1968 Chevelle Trivia

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Any interesting trivia for 1968 Chevelles?  Let me hear from you and be sure to specify 1968 trivia.

»» All 1968 station wagon and El Camino body styles have vented gas caps, all others have non-vented caps.

»» Several owners have reported that under their vinyl top the roof was not painted and some say theirs was.

Here is an 04C Kansas City SS396 Teal Blue Chevelle with factory black vinyl top removed, note top is painted Teal Blue as well. Paint code on this car is L-2.

Here is an 10C Kansas City SS396 Seafrost Green Chevelle with factory black vinyl top removed, note top is painted Seafrost Green as well. Paint code on this car is P-2.

If you have a 1968 Chevelle (or other year) that you can verify the plant, original paint code on trim tag, and body date of production or VIN sequence number and show the top was painted or bare metal, please contact me with photos and information.

»» The 300 series 2-door coupe (131/13227), the 300 Deluxe series 2-door coupe (133/13427), 300 Deluxe series 2-door sport coupe (133/13427) and the 300 Deluxe series 4-door sedan (133/13469) incorporated the backup lens in the taillamp. All other 1968 series and models had the backup lamp in the rear bumper.

»» Chevrolet changed the body style identification number and name of the (1966/1967) 300 Deluxe series 2-door sedan (body style #11) to 2-door coupe (body style #27) and the 2-door sport coupe (body style #17) to 2-door sport coupe (body style #37).  No longer would there be a Chevelle 2-door sedan name.

»» Both the 300 and 300 Deluxe have backup lamps integrated with the tail lamps and no bright molding above/below rear panel between tail lamps.

300 and 300 Deluxe

»» Both the Malibu and SS396 have backup lamps integrated with the bumper and no bright molding above/below rear panel between tail lamps. SS396 sport coupe and convertible have rear panel blacked out where Malibu is lower body color.

Malibu sport coupe

SS396 sport coupe

»» The base 300 series (131/132xx) was reduced to two body styles, the 131/13227 2-door coupe and the 131/13235 Nomad station wagon.

»» The first and only year the SS396 El Camino was its own series, 13880. Although any 396 engine could be ordered in the El Camino body style in 1966 and 1967, they were still the 13480 300 Deluxe or 13680 Malibu series and not a 13880 SS396 series. When the SS396 series was dropped for the 1969 model year, the SS option was only available in the Malibu 13680 series El Camino and, for 1969 only, the 300 Deluxe series 2-door sedan and 2-door sport coupe.

»» A front bench seat and H.D. floor-shifted 3-speed transmission was standard on the SS396. Bucket seats were optional on the SS396 and could be ordered on the Malibu sport coupe, Malibu convertible, and the Malibu series sedan pickup (13680) as well.

»» Gauges (RPO U14) were optional in 1968 and could be ordered on all three SS396 series Chevelles as well as any V8 Malibu sport coupe, convertible, or sedan pickup and included oil pressure, water temperature, ammeter, and tachometer. 1968 was the last year for a mechanical oil pressure gauge.

 »» All 350hp and 375hp, regardless of transmission, as well as 325hp manual transmission SS396 Chevelles, came equipped with A.I.R.; the 325hp SS396 with an automatic did not have the A.I.R. system.

»» A special Concours trim option was offered on 3 models in March of 1968; RPO ZK5 for 13569 & 13669 sedans, RPO ZK6 for 13539 & 13639 sport sedans and RPO ZK7 for 13537 & 13637 sport coupes. These options included special Concours trim plates, more sound insulation for a quieter ride and special interior appointments.

»» The sail panel design of the sport coupe was replaced with a more conventional roofline and the sport coupe body style designation was changed from "17" back to "37."

»»  For some (as yet) unknown reason sometime between late March through mid June, many black Chevelle interiors used various Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac interiors.  See 1968 Chevelle interiors and 1968 Chevelle alternate interiors for more information.

Bucket Seat Piping

Correct - note piping only on the seat back.

Incorrect - note piping on seat back (correct) and seat bottom (incorrect)

Although bright lower seat piping is common, it is not correct for Chevelles. It is correct for the black Buick replacement bucket seat (code 178), the black Oldsmobile replacement bucket seat (code 970), and the black Pontiac replacement bucket seat (code 223). (Note: The Buick bucket seat shown is from a Buick sales brochure.)