<VV>GM (minimal Corvair)

Padgett pp2 at 6007.us
Tue Jan 3 08:55:08 EST 2006


>Imagine my  surprise  a few weeks later while washing the wheels on my new 
>truck to see drum brakes on the rear.  I went back to the brochure and it 
>showed disc brakes on the rear.  In all the data in it, nowhere did it 
>state it had drum brakes on the rear.

Just about every brochure I have seen has a disclaimer about some equipment 
being optional and "subject to change". At the bottom of the back page 
there should be a date, if six or eight months old, almost anything could 
happen since all manufacturers practise "slipstreaming" - making running 
changes.

Perhaps the most extensive for GM was in mid-1973 when per an EPA decree 
Pontiac changed all of their engines with most losing 10-15 hp (SD-455 went 
from 310 to 290 hp). They even changed the engine color to a deeper blue to 
indicate the change. However at the time there was almost no publicity.

But even marketting can change with what is PC. When the 1970 GTO was 
introduced, the 9/69 brochure called it "The Humbler" while the 
11/69  version the same line was just "The new GTO". The same year the 455 
became a mid-year intro and is in some and not others.

But with anything related to automobile (or any for that matter) remember 
the old adage "What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away." 
or, as in the back of most GM brochures "...reserves the right to make 
changes at any time...".

Now if you really want to know what is going on, go to the service 
department and ask to see the technical service bulletins for the vehicle 
you are interested in. These will often give model year specifications in 
the front and advance warning of any running changes. Just be prepared to 
go through a lot of "stuff".

Padgett 



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