Is Class Weight by VIN or Trim?

[FireSale]

The VIN on my 68 coupe says it's a California Special but it dosen't have the associated body trim like the Cougar style tail lights and spoiler. The coup and CS/GT have seperate listings and weights in the Stock Car Classification Guide with only slight differences of around 25 lbs.

I haven't run the numbers yet so I don't know if it would make a difference, but would NHRA tech class this car by trim (coup) or VIN (CS/GT)?

Dale

[J.R. Haddad]

As a lot of cars do not have vin's for different reasons, write off's, COPO's, factory test cars, etc., it is off of the trim specs. J.R.

[GTX JOHN]

Rule book used to say everything must be changed to match trim claimed EXCEPT VIN for model claimed. I do not know how much they enforce the details anymore........ except Camaro hoods of course.

Five years ago I had a competitor protest the grille on my Dodge truck........I had to get on Craigslist and print pictures of the year truck in question!

[FireSale]

Thanks for the replays. I never thought about the no VIN cars.

I don't want to open a new thread just for this, but does anyone know how to add a car to the Stock Car Guide? It has the 68 Shelby GT 500 but not the Shelby GT 350. Nice engine for Super Stock/GT in that GT 350 but the car is missing from the Guide.

Dale

[Wayne W]

The guide doesn't list all models built. I had a 66 Malibu SS 283 engine factory car that wasn't in the book.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Wayne W

The guide doesn't list all models built. I had a 66 Malibu SS 283 engine factory car that wasn't in the book.

Question...Did you buy the car new or was it used when you got the Mabilu?

A 66 Malibu with bucket seats instead of a bench seat was not an unusual option. That did not make it a SS.

[Geerhead55]

Originally Posted by Jason

Question...Did you buy the car new or was it used when you got the Mabilu?

A 66 Malibu with bucket seats instead of a bench seat was not an unusual option. That did not make it a SS.

Yeah,,, I'm curious on this one too. Never saw a '66 Chevelle SS 283,,, even the few Chevelles with the L-79 350 horse 327s were just Malibus,, not SS cars. I think a little more digging around is due here. My 2 cents.
Danny Durham

[Doug Domm]

I've indeed seen a number of 1966 Chevelle Malibu SS with small blocks. Do not confuse these with the 1966 Chevelle "SS396" Super Sport. In 1966 you could even get a Chevelle Malibu SS with a 396. In 1967 Chevelle big block cars were all Super Sport "SS396". There may even be differences between American cars and Canadian cars. As an example I know for sure in 1967 there were 2 colours on the Chevellle that did not get offered in the States. Doug

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by Doug Domm

I've indeed seen a number of 1966 Chevelle Malibu SS with small blocks. Do not confuse these with the 1966 Chevelle "SS396" Super Sport. In 1966 you could even get a Chevelle Malibu SS with a 396. In 1967 Chevelle big block cars were all Super Sport "SS396". There may even be differences between American cars and Canadian cars. As an example I know for sure in 1967 there were 2 colours on the Chevellle that did not get offered in the States. Doug

As far as I know, the 66 "SS" Chevelle Malibus with 283s and 327s were just Canadian "badge engineering" trim. Instead of having "Super Sport" scripts on the rear 1/4 panels like the USA 66 SS396 Chevelles, the Canadian SB cars had the round emblem with SS in the center, likely the same emblem as used on a 64 Impala SS. That sort of thing went on up here for decades, in high school, I owned a 65 Plymouth Valiant Signet 2 dr HT with a 235HP 273 4 barrel 4 speed. It didn`t look anything like an American Valiant, rather it was almost identical to a US Dodge Dart GT, which is kinda odd, as we never got Dodge Darts in Canada until 1967. Also, the 5.0L FOX Mustang GTs up here had COBRA stickers on the hatch or rear spoiler, but mechanically were no different than the US Mustang GTs. No to mention all our other "oddball" stuff, like Fords Meteors (1949-61, then again from 64 into the mid-late 70s)and Monarchs (1949-61), Mercury trucks (from M100 thru tandem axle heavy trucks, including COE, also Mercury Econoline vans and PUs), MoPar Fargo trucks, 6 cylinder, SB, 409, and 396-427 Chevy powered full sized Pontiacs on Chevrolet non "Wide Track" chassis, and lots of other oddites.In Canada, the only 60s Pontiacs with real Pontiac engines were the Firebirds and GTOs, we didn`t get the LeMans and Tempest models until I believe, the early 70s. I really doubt that NHRA would have any unique Canadian models in the Classifacation Guide. Also, I understand that although Ford and Chrysler products had the engine code in the VIN, Chevys only stated if the car was factory equipped with a 6 cylinder or a V8, not which V8.

[Dwight Southerland]

That may help to explain why the classification guide for '66 Chevelle shows weight breaks for all models with 325 and 360 hp 396 engines? However, the SS396 has only 396 engines.