - I really loved the car! I do think there were only a couple of thousand made. I have only seen one other in East Texas, and it was a wagon of the same year model. How can I find that particular car again? I remember the license plate from it that I had customized at one point. Could I reference it at the county tax office where I had it registered? That was way back in the late 70's-early 80's. Just wondering...
Bill
I owned a 1969 Concours in the early '80's. I didn't like the bench seat so put in low-back bucket seats and replaced the powerglide with a turbo 350. Did a little engine modification and she was screamin' fast...which was good because it was olive green with a black vinyl roof and was ugly as hell...lol
I had an ugly olive green with black vinyl roof '69 back in the early 80's-sure wish I had mine back, too!
was made in 68 and 69.In 1970-72 only wagons were available with this option. It did appear in later 70's 2dr and 4dr Novas. The interior used an French logo imbossed in the back seat that is the same as the NO Saints football team , not sure what you call it.
A rare car in its day that most people under 50 never knew exsisted
In '69, Chevy started naming their wagons a different name from the same-trim-level coupes and sedans. The Malibu wagons became the Concours and Concours Estate, and I do recall the '67 wood-grained Chevelle wagon being called the Concours. In '68, the Concours Estate was essentially the Malibu wagon with woodgrain trim. Of course, as you stated, the Concours name was resurrected for luxury Novas in '76 and '77.
I always thought it was odd for Chevy to use the Concours name on a run-of-the-mill station wagon, as it did from '69-72 (merely Malibu wagons), when in '68 and '69 it denoted a luxury trim level.
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The Concours Sport Sedan is rare but not ridiculous; the coupes are nearly ridiculous to find and as I've noted, there is not a shred of factory documentation on the coupes in the way of brochures I have ever seen--and I've actively looked. The Concours Sport Sedan is in all the Chevelle literature that year.
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The Chevy II optional Custom interior (bench and buckets) was also only available in black vinyl at this point, and although the Corvair wasn't mentioned in the opening of the letter, below it is mentioned that "alternate trims for Corvair cannot be obtained and production of these models has ceased until trim can be obtained". Probably not a huge deal for Corvair assembly to be curtailed in '68!
The letter also states that "Satisfactory alternate trims cannot be obtained for the following models thus they will not be offered during this temporary period: Chevelle 300 Coupe, Nomad 2-seat wagon, 300 Deluxe Sport Coupe, and 300 Deluxe four-door sedan".
Lots of questions I've had were answered with that letter.
Does the hood close?
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The '68 Concours Sport Sedan was a rare item, but at least it was in the brochure. The coupe? Not at all!
Do you have interior photos? Thanks!
If you have the picture on an iPad, it seems to work well from there.
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