1962~1964
After the
wild fins era of the late 1950s, GM decided to reduce its (full) size by 1961.
By 1962, when the greenhouses became less ostentatious, the full size GM models
were available in five wheelbase lengths: 119” for the Chevrolet, 120” for the
Pontiac Catalina, 123” for the Pontiac Star Chief/Bonneville (Pontiac wagons:
119”), also 123” for the regular Oldsmobile and Buick, 126” for the C-body
Ninety-Eight and Electra, in addition to 129.5” for the regular Cadillac.
As before,
the Pontiac Star Chief and Bonneville were designed to have a (4-inch) longer
deck with increased trunk space, and to balance the look of the car, 3 inches
were added in front of the rear wheels, preserving the rear end doors of the
Catalina and its B-body compartment room (Pontiac didn’t build C-bodies). Some
body styles had a deck longer than the hood.
The extra 4
inches on the Oldsmobiles and Buicks, compared to the
Chevrolet, was evenly spaced behind the front wheels and ahead of the rear
wheels. Despite the differences in wheelbase, interior roominess of the B-body
models by body style basically was identical and partly dependent on the roof,
with minor variations largely determined by the trim, while the rear doors of
all B-bodies were the same width.
The 3"
extra space from the C-body's in the rear compartment was also facilitated by
the longer and higher roof, while the Cadillac had another 3.5” ahead of the
cowl. The compartment of the four-window models gained less of that 3 inches
than the six-window models, which had a longer and higher roof. The front doors
of the C-body were the same dimensions as those of the B-bodies, and on Buick
and Oldsmobile they were the same as those of the LeSabre
and 88. The rear doors of the C-body models were therefore wider than those of
the B bodies. C-bodies also had a longer deck, except for the short-deck '62
Cadillac Town Sedan and '62~'63 Park Avenue Sedan, with less luggage space than
a Chevy II.
It is
noteworthy that on the 1959~60 models the C-body rear doors were the same size
as those of the B-body's, and on Buick and Oldsmobile they were the same as the
LeSabre and 88. So the front doors on the 1959~60
C-body models were wider than the B-body's. While in 1959 and 1960 the front
doors of the C-body models were wider than the rear doors, in 1961 they became
the same width and from 1963 the rear doors were the widest.
All the
usual body styles (2/4-door saloon, 2/4-door hardtop, 4-door wagon and 2-door
convertible) were offered by the four B-body divisions, except for the 2-door
sedan at Oldsmobile, for which 1961 was the last year. The B-body sedan and
two-door hardtop roofs were renewed for 1962, while with the major body change
for 1963 only the wagon roofs were kept. There was one example of each B-body
roof style, until the arrival of the 1963 specialty 2-door hardtop roof, which
was used on the Pontiac Grand Prix and Oldsmobile Starfire (and 1964 Jetstar
I).
The
identical 2/4-door (4-window) hardtop roofs of the C-body were renewed in 1962,
while by 1963 identical 6-door 4-door sedan/hardtop roofs were new (except for
the different Sixty Special 4 door hardtop roof), alongside the new (three
years in a row) Cadillac 2-door hardtop roof, based largely on the B-body
4-door hardtop roof, short enough to give Cadillac the longest deck among GM
full size models, with the shortest deck for the Park Avenue Sedan, for which
1963 was the final year.
1964 saw
the introduction of rear fender skirts on the C-body Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight
and Buick Electra, joining the Cadillac, and to set them apart from the B-body
models.
After the
creation of the Sedan de Ville in 1956, basically a 4-door hardtop, Cadillac
didn't sell any 4-door sedans from 1957 to 1964 (except for the Seventy-Five).
Cadillac called the 2-door hardtop a Coupe, a body style that was called
Sport(s) Coupe in the other divisions (Holiday at Oldsmobile), 4-door hardtops
were called Sport Sedan at Chevrolet, 4-door Vista at Pontiac, and Holiday
Sedan at Oldsmobile, where the 6-window 4-door hardtop was called Luxury Sedan
in 1963/64, and by 1964 at Buick pillarless Sedan.
GM's
full-size cars of this era were mounted on an X-frame, but Pontiac and
Oldsmobile replaced it from 1961 with a perimeter frame with the side beams
brought out to the door sill. Oldsmobile finally replaced the rear leaf springs
by coils. Canadian Pontiacs were based on the 119-inch Chevrolet X-frame, with
the rear wheels one inch forward (much like American Pontiac wagons) from 1962
to 1964.
In
1959/1960 and 1963/1964 each of the rear wheels of the Canadian Pontiacs had
been placed an uncomfortable 6 cm more inwards in the wheel arches than on the
US ‘wide track’ Pontiacs, and each of the front wheels well over 4 cm in
1959/1960 and about 3 cm in 1963/1964.
By 1963 the
styling had become less modest and sharper, but not for long.
extra inch* w/b |
||||||||||||||||||||
compared |
center pillar
to: |
thin C-pillar |
specialty |
61-62 curved A-pillar |
||||||||||||||||
w/b |
to: |
front |
rear |
2S |
4S |
2H |
2H |
4H |
4H |
2H |
4W |
Cv |
||||||||
Chevrolet |
119 |
0 |
0 |
62 |
62 |
61-62 |
62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala |
|||||||||
Chevrolet |
119 |
|
0 |
0 |
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala |
||||||
Catalina '61 |
119 |
Chevrolet |
0 |
0 |
|
61 |
61 |
61-62 |
61 |
+ Ventura |
||||||||||
Catalina '62 |
120 |
Chevrolet |
0 |
+1 |
62 |
62 |
62 |
62 |
↑ |
62 |
+ Grand Prix |
|||||||||
Catalina |
120 |
Chevrolet |
0 |
+1 |
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
↑ |
63-64 |
+ Grand Prix |
||||||
Pontiac wgn |
119 |
non-wagon |
0 |
-1 |
|
62 |
||||||||||||||
Pontiac wgn |
119 |
non-wagon |
0 |
-1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
63-64 |
|
incl. Bonneville |
||||||
Bonneville |
123 |
Catalina |
0 |
+3 |
62 |
61 |
62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
+ Star Chief |
||||||||||
Bonneville |
123 |
Catalina |
0 |
+3 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
↑ |
63-64 |
+ Star Chief |
||||||
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
Catalina '62 |
0 |
-1 |
62 |
62 |
62 |
62 |
↑ |
62 |
Strato-Chief, Laurentian, Parisienne |
|||||||||
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
Catalina |
0 |
-1 |
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
Strato-Chief, Laurentian, Parisienne |
||||||
Olds 88 |
123 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+2 |
62 |
61 |
62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
+ Starfire |
|
||||||||
Olds 88 |
123* |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+2 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
63-64 |
63-64 |
+ Starfire,
Jetstar I |
||||||
LeSabre |
123 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+2 |
62 |
62 |
62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
+ Invicta
(Wildcat) |
|||||||||
LeSabre |
123 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+2 |
63 |
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
+ Wildcat
(Invicta) |
|
|||||
* AMA: wagon 121.7 |
↑ |
↑ |
||||||||||||||||||
* not GM-sourced |
'62 Bel Air |
Grand Prix |
||||||||||||||||||
Starfire, Jetstar I |
||||||||||||||||||||
extra inch* w/b |
||||||||||||||||||||
compared |
center pillar
to: |
|
|
|
thin C-pillar |
|
|
|||||||||||||
w/b |
to: |
front |
rear |
4S6w |
4H6w |
4S6w |
4H6w |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H6w |
4L |
Cv |
|||||
Ninety-Eight |
126 |
88 |
0 |
+3 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
|
61 |
61 |
62 |
62 |
61-62 |
||||||||
Ninety-Eight |
126 |
88 |
0 |
+3 |
|
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
|
|
63-64 |
||||
Electra |
126 |
LeSabre |
0 |
+3 |
61-62 |
61-62 |
|
61 |
61 |
62 |
62 |
61-62 |
||||||||
Electra |
126 |
LeSabre |
0 |
+3 |
|
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
|
|
63-64 |
||||
de Ville |
129.5 |
Ninety-Eight |
+4.5 |
-1 |
61-62 |
|
61 |
61 |
62 |
62 |
61-62 |
+ Sixty-Two,
Eldorado Biarritz |
||||||||
de Ville |
129.5 |
Ninety-Eight |
+4.5 |
-1 |
|
|
|
63-64 |
|
|
|
63-64 |
63-64 |
|
|
63-64 |
+ Sixty-Two,
Eldorado (Biarritz) |
|||
Sixty
Special |
129.5 |
de Ville |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
61-62 |
|||||||||||
Sixty
Special |
129.5 |
de Ville |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
63-64 |
|
|
||||
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
Sixty Special |
0 |
+20.25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
59-62 |
|
||||
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
Sixty Special |
0 |
+20.25 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
63-65 |
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
* not GM-sourced |
1965~1968
Then came
the dazzling 1965 models. Preceded by the 1964 intermediates, GM's full sizers had
a more integral look thanks to the curved side pillars and windows. Also,
developed from the intermediates, perimeter frames were now commonly used for
all full-size GM models (1966 for the Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five).
Pontiac's
styling was certainly the most spectacular, Oldsmobiles
had a bold look with their open rear wheel arches, Chevrolets were simply
attractive, while Buicks looked more reserved, but all had the rising beltline
introduced by GM in 1963 with the Buick Riviera, and in 1964 on the Chevelle
hardtop and started out as a character crease on the 1961 Pontiacs. As a
distinctive brand, Cadillac didn't pick up on this and eventually gave up its
raised fins, creating an understated yet stately look, while retaining the rear
fender skirts, introduced in the late 1950s. Ironically, on the 1953 Eldorado,
Cadillac had introduced used drop-down window lines, which were soon adopted by
the other divisions, and by 1957 it was close to what would happen in the
1960s.
The roof
sail panel of the spectacular ‘sweepline’ 2-door B-body hardtop was positioned directly
over the rear wheels on the Buick and long Pontiacs, while on Chevrolet,
Catalina and Oldsmobile the wheels were 3 inches 'off-balance' towards the
front.
On
Chevrolet and Pontiac Catalina (wheelbase lengths of 119” and 121” resp.), the
hood became longer, the deck shorter, with the Pontiac Executive and Bonneville
(124”) kept the same rear doors as the Catalina, the extra inches in front of
the rear wheels, as well as the longer deck.
In a
surprising move, the 4 inches extra wheelbase on B-body Oldsmobiles
was now allocated entirely to the hood, while on Buick it was allocated ahead
of the rear wheels, largely mimicking the Electra's rear doors, without adding
to ease of entry of the rear compartment as GM's B-body compartment dictated a
narrower interior door opening than with the C-body. In this way Pontiac
(without C-body) did not bother to widen its rear doors for the Executive and
Bonneville.
So, the
Buick LeSabre's greenhouse started just as far from
the front wheels as the Chevrolet, with the rear wheels 4 inches backward,
while the Oldsmobile's compartment/roof ended in the same place above the rear
wheels as the Chevrolet, with the front wheels 4 inches. forward. Buick's
B-body Wildcat also had the 3-inch longer hood of the Electra, minus the 4
portholes in a row. These layouts would last from 1965 to 1968.
So, the C-body
Electra used equally wide rear doors as the B-body Buicks, with its increased
roominess and different windows mainly defined by the C-body roofs, while the
extra 3 inches of wheelbase were attributed to the longer hood, now justifying
the extra porthole. The Wildcat had exactly the same layout (wheelbase,
windshield position, door length), but less leg and headroom at the rear due to
its B-body roof. As before, Electra and Ninety-Eight front doors were the same
as used on the LeSabre and 88.
The Ninety-Eight
had the same long hood as the B-body Oldsmobile and, as usual, had 3 inch wider
rear doors. The position of the compartment between the front and rear axles
was about an inch less backward than on the Electra, due to the fact that the
Delta 88's compartment started at Chevrolet's position and that of the LeSabre ended there with a wheelbase difference of 4 inches
between the Chevrolet (where the B-body fits exactly) versus the 3 inches
between the Oldsmobile/Buick B- and C-bodies.
The rising
beltline was also used on the Electra and Ninety-Eight, distinguishing them
from the earlier models. Six-window models with the sixth window behind the
rear doors were no longer offered (except for the extended Cadillac Fleetwood
Seventy-Five), and the Ninety-Eight Luxury (a trim line) and Town Sedans became
sedans with frameless windows, as did the Electra Sedan.
By 1965
Cadillac extended the wheelbase of the Fleetwood Sixty-Special to 133” with the
3.5 inches granted to the rear compartment.
Thus, the 15-inch longer wheelbase compared to the Chevrolet was roughly
evenly spaced behind the front wheels on one side and in front of the rear
wheels on the other, as was the case with the 7 inches that distinguished the
Ninety-Eight and Electra from the Chevrolet.
B-body
sedan roofs were the same from 1965 to 1968, and wagon roofs until 1970.
Hardtop roofs were renewed with the bi-annual body changes, including the
special 2-door hardtop, while a formal 2-door hardtop roof was made for the
Caprice by 1966, retained with the 1967 body change, but refreshed by 1968,
when it was also offered as an Impala Custom.
C-body
sedan roofs were also the same from 1965 to 1968, while the hardtop roofs were
refreshed with the biannual body changes. Cadillac initially shared the 4-door
hardtop roof with the other C-body divisions and also used it for the 2-door
hardtop, but offered its own roofs from 1967.
Two-door
sedans were now limited to Chevrolet until 1969 and Pontiac, until 1968. This forced Pontiac Canada to add Strato-Chief and Laurentian 2-door hardtops, at a higher
price than the 4-door sedans.
After Buick
and Oldsmobile in February 1964 released intermediate skyroof
wagons on a 5-inch extended wheelbase, the 1965~69 full size wagons were
limited to Chevrolet and Pontiac. The
Chevrolet Caprice models (initially in February 1965 as option pack) were
hardtops and called Custom Sedan and Coupe (added for 1966), Caprice Sedan and
Coupe by 1968. Pontiac lost the Sport
and Vista designations by 1967. The
Cadillac Sedan de Ville now got a fixed center pillar, but the windows remained
frameless, while the 4-door hardtop (w/o center pillar) was called the Hardtop
Sedan de Ville.
It should
be noted that with the 1965~1968 LeSabre rear wheel
arch set 4 inches back, a possibly designed wagon would have too little room
for the 3rd seat. Actually, the skyroof wagons, could
be considered, although less wide, as downsized B-body wagons 12½ years in
advance, with the benefit of a forward-facing rear seat (with limited room due
to a well over the rear axle).
Canadian
Pontiacs still were based on the 119-inch Chevrolet frame, and due to the now
121-inch wheelbase of their US equivalents, both front and rear wheels were set
one inch toward each other.
The
flamboyant ‘65/’66 styling was further accentuated by 1967, when Cadillac
adopted the beltline rise, even for their limousines, making the 1966 limousine
a one-year rarity. The Wildcat received rear fender skirts in 1967 and 1968,
which became optional on the Chevrolets.
1969~1970
By 1969,
all wheelbases increased by an inch, except on Chevrolet and Cadillac,
resulting in a 3-inch difference between Pontiac and Chevrolet, as in 1959. The
fastback roofline on the B-body 2-door hardtops, after four years, was ‘out’
and replaced by a more formal roof. Major changes to the body layout occurred
on Buick, which now shared the same layout as Oldsmobile, with narrower rear
doors, and granting the now 4 extra inches to the hood (now as long as that of
the Electra, despite one less porthole), and the C-body's 3 inches in front of
the rear wheels. The Wildcat became a rebadged LeSabre,
as it did at its start in 1962.
The
dimensions of the front and rear doors were again approximately the same on the
C-body models, as in 1961. The wagon roof was the only roof that was not
renewed.
By 1970,
Buick discontinued its skyroof wagons and introduced
the B-body Estate Wagon, taking advantage of the revised body/platform
positioning. Sales were considerably higher than those of the skyroof Sportwagon.
The rise in
beltline now was less rounded, more stylized, and only rudimentary at the end
of the rear doors of the 4-door models. You could say it now had a more convex than concave
appearance which was especially welcome on the luxury C-body models.
The
Canadian Pontiacs' wheelbase was now 3 inches less than that of the US
Pontiacs, prompting GM Canada to move the front wheel wells 2 inches backward,
with the usual 1 inch forward placing of the rear wheels within their wells,
rather than shortening the entire front end as was done at the 3 inches
difference in 1959 and 1960. Placed on
the Chevrolet chassis, each of the wheels was also further moved inward about a
quarter of an inch.
Using the
Chevrolet wagon chassis for all of its models, the front track on the 1968 Canadian
Pontiac became a half inch wider than in the US, but this reversed the next
year, when the Americans added an inch, making it as wide as the rear
track.
Grand Prix |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
extra inch* w/b |
Grande Parisienne |
Caprice |
Caprice + |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
compared |
center pillar
to: |
|
|
Starfire, Jetstar I |
Impala Custom |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
w/b |
to: |
front |
rear |
2S |
4S |
2H |
2H |
4H |
4H |
2H |
4W |
Cv |
2H |
2H |
2H |
2S |
4S |
2H |
4H |
|||||||
Chevrolet |
119 |
0 |
0 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
66 |
|
|
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala (Super Sport), Caprice |
|||||||||||||
Chevrolet |
119 |
|
0 |
0 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
67-68 |
67 |
68 |
|
|
|
|
|
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala (SS), Caprice |
|||||
Chevrolet |
119 |
|
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
|
|
69-70 |
69 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala, Caprice, Brookwood,
Townsman, Kingswood (Estate) |
|||||
|
|
w/b |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Catalina |
121 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
0 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
Catalina |
121 |
|
+ Grand Prix (+ 2+2) |
|||||||||||
Catalina |
121 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
0 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
Catalina |
121 |
|
|
|
|
+ Grand Prix (+ 2+2, Ventura) |
||||||
Catalina |
122 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
Catalina |
122 |
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
+ Grand Prix (+ Ventura) |
||||||
Bonneville |
124 |
Catalina |
0 |
+3 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
↑ |
65-66 |
Bonneville |
124 |
|
+ Star Chief
(Executive) |
|||||||||||||
Bonneville |
124 |
Catalina |
0 |
+3 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
↑ |
67-68 |
Bonneville |
124 |
|
|
|
|
+ Executive |
||||||
Bonneville |
125 |
Catalina |
0 |
+3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
↑ |
69-70 |
Bonneville |
125 |
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
+ Executive |
||||||
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
Catalina |
-1 |
-1 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
|
Strato-Chief,
Laurentian, (Grande) Parisienne (Custom Sport) |
|||||||||||
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
Catalina |
-1 |
-1 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
67 |
67-68 |
67-68 |
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
|
|
|
|
Strato-Chief,
Laurentian, (Grande) Parisienne (2+2) |
||||||
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
Catalina |
-2 |
-1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
Pontiac
CDN |
119 |
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
Strato-Chief,
Laurentian, (Grande) Parisienne, 2+2, Safari |
||||||
Olds 88 |
123 |
Chevrolet |
+4 |
0 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
Olds 88 |
123 |
|
+ Starfire,
Jetstar I |
|||||||||||||
Olds 88 |
123 |
Chevrolet |
+4 |
0 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
|
67-68 |
Olds 88 |
123 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Olds 88 |
124 |
Chevrolet |
+4 |
+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
Olds 88 |
124 |
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
|||||||
LeSabre |
123 |
Chevrolet |
0 |
+4 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
LeSabre |
123 |
|
|||||||||||||||
LeSabre |
123 |
Chevrolet |
0 |
+4 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
|
67-68 |
LeSabre |
123 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||
LeSabre |
124 |
Chevrolet |
+4 |
+1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
70 |
69-70 |
LeSabre |
124 |
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
incl. Wildcat, + Estate Wagon |
||||||
Wildcat |
126 |
LeSabre |
+3 |
0 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Wildcat |
126 |
LeSabre |
+3 |
0 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
67-68 |
|
|
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
LeSabre '69 |
123.2 |
Chevrolet |
+4 |
+0.2 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
2S |
4S |
2H |
2H |
4H |
4H |
2H |
4W |
Cv |
2S |
4S |
2H |
4H |
||||||||||||||
extra inch* w/b |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
compared |
center pillar
to: |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
w/b |
to: |
front |
rear |
4S |
4S |
2H |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H |
2H |
4H |
Cv |
4S |
4S |
4L(6w) |
||||||
Ninety-Eight |
126 |
88 |
0 |
+3 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
||||||||||||||||||
Ninety-Eight |
126 |
88 |
0 |
+3 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
|
|
|
|||||
Ninety-Eight |
127 |
88 |
0 |
+3 |
|
69-70 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
|
|
69-70 |
|
|
|
|||||
Electra |
126 |
LeSabre |
+3 |
0 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
||||||||||||||||||
Electra |
126 |
LeSabre |
+3 |
0 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
|
|
|
|||||
Electra |
126.2/127 |
LeSabre |
0 |
+3 |
|
69-70 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
|
|
69-70 |
|
|
|
|||||
de Ville |
129.5 |
Ninety-Eight |
+2.5 |
+1 |
65-66 |
|
65-66 |
65-66 |
65-66 |
+ Calais, Fleetwood Eldorado |
||||||||||||||||
de Ville |
129.5 |
Ninety-Eight |
+2.5 |
+1 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
67-68 |
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
|
|
|
+ Calais |
||||
de Ville |
129.5 |
Ninety-Eight |
+2.5 |
0 |
|
69-70 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
69-70 |
69-70 |
|
|
|
+ Calais |
||||
w/b |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sixty
Special |
133 |
de Ville |
0 |
+3.5 |
Sixty
Special |
133 |
65-66 |
+ Fleetwood
Brougham |
||||||||||||||||||
Sixty
Special |
133 |
de Ville |
0 |
+3.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sixty
Special |
133 |
|
|
67-68 |
|
|
+ Fleetwood
Brougham |
|||||
Sixty
Special |
133 |
de Ville |
0 |
+3.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sixty
Special |
133 |
|
|
|
69-70 |
|
+ Fleetwood
Brougham |
|||||
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
Sixty Special |
0 |
+16.75 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
|
|
66 |
||||||||
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
Sixty Special |
0 |
+16.75 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
|
|
|
|
67-68 |
||||||
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
Sixty Special |
0 |
+16.75 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seventy-Five |
149.75 |
|
|
|
|
69-70 |
||||||
* not GM-sourced |
1971~1976
The
full-size GM line reached its ultimate dimensions in the 1971-1976 period,
before the downsizing of 1977. GM emphasized the long hood, short deck look,
and added 2.5 inches ahead of the cowl of the Chevrolet. The winners were the
Pontiac Bonneville and Grand Ville (even beating the Electra and Ninety-Eight
in overall vehicle length in the first year) which had an extra 2.5 inches of
space between the front wheels and the cowl over the Catalina, which itself had
2 inches more hood space than the Chevrolet. But after two years, Pontiac
wisely chose to bring its wheelbase in line with that of the regular Buick and
Oldsmobile, which had a 2.5-inch longer hood than the Chevrolet. The 1973 Grand
Ville got rear fender skirts as a sort of compensation, adopted for 1975 by the
Bonneville, which previously had them from 1965 to 1970, when they were
optional on other full size Pontiacs.
The front
doors were now wider than ever, and those of the C-bodies were wider than the
rear doors and matched those of the B-bodies. All of the C-body rear doors,
which were 3 inches wider than the B-body rear doors, were the same width,
including those on the Cadillac de Ville with a longer rear compartment, and
the even longer Fleetwood Brougham with its 3-inch middle pillar.
On the
B-bodies, the rise in beltline was gone at the 2-door hardtop models, except on
Chevrolet, while Pontiac returned to the characterline
rise that started it all 10 years earlier, resulting in one of the most
attractive offerings among the divisions.
With a low-key sweep line, Buicks looked perhaps even better. The rear
fender skirts on the Chevrolet Caprice were now standard equipment, Chevrolet
added a ‘beltline-rise-free’ coupe by 1974, and, after 10 years, from autumn
1974, GM’s sedans got a more even
greenhouse bottom line.
Opera
windows came by 1974 on the 2-door hardtop, transforming the Chevrolet into a
coupe and also on the other marques, that kept the hardtop roll-down rear
quarter window, and for 1975 on the 4-door hardtop models. Conventional 2-door hardtop models remained
available only on Chevrolet until 1975. By 1976 Oldsmobile offered an optional
opera roof, turning the 2-door hardtop into a coupe.
For 1975
the sedans got an extra window in the rear doors to allow the glass to slide
down, as the roof sail panel became narrower due to an increased glass area.
Sedans and
convertibles were now denied to C-bodies (with the exception of the Cadillac
Fleetwood Brougham sedan).
The rising
beltline returned at the rear doors of the 4-door Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight and
Buick Electra until 1975, when they disappeared at the 2-doors, with the
addition of the opera windows in the roof sail panel, which began on the 2-door
Cadillac with an upright B-pillar for 1974. At the same time, with the slightly
backward sloping B-pillar of the 1971~74 hardtop body, Buick created the Landau
option on the Electra with opera window by means of a multiform opening in the
roof padding, later followed by Oldsmobile with a simple elongated opening on
the Ninety-Eight Elegance, both with the rising beltline below.
While the
2-door hardtop 1971-72 Centurion was called Formal Coupe, due to its smaller
back window, the 1971~76 2-door hardtop LeSabres and
2-door Electras were called Hardtop Coupe, regardless
of roof edition. The 1971 Oldsmobile
Delta 88 Royale with the same roof as the Centurion, was called Hardtop Coupe,
as were the 1971~76 Delta 88 and 1971 Ninety-Eight 2-door hardtops, while the
1972~76 2-door Ninety-Eights were named Coupe, with Oldsmobile hardtops losing
the Holiday designation.
All 1971~76
2-door hardtop Pontiac full size models were called Hardtop Coupe, while
Chevrolet called the 2-door hardtop Impala a Sport Coupe, except for the Custom
Coupe models which shared the roof with the Caprice Coupe.
At
Cadillac, the Sedan de Ville was a 4-door hardtop again, as it was before
1965. The Caprice Sedan became a 4-door
sedan by 1972, with the 4-door hardtop called Sport Sedan.
The third
rear-facing seat in the wagons was now forward instead of backward. The
Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser had rear fender skirts, making it look like a
Cadillac wagon.
B-body roofs: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
opera window: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
curved |
obtuse |
|
|
curved |
obtuse |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
triangular |
trapezoid |
|
triangular |
trapezoid |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chevrolet Impala: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sport Coupe |
Custom Coupe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
extra inch* w/b |
|
|
CDN + Bel Air |
+ Caprice Coupe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
center
pillar to: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
w/b |
compared to: |
front |
rear |
4S |
4S |
2H |
2H |
2H |
Cp |
2H |
Cp |
4H |
4H6w |
4H6w |
Wgn |
Cv |
|
|
|
|
|
Chevrolet |
121.5 |
|
0 |
0 |
71-74 |
75-76 |
71-73 |
74-75 |
71-73 |
74-76 |
|
|
71-74 |
75-76 |
|
|
71-75 |
Biscayne, Bel Air, Impala, Caprice |
|
|||
Chevrolet wagon |
125 |
non-wagon |
0 |
+3.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71-76 |
|
Brookwood, Townsman, Kingswood
(Estate) |
||||
* Catalina |
123.5 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
0 |
71-74 |
75-76 |
71-73 |
|
|
|
74-76 |
|
71-74 |
|
|
|
71-72 |
+ (CDN) Laurentian, Parisienne |
|
|
||
Pontiac
wagon |
127 |
non-wagon |
0 |
+3.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71-76 |
|
(Grand) Safari |
|
|
|
|
Bonneville |
126 |
Catalina |
+2.5 |
0 |
71-72 |
|
71-72 |
|
|
|
|
|
71-72 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bonneville |
124/123.4, rebadged Catalina |
|
73-74 |
|
73 |
|
|
|
74 |
|
73-74 |
|
75-76 |
|
|
C-body roofs ↙ |
|
|
|
|
||
Grand Ville |
126 |
Catalina |
+2.5 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71-72 |
C-body roofs ↙ |
|
|
|
|
Grand Ville |
124/123.4, rebadged Catalina |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
73-75 |
C-body roofs ↙ |
|
|
|
|
||
Delta 88 |
124 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+0.5 |
71-74 |
75-76 |
71-73 |
|
|
|
74-76 |
76 |
71-74 |
75-76 |
75 |
|
71-75 |
|
|
|
|
|
Oldsmobile wagon |
127 |
non-wagon |
0 |
+3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71-76 |
|
Custom Cruiser |
|
|
|
|
* LeSabre |
124 |
Chevrolet |
+2 |
+0.5 |
71-74 |
75-76 |
71-73 |
|
|
|
74-76 |
|
71-74 |
75-76 |
|
|
71-75 |
+ Centurion |
|
|
|
|
Buick wagon |
127 |
non-wagon |
0 |
+3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71-76 |
|
Estate Wagon |
|
|
|
|
* notes: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|