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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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The '65 New Yorker had vinyl "ear muffs" standard on the C-pillars of the 2- and 4-door hardtops.
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But, only had the '72 for four years. My mother drove the '76 for ten years. Of course, by then the headliner was draped on her head...
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When I got a little older, and started getting into all the details and specs of various cars, I was a bit surprised to find that vinyl was usually the upgrade! On some cars, like my old '80 Malibu, there were two vinyls and two cloths offered, one for the base and one for the Classic.
On my old '79 Newport, fabric was the base, and vinyl was the upgrade as well, although there was a more plush, corduroy looking fabric as the top option, that came with a split bench seat. I was surprised on that one to learn that the base was actually fabric, because it looked pretty nice.
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I like a hard surface for easier maintenance - a good fake leather like MB and BMW have used, among others, can be ideal, some of it probably appears as actual leather to 97% of bystanders.
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Well into the seventies, at Chevy, vinyl was nearly-always optional at extra cost--$31 is a retail I remember seeing many times on window stickers for all-vinyl trim.
I like a smooth, somewhat shiny vinyl in cars back then--grained, or even perforated is OK. And really, it holds up better than buttery-soft leather then did. A woven vinyl was always a turnoff to me, even though it 'breathed', as I always link it in my mind to the very bottom-line Chevelle Deluxe and base Nova models of the '73-or-so era.
The entry-level Cadillac Calais models of the seventies, still a Cadillac, offered what they called 'expanded vinyl' which looked like soft leather to me, but didn't get all the creases in it after a few years. It was extra-cost over the cloth-and-vinyl interior.
https://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/cadillac/72cad1/bilder/9.jpg
Three of my Studebaker Daytonas had a nice-quality vinyl interior, but in my daily cars, I have never owned a single car with leather or even all-vinyl. Besides not wanting to spend the money, I like the warmth/coolness of cloth.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/11/11/option-laden-four-speed-canadian-1977-chevrolet-nova-concours-remains-neat-as-a-pin?refer=hccweekly&utm_source=hccweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-11-11
I much-prefer the '75 LN to the later Concours. For one, how many times was Chevy going to use that name (not to mention, Cadillac later)? I didn't care for the wider taillights nor especially the pimpy wide chrome around the wheel openings and those scrolly nameplates. And while the '77 revised instrument panel top-half finally put gauges where they belonged, I don't like the looks of the panel as well as the '75 and '76! (I know, there's no satisfying some people!).
I do like the general size and shape of the car, and the cut of the rear doors.
Look at this '68 Olds vinyl. Doesn't try to make you believe it's leather and instead it just celebrates what it is:
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Now that I think about it, the buckets in Pontiac Grand Prixs from '65 could be had in cloth-and-vinyl, so I assume the '66-68 was the same.
Actually, the version of that I really want is the short lived 1974 baby GTO, 350/4 speed, shaker hood. Really love those. Like this one, just with a stick.
https://www.autabuy.com/details/?vid=68125809&Year=1974&Make=Pontiac&Model=GTO&ref=search
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That Concours has the velour bench seat which would have a fold-down center armrest--with that 4-speed sticking out of the floor!
though I also thought the Mustang II, while not exactly executed well (not that anything domestic in the mid 70s really was), was actually a lot closer to what a "real" Mustang (the original) was in size and function, compared to the 73 version which was more like a Torino at that point.
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I know the purists tend to hate the '74 GTO, but I actually don't mind it. Like the Mustang II, it was simply a sign of the times. The intermediate GTO had seen sales falling for a few years, and Pontiac overshadowed it with the Grand Am in '73.
It's too bad Pontiac didn't try to let the compact GTO run for a few more years. I liked the fact that it used a Pontiac 350, and one that was, for the time at least, fairly high-output, with 200 hp. I heard the main reason the '74 GTO was a one-year only thing is that for '75, to save money, GM wanted to start using Buick 350s in the Ventura as well as the Apollo/Skylark. And for the most part, I don't think Buick had designed their 350 with performance in mind. Especially, not by 1975!
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I have a few spots where the Tex in the fintail is starting to go at seams, I can mostly glue and patch it together for now anyway.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chevrolet/1977_Chevrolet/1977_Chevrolet_Nova_Concours_Brochure/1977 Chevrolet Nova Concours-03.
I remember seeing a new Firethorn '76 or '77 Concours with the narrow body side molding on one side of the car and the deluxe wide molding, on the other side of the car.
Our '73 Nova had a bench seat with 3-speed on the floor. I remember the center position meant your legs went over to the right passenger's footwell.
http://tenwheel.com/imgs/a/b/p/w/j/1975_chevrolet_nova_ln_coupe_2___door_5___7l_8_lgw.jpg
As for having to sit in the center with your legs over to the right, I always remember that, as a kid, anyway, whenever someone had to sit in the center. It just seemed the thing to do, so you could still stretch out, rather than trying to fit into a fetal position with your feet on the transmission hump. With downsizing, it almost became mandatory, with larger transmission humps, more intrusive dashboards, etc.
In the Cutlass the patterned areas held up fine. The only place the original upholstery had a problem was on the regular grained vinyl along the base of the drivers seat next to the sill, where it cracked on cold winter day. That has now been replaced.
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Funny (well, not really), the fintail's one big noticeable dash crack also happened on a cold day, when the car sat in the sun for a few hours. Good luck finding that replacement part.
Oldsmobile seemed to go for some pretty nice interiors in those days, often more upscale than a Buick or Pontiac. For instance, I know I've seen 88's (forget the series of 88 though) from around 1965 or so, where the door panels had fabric on them, and carpet on the lower door panels. You might get that treatment on a Chevy Caprice, which was positioned as an upscale car for those on a bit of a budget. But I think the only way you'd get something that nice in a Pontiac would be a Bonneville with the Brougham trim option. And I don't think I've ever seen a LeSabre or Wildcat like that, so I guess back then you had to go to an Electra if you wanted that kind of ritz on a Buick.
I know ritzy door panels aren't the be-all and end-all of a quality car, but I thought they were a nice touch on the Olds. I've also seen Cutlasses, of the '68-72 generation, that seemed to have more uplevel interiors than what you'd find with a Buick Special/Skylark or Pontiac LeMans.
That car reminds me of Nova police cars, which reminds me that a guy posted on FB pics of his original '79 Caprice Classic, loaded with the luxury and appearance options, that had the 9C1 police package that he substantiated with a pic of the options label from the car. I was not aware you could get all that heavy-duty stuff on a non-police vehicle. I'd have definitely done that.
Here's a pic from the '77 brochure, that shows most of the dash, although it's cut off on the right.
It looks a bit plain and cheap to me, without the woodgrain.
Here's a pic of a non-Concours I snagged off the net.
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One feature I'm impressed with though, is that it looks like even the cheapest Novas had 14x6" rims, standard. I've actually seen a handful of big cars from that era listed with 15x5.5". I don't know what the norm was back then, although a 7" wide wheel was usually considered a pretty big deal...usually reserved for rally wheels, "road" wheels, police car rims, etc.
Also, I'm pretty sure the entry level Nova model did delete the rear door armrests for a few years in the 70's. I wonder, if there were ever any other cars that took the cost cutting that far? I could see Ford doing something like that with the Maverick, but not sure if they ever did. I think Dodge actually did it with the Swinger 340 hardtop when it came out for '69, in their attempt to make a musclecar on a budget. That was a 2-door though. I could see the manufacturers deleting armrests on a 2-door, but a 4-door just seems like it's taking the cost cutting too far. What would they give you to close the door, without an armrest? Just some kind of cheap pull-strap?
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Our Nova had no cigarette lighter, no day-night mirror, and I think only the driver's side switch to turn the dome light on (ours was a coupe). I'm pretty certain the base Nova four-doors had pull straps on the rear doors and no armrests, as well as no detents holding the rear doors open!
People think I'm not remembering this right, but I am--our '73 Nova coupe, six, only options floor-mounted three-speed ($26), Rally Wheels and whitewalls, Exterior Decor Group (those bright window frames and a wide body side molding), AM radio, including destination stickered at the bottom at $2,625.00. This was for a car with an 111-inch wheelbase and about a half-inch more rear-seat legroom than a Chevelle coupe. Novas were price-driven. Ours had a green cloth seating which was basic but not terrible. Thankfully, in '73 GM green interiors were a dark forest green, after a couple years of pea green inside.
While on that Concours, I like the four round instruments, I don't like the upper pad. I'd have preferred if they'd kept the upper pad right 2/3 portion, slanted towards the windshield so it didn't require any decoration there, like the '75 and '76.
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Now looking at the '78 brochure, it looks like they had Base and Custom. The Custom they're showing in the brochure has 6 taillights, and the more pretentious, Concours style grille. Although, they also show a Custom coupe with "rally equipment", which looks like the normal Nova nose, just with blackout trim...kinda "SS" looking.
They also brag about the Custom having armrests with built-in ashtrays for the back seat. And, the interior in general looks a bit nicer. The seats don't look like they came out of a school bus, at least. It looks to me like this '78-79 Custom is that mid-level model that the '76-77 had been crying out for!
I guess it made some sense to discontinue the Concours for '78, as it might have competed too much with the newly downsized Malibu. It wasn't really a huge seller, anyway. For 1977, the Concours sold about 73,000 units, but the base Nova sold about 292,000. But for '78, the Custom wasn't a hot item, either. They sold about 50,000 of them, compared to around 236,000 of the base model.
For '79, they only sold about 15,000 Customs, compared to maybe 81,000 base models. But, '79 was an abbreviated year, with the Citation going on sale in April of 1979. I always thought it was a bit curious that Chevy went through the effort to restyle the front-end of the '79 Nova, going to rectangular headlights, only to drop it midway through the model year. They probably could have just made do with the '78 style for one more year and saved a few bucks.
Chrysler did something similar with the Aspen and Volare, switching them to rectangular lights for the final 1980 year. And their restyle seemed a bit more significant, as it changed the hood, bumper, and even the front fenders. But, the Aspen/Volare design was sold in foreign markets for several years after they were discontinued in the States...maybe Chevy did something similar with the Nova?
I can clearly remember a new '75 Nova Custom Coupe at our dealer's, and they had it awhile. It was a maroon color, red vinyl inside, Rally Wheels and whitewalls, the side molding and chromed side window frames, and 262 V8 and THM and PS and PDB. It was $4,163--prices went up a lot in those couple preceding years. But to me, even at 17, it was a perfect size, and the Custom's optional all-vinyl seating looked very high-quality--both the vinyl (which was perforated) with a button in each back section, and the Custom also had the smoked black panel in the instrument cluster, which I liked and like now.
Sixteen exterior colors, and ten of those available with a white painted top. Ahhhhhh!
Here's the LN interior page of the brochure:
I had a salesman friend at our hometown dealer, and I remember him saying he didn't like the '75 Nova brochure as it looked like the front page was missing. He was right.
It is interesting that for '76-77, the dropped the Custom, only to bring it back for '78-79. I wonder if there was some kind mid-range trim package that stood in. For instance, instead of a "Nova Custom", maybe it was "Nova with Custom Trim Package" or something like that? So, even though it was offered, since it was an option rather than a trim level, they didn't break out production/pricing stats?
I'm thinking there was a Custom Interior option in those interim years, but not sure. I'll go to the brochure. But you're right; that's a huge difference between a base Nova and a Concours. Sort of like the '74-77 Malibu and Malibu Classic needing a mid-level model between them to my eyes.
I don't know why they photographed the LN interior on the brochure cover with the glovebox open...to show off that it has a glovebox light? LOL
Two smallish things I wish they'd have done with the '75 Nova refresh--give it flush door handles and an inside hood release.
For obscure cars, saw the Opel Catera again, definitely lives near me. I notice there's a solid looking but apparently non-running ~63 Dart sedan a couple blocks away, along with a mid 80s Laser/Daytona.
They probably were showing it with the glovebox open, to show off that light. That was probably a pretty big deal in those days, especially for a compact. As for door handles, they tended to be a curious mix in those days. I prefer the more flush style where you can simply pull the handle and it opens, versus the older style where you have the handle you can grab, and the button you push. My '76 LeMans has the more flush-style, but something like a '76 LeSabre, or Cadillac, uses the more old fashioned style.
I wonder if you could get an inside hood release as an option, at least? I wonder when they finally started making inside releases standard across the board? My '76 Grand LeMans has an outside release, and I think I've seen Aspens and Volares with an outside release.
It really was a kinder, gentler, more trusting era, if you didn't have to worry about people ripping something off from under your hood. Or, even stealing your car, entirely.
'77 Custom interior in cloth:
'76 Custom interior in vinyl (this is the exact seating I remember but in red, on the '75 I drooled over at our dealer's; it had the thin strip of woodgrain on the door panel though, like the '77 pic above shows--which actually I like (you heard it here!):
Too bad there wasn't a Custom interior option on the Chevelle Malibu from '74 to '77.
I had forgotten about the 'S'. They also offered a Monza 'S' midway through the year. In the Nova line, the 'S' didn't have the radials that became standard in all models at the beginning of the '75 model year, but it and the 'regular' Nova shared the same unfortunate interior trim.
The '69-76 Nova, bottom-model, black plastic instrument panel cluster often looked 'wavy' even when brand-spanking new--the horizontal lines of it, I mean. In the '73 and '74 Nova Custom model, with those horizontal lines 'chromed', those were wavy too! I hated that, LOL. The '75 Custom and LN had that smoked panel that covered up a good bit of that.
I still don't care for that overall dash design, though. It wouldn't be a make-or-break decision, if I was shopping for a new compact back then, and liked the car otherwise, but it's just not one of my favorite features. I think part of the problem is that, the way it's rounded off, seems out of date, compared to the rest of the car. And, I also don't like the placement of the HVAC ducts. The center ducts just seem stuck on as an afterthought, and then with the way the one all the way to the right is dropped down low, there's just something about the placement, the feng shui, or whatever you want to call it!
I think that dash works fine from '68-74, but with the '75 restyle, it just looks out of place. One other nice thing that the '68-74 had, that was given the axe for '75, was roll-down rear windows in the 2-doors. But, at least the '75-79 did give you the option of rear windows that flipped open.
Thinking back, I also seem to recall that for '73-74, on the 2-doors at least, the door panel was a large, one-piece design with an integrated armrest, and the whole thing was soft-touch? That must have been nice when it was new, although I wonder how it held up, long term.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/06/this-super-clean-1973-chevrolet-nova-is-for-sale/