VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Country Club wood trim package

In this case and others there is a problem. Once something is published in the G&D and not rescinded or modified it generally becomes acceptable in VCCA Judging. So in this case there needs to be additional research to determine if in fact there is documentation to support the articles in the November issue.

There are a few special cases where I wish our club would make a stand on accepting certain "options" for the sake of preserving Chevrolet related history. These wood panel kits, El Morocco's, and some of the factory backed and sponsored race cars are a few examples I can think of. These cars are just so rare that we should not be pushing them away from our club, or convincing owners to change them back to stock.

If you feel strong enough then submit a motion to accept certain specified historic Chevrolet based vehicles in VCCA judging.

Personally, I love the wood kits on the 1948 Chevrolets and I thnk that they are cool! I hope that there is documentation somewhere that states that the wood kits were genuine accessories authorized by Chevrolet. But, until there is documentation, we will have to consider that the wood kits were aftermarket items that were installed by the Chevrolet dealers.

The answer seems clear.

If the Engineered Enterprises wood kit has a GM PART NUMBER, it is a GM PART OR GM ACCESSORY.

No GM PART NUMBER does not equal a GM PART or ACCESSORY.

I have never seen a GM PART or a GM ACCESSORY, without a GM PART NUMBER

If "Joe Blow" in GM Engineering or Purchasing OK'd the kit for installation on Chevrolets, that's fine for Engineered Enterprises.

But "Joe Blow" doesn't distribute GM PART NUMBERS.

Sounds like GM wanted to keep the wood kit as an aftermarket kit, without bringing the kit into the GM family.

Part of the problem with outside companies producing parts for use on Chevrolets is the expressed or implied warranty. GM does not like to stand behind any product or part that they have not researched, engineered and have some control on quality. It was abundantly clear when I worked for a supplier company.

It was also crystal clear to me, as I did my 35 year sentence with the General.

It appears to me the judging field is getting very muddy. We say one day as delivered from the factory. Then we say as delivered by the dealer. I do not think it can be both ways. The more exceptions we make the muddier it gets.

I do not have a current Judging Manual. What does it say.

I know of one 1931 Chevrolet 5P Coupe that was paint combination 70. Harvard Crimson and Black. It was painted red under the fenders with red wheels. The twin brother of the original owner told me his brother told the dealer he would buy the car if they would make these changes. This was about 1960. The twin that purchased the car new had died and the brother kept the car until he died and I would see the car around our neighborhood.

I disagree. The process and criteria are abundantly clear if you read the VCCA Judging Manual in total.

The following is copied directly from the 2011 Edition of the VCCA Judging Manual.

"It is the owners’ understanding that when they decide to have their vehicles judged, we, as club members, are comparing their vehicles to how the manufacturer delivered the vehicles to the dealer and to the public." "A vehicle being evaluated at a VCCA-sanctioned Meet may be an original or restored vehicle, and it is evaluated by comparing its condition to when it was delivered from the factory, to the new car dealer and to the public. Any feature, option, or accessory shown in the original factory or dealer catalog, sales literature, company service bulletins, or other original Chevrolet or General Motors literature, is accepted for judging. The vehicle owner is responsible for documenting all features, options and accessories as being correct for that year and model."

I have sent an email to the editor, President and judging "chief" pertaining to this thread. I am sure a positive decision will be made pertaining to this question and results will be forth coming.

THANK YOU Gene!

The pictures Kate included with her article, any idea what they were take from? Maybe some "official" advertisement or....?

Just hope the Chef does not bleed-out from the dagger in his heart. Hang on Bruce, I'm thinking positive on this one!

The complete juding manual is on the VCCA web site.

What about this???

vehicles to how the manufacturer delivered the vehicles to the dealer "AND TO THE PUBLIC." After the dealer adds the factory approved accessory's, ordered by the customer?

The add posted in the G&D is a folded card with the pics of 3 body styles and the front page THE NEW CUSTOM COUNTRY CLUB. The fine print on the front page reads "portions of materials herein have been reprinted with permission of the General Motors Corporation,Sevice Operations. "License 0710896



This would tend to imply GM owned some of this material??

If that is the case it would be documented by GM/Chevrolet and would e legal. Hope that this is legit.
Looks like the problem may have been solved.
The next move will be to detect the real wood kits from the reproductions.

Still waiting for my G&D

Having watched many episodes of "Perry Mason" growing up, the "License #" could have been permission to the product maker to use a Chevrolet in their advertisement.

Good point. A lot of reproduction parts and reprint literature today that are sold by aftermarket suppliers are licensed by GM but they are not items made by GM. If the wood kit was actually a genuine Chevrolet accessory I would think that the kit would have a Chevrolet part number and be listed in the 1948 Chevrolet accessory literature. Anyway, this is a very interesting subject!

Hello chef-chevy:

Can you email me a high resolution picture of the literature which you posted here on Chevy Chat? IF Country Club kits were authorized by Chevrolet then we should include that information in the Judging Manual.

To everyone:
I also like the idea of including rare or unusual Chevrolets whether they be Chevrolet sponsored Nascar vehicles or other rare Chevrolet or GMC vehicles. I believe that we can all enjoy them if we decide on a realistic and logical way to include them on or beside the judging field at national meets. It does not mean that we have to judge them or create a special class for these vehicles nor do we need to offer them trophies. Chevrolet has been active over the years in doing things other than selling vehicles to the masses.

dtm

This, to me, would suggest that Chevrolet approved of the installation of the kit!

I would like to know where Kate got the information, "The kit, designed by Chevrolet" came from.

We need to properly define the word aftermarket, as it keeps coming up...."something that is added after the purchase of something...If I were to purchase a fleetline in 1948 and wanted the CC kit on it, I would buy the car with the kit installed, not buy it and then have the kit installed...Doesn't sound like aftermarket to me...Obviously not a lot of takers....

Detecting the real wood kits, from the reproductions, could be an interesting issue, if there are no GM PART NUMBERS to work from, as a "base" or "starting point". How would a judge or anyone determine an "original aftermarket wood kit", from a "replica" of an aftermarket wood kit ? Gets confusing.

An interesting situation here, but am wondering how "parts" or a "kit" can be deemed "factory equipment" or "factory accessories", without a GM part number?

To me, perhaps only me, but it soumds like Engineered Enterprise Company received the blessings and well wishes from Chevrolet to manufacture these kits.... then, in return, Chevrolet made profit, as the exclusive outlet to sell these Engineered Enterprise Company kits. Does selling this aftermarket kit, by GM, make it a GM part?

We remember the NPN's (NO PART NUMBERS) on repair orders, meaning aftermarket parts which were supplied to the customer, by a Chevrolet dealer. NPN's were not to be confused with GM part numbers. NPN's were also used for nuts, bolts, sandpaper and the like.

If a NPN wood kit can be deemed "factory equipment", will that open the door for other "aftermarket parts", to be considered "factory equipment", as well ?

I was of the belief that the GM parts and accessory manuals were the base for determining what was factory and what was not factory equipment.

Perhaps the wood kit will be the first item to be VCCA accepted and judged, without being in the GM parts and accessory manuals.

Have to say the wood kit looks good, GM or not.

"We need to properly define the word aftermarket, as it keeps coming up...."something that is added after the purchase of something"...

Something that is added after the purchase of something could be "factory equipment".

Aftermarket parts are a "duplication" of original factory produced parts. An example could be Moog ball joints.

Aftermarket parts are also parts, which are not produced by the factory. An example could be a "roll cage", within an interior.

bobg, I have also been told by some that we can't use a parts book of the same year as the vehicle because they are replacement parts. If we can't use our parts book what can we use?