per this section of the 1968 assembly Manual i am trying to decode the following UPC- #W17 Card Col.- trim Description- Extra cost deluxe trim- Includes A51 or A65, C87, D15, Y17, B28 Options- 43437, 43537 i am trying to decode this option to see if it pertains to the most exterior trimmed 1968 GS350 i have ever seen as it has an unusual trunk chrome arrangement and stainless trim on the window sweepers, body side on fenders and doors, wheel surrounds and vinyl top trim. reading through all the other UPC's i can only determine A51 (bucket seats) and A65 (bench seat). are C87, D15, Y17 and B28 UPC numbers. trying to verify this car has all these items to determine that it then has this deluxe trim to explain the trunk chrome.
Three digit codes are UPC and Two digit (letter/number) are sales codes. W17 on a 43537 (Skylark 2-dr Sport Coupe, 6 Cyl.) is: Custom Trim, Vinyl Notch Back Bench Seat- including deluxe arm rests, remote door handles & rear quarter courtesy lamps (trim 160,161,162 & 168) The D15 represents the "Deluxe Arm Rests" The C87 represents the " Rear courtesy lamps" Y17 represents - "Custom Compartment shelf" W17 on a 43437 (GS 350) is: Custom Trim- vinyl strato bucket seats (trim 170,171,172,173 & 178). A51 = Vinyl bucket seats (trim 170,171,172,173 & 178). A65 = Vinyl notch back bench seat. I can't find a listing for B28. o No: I have quite a bit of '68 info and I cannot find anything that lists that trunk lip trim as being an option. I think that was an option in '69 but not in '68. The photo looks like the two chrome strips that run down the trunk were cut to allow the GS350 emblem to be moved up so that the trim would fit. The GS400 emblem on my GS would not allow that trim to fit below it. The chrome on the window sweepers is option W5 "Belt Reveal Molding". The trim around the vinyl top is UPC C08 " Custom Vinyl Top Covering- including rear quarter belt molding". The body side, fender and door trim was standard on a Skylark and is not listed as an option for the GS. Wheel well moldings were standard on the GS. Hope this helps....:TU:
Thanks for all your help Mike, Thanks for all your help, i was thinking W17 was an exterior trim package when in fact it is an interior trim package. The car does have all those items and it makes for an absolutely lovely interior in black i will remove the GS350 trunk badge and inspect the trunk chrome strips on the the edges to see if they have been cut. i dont remember them being cut when i reinstalled them but who knows. i have not been able to find the window sweepers to fit the W5 option. nor have i found the lenses for the Rear courtesy lamps, trying to contact Duane to see if he has any of the reproductions left. interested in doing a window sticker when i figure this and a couple of other things out. also still trying to find the dealer code for Heavner Buick in Hickory, NC Thanks, Greg
Hey Greg, I had the same problem trying to find the window sweepers/window felts for my 69 with the belt/window reveal mouldings. Get a hold of these people: Parts Unlimited, Inc. 1 2101 Westport Rd, Louisville, KY 40245-1789 Phone: 800-342-0610 Email: contactpui@aol.com They custom made mine new windowfelts from my delapidated originals. I don't remeber who I spoke with, but the mouldings are as good as anything from Year One and these are the only folks who can make them that I know of. Hope this helps! Howdy
Re: Thanks for all your help The GS350 emblem on my 68 is mounted lower, nearly right to the edge of the trunk lid. Yours really appears too close to the trunk lock opening to be originally that way. Make sure and give Duane the exact dimensions of your old lenses, or if busted up, the inside dimensions of the housing. We've found that there are 2 very slightly different sized rear courtesy lights in 68 cars. Housings with the same part # on them had about 1/16" differences in length and width. The repros are the slightly larger sized ones and will barely squeeze into the smaller housing. I managed to get mine in with great difficulty, when we didn't know about the 2 sizes, but then the heat of the bulbs resulted in pretty bad warping of my new lenses. Duane is working on making the smaller ones too. He still has stock of the first run of larger ones, and the quality is excellent. I'm sure he'll ask you for your exact dimensions anyway.
David, thanks, never thought about the bulb heat being a problem. i will keep the bulbs out of them after hearing of this. i have lived without the light for this long. actually my car has a problem in one of the switches now that i think about it causing the lights to remain on all the time so the fuse is pulled. its good to see you are still on the board, i have been checking in from time to time and seeing your post but was hanging out more over at the turo side. i have been collecting some go fast parts for the turbo-t but not the time to bolt them on yet. the only car out of my garage this summer has been the '68 and that is 5x or so. been really busy with fixing up the house (nest), must be something about the early 40's age. the family has been very supportive of my car habit and asked for some things to be constructed around the house so i just had to put the cars away and concentrate on that. my interest has shifted back very quickly to the big block car. i see a (from) auto to 4 speed conversion this winter. i finally just got around to bringing this trunk trim up on here and we talked about it over a year ago. its been just that busy. i look forward to talking more to you and contributing to this excelent site what i can. will be in Morocco for the Midwest challange this Sat and Sun. Greg
bealhm thanks, Louisville is close also, i used to live there so always looking for a reason to go visit. currently i am using window sweepers from CARS without the stainless trim. the sweeps fit perfectly but i love all the trim this car has and will look into getting the correct ones, that and we didnt finish out the horizontal ledge near the glass as smooth as we should thinking they would be covered by trim. thanks for the info, i saved the pieces of the original sweeps i am pretty sure, the trim is tucked away for a future return. Greg
Greg, I'm pretty sure the bulb heat was only a problem because of the pressure squeezing against the plastic from being squished into the housing. In retrospect, I should have caught on that something was amiss with the sizing for my housings, and not forced them in. They did look fine though for awhile, until I left the door open for several minutes... I had a problem with my interior lights staying on also, with the doors closed, but thought I had it fixed with new door jamb switches. For about a day they worked fine again, but then were staying on again, so I have my fuse pulled also. When I get new lenses again, I'll just remove the bulbs from the rear. I really want to figure out where the wiring problem is though. Great to see you around again! :beer
Greg, I hope you don't mind that I post that pic of your car. I'm curious, is that stainless steel trim running across the side of the car, from front to rear, or is it painted on? Is there wheel well moulding all the way around the rear wheel well, or only across the top part?
David, the trim on the front fender and door is stainless with paint in the reveals of the trim, touched up with a Testors model paint stick. the rear wheel opening moulding is the entire wheel opening including below the intersection of the "scallop" trim. my obsevations have been the 400 cars had the shorty wheel opening mouldings and the 350 cars had the full wheel opening mouldings. back to the trunk, your right the 350 badge is slightly over the trunk key cylinder, if someone added that to a 69 trunk (leaving the botton decklid trim) and took the time to drill in all those holes they were a very disturbed person. did '69's have the curved deck lid trim running the length from bumper to rear glass trim, i know my friends '69 GS400 convert does not but dont know about skyalrks or customs? Greg Greg
Greg, Both the GS400 And GS350 had the full wheel well trim, not the shorty version. The side sweep stainless trim was not an option on the GS, but I guess anything is possible.o No:
Greg, does your VIN start with 43437? I also have the SS side trim from front to rear, but I have the full wheel well trim on my 68. I don't have a build sheet to check against. I do know that a 69 Skylark Custom was a donor car for my 68's resto in the mid-90's, and I suspect the side trim may have been transplanted along with some body panels. May have been easier to move all the trim to the 68 if 69 panels had to be donated to the 68. I would rather not have them on my car, but they are there... wouldn't be so bad if my doors were aligned properly :spank:
The shorty version was what was on the Skylark Custom, so the side trim looked like one continuous length of trim, instead of the wheel moulding extending below the line of the side trim, like it does on my car. Looks like GS wheel moulding on my rears, with Skylark Custom side trim added on. OR, IF I could find a build sheet, it "could" have been special ordered, but I doubt it.
David, my VIN is a 43437. car was built in Baltimore. i do have the original GS fenders stored in the garage with all the trim holes in place. Greg
Greg, I've always liked the 68 "ugly" fake fender vents, but I have to admit, the cleaner look w/o them is nice. :TU:
David, i agree, i love the chrome side sweeps and all the chrome that a Buick deserves. no build sheet was found for my car either and i have looked many places (front seats, behind dash, top of gas tank) except the rear seat is not the correct one. the original is MIA. our cars are very very similar, i hope i am not finding out the side sweeps and the trunk are incorrect all in one day :gt: Greg
The only proof on the originality of the side trim would be the build sheet, unfortunately. All that Mike is saying is that they are not listed as an option available for the GS cars, only the Skylark. Of course, that doesn't mean they weren't special ordered. If you were willing to pay, you could order "Riviera only" paint for your GS in those days too.
David, I was only kidding, seeing our cars both having them leads me to believe it was available. Like you said almost anything was available. I have given up on that buildsheet ever surfacing. I am not to worried about the originality of my car since I changed complete drivetrain, 69 hood ( I still love the hood), and used non-GS front fenders and filled in all the lower trim holes. Mike is an incredible resource and I enjoy hearing his responses and respect his opinion and wouldnt hesitate to ask him some more questions. Greg
Yep, Mike is a veritable fountain of 68 GS knowledge! :TU: My 68 is so far removed from original... NONE of the drive train is original, from the air cleaner to the rear end. Was originally a teal blue exterior, with blue interior trim, parchment vinyl top. Now white with black interior scheme, black vinyl roof. 72 heads/intake, 71 block, TH350, 69 'lark 2.56 posi rear. And I'm going to take it further, with a 455 swap, and 15" rims. It's way beyond going back to original, so I may as well make it the way I want it to be. :TU:
