I can only confirm one of my dashes came from a 62' Belair bubble top with a 409 4spd and it was built in Oct of 61'. The other I have no idea.
ALUMINUM 62 DASH PANEL / COMPARISON
- Thread starter Phalen409
- Start date
I just noticed the green oxide primer on the inside today when taking pictures of mine.
Thought Pat had this figured out. seem to remember 61s had them also. Something about production change.
What is the difference in the weight between the two. And on the aluminum dashes what was the glove box door made of. I’ve got two 62 BTs and a dash that came out of a 62 BT and there all three pot metal.
Cecil mentioned something about 61' and part number change. Aluminum ones have a part number in sequence before the number given to the pot metal ones. Easy way to figure out this issue is to find a 61' car produced in late 60' and get the casting number off of the dash casting. That might help our cause or just confuse us more.
Neither of my aluminum dashes had glove box doors. No idea.What is the difference in the weight between the two. And on the aluminum dashes what was the glove box door made of. I’ve got two 62 BTs and a dash that came out of a 62 BT and there all three pot metal.
If 1 came from a Canadian car, that means they went through the same process in the Oshawa plant as you suggest in your post for us plants. With the low numbers of 1962 cars produced in Canada, hard to believe they would bother making any of aluminum dashes here, we always got the short end of the stick from gm. Had to be a regular production run for some reason- an experiment in aluminum?
We had more per capita 62 bubbletops built here than the us, because they were cheaper. About 80% of them were 235’s.
We had more per capita 62 bubbletops built here than the us, because they were cheaper. About 80% of them were 235’s.
Kinda what i'm thinking!!! Hey his car has a lighter dash!!!!
Maybe. But people used to throw away 409s because they were junk truck motors. The point isn't to make these parts more special then they might be but to pull from the most knowledgeable group we have on these cars/engines and try and piece together their origin and utility. Its great that some people don't care for digging in dirt for bones but some of us think the history is fascinating. Trying to piece together why and how things came to be covers the entire classic car world no matter what make and model.
Can some one weigh one of the aluminum ones. And I’ll weigh my metal one. I don’t think GM did this for a race car weight saving thing.
Very beginning of the post Dennis did this already. Stock pot metal is about 14 lbs and Aluminum ones about right at 5 lbs. Nine lbs difference is significant. Nearly 2/3 lighter.
I went back and looked but missed that post. Yes nine pounds is a significant weight reduction.I did weigh mine that was not totally stripped and got 17 lbs. I would have thought the aluminum dash would have been heavier.Also weighed the the steering column and it was 14lbs. These are the last parts from the original Armortech car.
It’s a dash from different suppliers. Just like the different frames. No real mystery.
Do the different frames have different part numbers for the same year? There should be tens of thousands of them from any single supplier. I agree its a possibility but the number of dashes we know of is a hand full. Granted I have only checked every dash have had had access to over the last year (over 100 probably) including those from other countries and we only have a few thousand members on this forum, so where are the rest of these dashes? I need to get my hands on an early 61' dash and even a standard 62 dash so I can compare castings/numbers. There is more than just a single part number on them.
Looks like a date mark to the right of the IMP 2A...can you make out the numbers or post a good pic?
Unless these were pilot line parts I haven't been able to find any documentation for the 3777830 part number although GM Parts WIKI search shows 3777830 replaced by 3780391 but the reference page linked does not show either part number.
My first suggestion that casting 3777830 must be part number 3780391 is now busted. Here is a listing for a 61 3780391-2 which seems to establish that it is not the same and my October 1960 Parts Manual for 61 as well as the 61 AIM show 3780391 as the only part number for 61.
Also apparently there were running production mods since there are examples of casting numbers with a dash number including a 62 3813819-4 listed on ebay.
Just due to the early part number series of the aluminum part I'm thinking it was a pilot line part that didn't work out and was replaced before, or shortly after regular production began. I've never heard of 61 specific pilot line cars but who knows?
Not totally discounting the possibility of a special run of lightweight parts but they would have had to have reserved that early part number or possibly revived it from the pilot line trial run. We need access to the factory drawings...even the legends on the bottom of the AIM pages might show the part number change history but unfortunately those were not included in the reprint copies.
Unless these were pilot line parts I haven't been able to find any documentation for the 3777830 part number although GM Parts WIKI search shows 3777830 replaced by 3780391 but the reference page linked does not show either part number.
My first suggestion that casting 3777830 must be part number 3780391 is now busted. Here is a listing for a 61 3780391-2 which seems to establish that it is not the same and my October 1960 Parts Manual for 61 as well as the 61 AIM show 3780391 as the only part number for 61.
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Just due to the early part number series of the aluminum part I'm thinking it was a pilot line part that didn't work out and was replaced before, or shortly after regular production began. I've never heard of 61 specific pilot line cars but who knows?
Not totally discounting the possibility of a special run of lightweight parts but they would have had to have reserved that early part number or possibly revived it from the pilot line trial run. We need access to the factory drawings...even the legends on the bottom of the AIM pages might show the part number change history but unfortunately those were not included in the reprint copies.
Says 60, would it help to get a better close up?Looks like a date mark to the right of the IMP 2A...can you make out the numbers or post a good pic?
Unless these were pilot line parts I haven't been able to find any documentation for the 3777830 part number although GM Parts WIKI search shows 3777830 replaced by 3780391 but the reference page linked does not show either part number.
My first suggestion that casting 3777830 must be part number 3780391 is now busted. Here is a listing for a 61 3780391-2 which seems to establish that it is not the same and my October 1960 Parts Manual for 61 as well as the 61 AIM show 3780391 as the only part number for 61.
Also apparently there were running production mods since there are examples of casting numbers with a dash number including a 62 3813819-4 listed on ebay.1961-1962 Chevy Biscayne Instrument Dash Speedo Fuel Temp Gauge Housing | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1961-1962 Chevy Biscayne Instrument Dash Speedo Fuel Temp Gauge Housing at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Just due to the early part number series of the aluminum part I'm thinking it was a pilot line part that didn't work out and was replaced before, or shortly after regular production began. I've never heard of 61 specific pilot line cars but who knows?
Not totally discounting the possibility of a special run of lightweight parts but they would have had to have reserved that early part number or possibly revived it from the pilot line trial run. We need access to the factory drawings...even the legends on the bottom of the AIM pages might show the part number change history but unfortunately those were not included in the reprint copies.
Looking more at that 61 dash I linked from ebay and the more I look the more I think it looks more like aluminum corrosion spots than pot metal. The price is right but the shipping is a killer. It's in Iowa so maybe it close to Randy or Dave or anybody else there?
Yep, that's 60 and the radial hashmarks usually have some meaning like day, week, months and or shift depending on the specific coding protocols.....like the date code symbols on aluminum bellhousings.
Wondering about the AC cast on this one......could 3777830 be an AC part number and 3780391 be the Chevy part number?