1968 Chevy Pick up - Original Color?

My grandson recently purchased a 1968 1/2 T pick up that is in pretty good condition. He tells me that he wants to restore it over time to it's original condition. However this truck has been repainted over the years. He is uncertain about the original color of this vehicle. Lacking any 'build sheet' or other paperwork is there a way he can find the original color? Does the VIN number indicate that? Any guidance will be appreciated. BTW, he is 15 years old and is extremely proud of this truck he purchased on his own with money he saved over time. This grandfather is equally proud of him, too! And I thank you in advanced for your assistance in this mater.

Jerry

It's great to hear of a younger generation having many of the same "vehicle pride" issues as many of us did in our youth!

In that earlier time, there could be a "body plate" somewhere on the cowl which would detail interior trim/color and exterior paint colors, much as they did on similar-yar cars. ALSO, the only real "build sheet" that was readily-available accessible was the "spec sheet" glued to the inside of the glove box door. This typed form will detail ONLY option items for the vehicle, plus paint/trim items. The exterior paint codes were "two digit" numbers with the interior details being "two digits followed by a Letter".

There are a couple of online color chip chart listings. The orig website dealt with DuPont paints and was very informative (they didn't use the factory names, but names like "light green poly", "Poly" meaning "metallic") and had the factory codes plus the DuPont part numbers. Since then, it's changed somewhat but it still around, as DuPont exited the automotive refinish business a few years ago. You can find these things via a Google search. I still like the orig DuPont website, if you can find it, rather than the later version (which is tied to a paint vendor's website).

There are several restoration vendors for the '67-'72 GM light truck models. National Parts Depot and Classic Industries are probably some of the better ones, by observation. The "famous" LMC entity can be good, but I like the ones mentioned from seeing what they have and their "restoration OEM" level items, rather than otherwise. You can find the NPD and Classic Industries online catalogs, too. Classic has lots more "trinkets" not specifically related to parts, but also lots of things related to brackets and such that others don't have, which might be good, too, all things considered. These are popular trucks to rebuild, so the parts support is almost as good as for similar model year Camaros.

The main things the VIN detailed, back then, was engine type (I-6 or V-8), cab style, wheelbase, series designation (1/2 ton, etc), plant it was built in, model year, and the "build sequence number". Decodes for these things can probably be found in the several online websites (and the Classic Industries catalog, as I recall) AND in the front of a GM light trucks parts book for that model year of vehicle.

The first year for that truck was the '67 model year, but the '67 models still had some mechanical aspects from the '66s, but these went away in the '68 model year so the '68 model is more aligned with later model years in these areas. The later '73-era front crossmember will also bolt to the '68, even '66, frame. In one feld swoop, the gets the later lower control arms (with a wider track, lower control arms with internal isolation, and factory power disc brakes). It'll take a '71 Chevy rear axle (with a similarly-wider rear track) to keep the look "balanced", though. These two changes will also include the change to 5-lug wheels, as '71s also had (probably '70s, if I recall correctly).

With respect to the color, IF the color it is is not in the factory brochure color chips, then it's probably a "fleet color". That's another story. I don't recall any tri-tone two-tone paints on the '68s, unlike the '69s and later . . . where the color of the top also was on a lower-area body panel.

There were also some interesting differences in Chevies and GMCs, back then. For example, Chevies had steel cargo bed floors as standard, with wood floors being optional (on the wide beds). GMCs started with the wood floor with the steel floor optional. Chevies got Chevy rear axles and rear coil springs, as GMCs stated with a Dana rear axle and rear leaf springs. Chevies could have the standard GMC items as an option, just as the Chevy items could be optioned into a GMC. Everything went into the same places, so it was a simple thing to do on the assembly line.

ALL light-duty (1/2 to 1 ton) vehicles were built in a Chevy plant. All medium-duty (above 1 ton) were built in a GMC plant. This explains the small additional amount which GMC light trucks cost over similar Chevy models, with the GMCs being the less expensive in the medium-duty lines, for the same reason. GMC had to purchase the light duty trucks from Chevy, so they had to make a few dollars extra to compensate for that situation. Same with Chevy having to purchase their medium-duty models from GMC.

PM me is you have any questions. In our "fleet" is a "survivor" '69 Chevy C-10 with CST trim and factory bucket seats. ONE of the many options it has is a front sway bar. Makes the truck corner "like a car" with little lean. And easy bolt on, too! I drove that truck to high school my senior year, so I've pretty much grown up with it. A neat truck that was used for many years until Dad stopped driving. Now it "rests".

Enjoy!

NTX5467

This site may have the info to set you on the right track. Good luck on the project. http://painttags.com/gmtag.html

I sincerely thank you for your help and guidance! I have sent this on to my son, Connor's father, asking him to pass it on to Connor. I am sure he will. I am thinking about making a Christmas gift membership to Connor. I am sure he will enjoy all the benefits of being a member of this organization. I know I do. I have a 1915 Metz that I work with. It is a fun project to drive around and work on. I am anxious to see what Connor does as he can afford to do with his truck.

Jerry

It would be great to have Conner as a member. We need younger people involved. My youngest grandson has an old Ford 4wd pickup likes to work on. He uses it as a hunting truck in the woods so it is far from restored, but gets lots of attention to keeping it running good. I hope your grandson enjoys his truck and the challenges of working on it to bring it up to what he wants it to be. Keep us posted on his progress. Merry Christmas to you and him.