C Body & A Body pilot cars?

[USSMOPAR]

Are there any known examples of a C body pilot car out there? A body as well.
A hard interweb search brings only a little bit of information.
Pilot cars typically have a "job #" on the fender tag and have a very low VIN with an early scheduled production date like 0801.
There are examples of B & E body cars and there is the one 1967 A body with no odometer that appears to be a pre-production prototype which would be one level before an actual production line pilot car.
'

 

[azblackhemi]

A buddy of mine has a 67 Valliant pilot car. It's a 273 4 speed car. It has a job number on the tag and came with the odometer blocked off among some other weird options that I don't recall.

 

[Fratzog]

I'm not even sure what a "pilot car" is. Are they the brochure cars?

 

[patrick66]

A buddy that I used to store my parts cars with in the '80s had a 1974 Fury four-door sedan that was triple-green, 400, and loaded. Tag said "PILOT CAR JOB 2", Along with the regular build tags x2, so three tags total. Build date was 801, VIN was 100002. Ended up being sold at a now long-defunct OKC C-P dealer. This was 1988 when I saw the car. Both my buddy and the car are long since gone.

 

[patrick66]

I'm not even sure what a "pilot car" is. Are they the brochure cars?

Sometimes. Many brochure cars were airbrushed to reflect that year, especially if it carried over. Some are real cars that appear on brochures, but built off-line in May, so literature could reflect the new model accurately. This was so with the 1970 E-bodies, that I'm aware of.

No, no source, just knowledge from the days pre-interwebz.

 

[Imperialist67]

you learn something new every day, at least I try to...… THANKS.

 

[USSMOPAR]

My apologies for not being more enlightening on what a pilot car is. So ask more questions if you have any. The 67 Valiant is very cool and there is online discussion about it. That car is probably one of the only escapees of pre production prototypes - there is an imperial out there with a real 13 digit VIN etc but the car is actually a 6 digit VIN not the 13 digit we are are accustomed to
Pilot cars were cars built for many purposes. Advertising, promotion, plant assembly, Parts and service manuals. Most actual vehicle testing was done at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea Michigan: crash, salt bath, vibration, wheel dynos where they run 24/7, 2 high speed tracks and 10% grade etc. [I have been on the tracks at speed and ran the 10% grade years ago at the mopar nationals. That was a wow moment for sure.]

Pilot were not to be sold to the public as "new" cars, but they were sold to the public as used cars via factory auctions.
Thanks for the info on the Fury Patrick66.

 

[69monaco]

I think Carsten @fc7_plumcrazy ow(n)es one ……..a red 69 sport-fury conv.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

I think Carsten @fc7_plumcrazy owes one ……..a red 69 sport-fury conv.

yes, vin ph27l9d100162, job 162 on fender tag number two, has spd of 714, factory show car y91

 

[300L]

I think Carsten @fc7_plumcrazy owes one ……..a red 69 sport-fury conv.

Carsten recently sold it

 

[SportFury70]

That would be correct, it normally says "Job" then a number after it if it's a "pilot" car. There is a pilot "A" body Valiant that I know of. Believe it's a 67. It is in one of the magazines I got. But no C's unfortunately. There are E bodies not sure about B's.

 

[azblackhemi]

That would be correct, it normally says "Job" then a number after it if it's a "pilot" car. There is a pilot "A" body Valiant that I know of. Believe it's a 67. It is in one of the magazines I got. But no C's unfortunately. There are E bodies not sure about B's.

The Valiant in the magazine is my buddy's. The magazine was Mopar Collector Guide. I went with Mark to Mopars At The Strip where the photos were taken.

 

[SportFury70]

The Valiant in the magazine is my buddy's. The magazine was Mopar Collector Guide. I went with Mark to Mopars At The Strip where the photos were taken.

Ah ha. It has a woodgrain steering wheel, and floor shift with console right? I know I have it somewhere

 

[Fury Pursuit]

Are there any known examples of a C body pilot car out there? A body as well.
A hard interweb search brings only a little bit of information.
Pilot cars typically have a "job #" on the fender tag and have a very low VIN with an early scheduled production date like 0801.
There are examples of B & E body cars and there is the one 1967 A body with no odometer that appears to be a pre-production prototype which would be one level before an actual production line pilot car.
'

There are known C-Body pilot cars.

I did have one in my collection 4-speed, Convertible 1000001. Pilot tags & Pilot material tags. The entire car was hand assembled, welded by hand whereas later production cars were machine jig welded. It also had preproduction items and hand made parts. Sold it to a guy PA...years ago....

 

[azblackhemi]

Ah ha. It has a woodgrain steering wheel, and floor shift with console right? I know I have it somewhere

Yes. Another interesting fact is the car was orinally painted red but then changed to silver. It must've been done at the factory because it was completely disassembled when changed to silver.

 

[CBODY67]

Over the years, the Mopar Nats has features "Pilot Cars" of the particular model/model year being showcased at the particular event. Usually A, B, or E-body cars. I never looked at them closely for the tags and such, though.

Neat to know that C-bodies also existed, too!

There might be three tiers of Pilot Cars? The Tier 1 would be the cars hand-built off-line to prototype assembly techniques prior to the configuration of the assembly line and training materials.

Tier 2 would be the first ones down the real line, to fine-tune/re-group how things were done, in the general training phase of the line personnel.

Tier 3 would be the first group of cars actually built on the line as a show line-speed. The final "training phase" AND the cars with the low VIN that would be driven by plant personnel for final testing, emissions testing, and even crash testing before "real" production starts. Then once all is well, they'd go into the corporate fleet and later to the dealer auctions.

Of course, with a carry-over platform, things could happen sooner than with a completely new platform.

When we were at the BCA National Meet in Flint, MI, the 75th Anniversary of Buick, there were some Riviera plant people who talked about how it took them 2 weeks of work to get the boat-tail Riviera "out of the body shop" due to the contours of the rear quarter panel ends. They had to figure out the best production/welding/body solder sequences for that part of the body, which took a good while to get done.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[PeugFra]

... Convertible 1000001. Pilot tags & Pilot material tags. The entire car was hand assembled, welded by hand whereas later production cars were machine jig welded. It also had preproduction items and hand made parts.

That's one zero in excess.

There might be three tiers of Pilot Cars? The Tier 1 would be the cars hand-built off-line to prototype assembly techniques prior to the configuration of the assembly line and training materials.

Looks like the car Fury Pursuit describes is such a Tier 1 pilot car.

 

[USSMOPAR]

Thank you for all that!
I know about the 3 tiers or generations of manufacturing but not in that detail

While second gen cars cars exist as of now a first gen car has never been seen...yet...some where i have something on this....

 

[ImpJay]

there is an imperial out there

Do you refer to the green 69 2d LeBaron?

Another one I´m aware of is a 69 Chrysler 300 convertible.

 

[patrick66]

You guys remember the early 1971 Challenger dealer brochures that alluded to availability of a '71 T/A??? That car was nothing more than an airbrushed modification of an existing '70 car picture in the Chrysler photo archive.