VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Pre-production models

Rather than hijack Brewster's thread, I am starting a new one. Gene has mentioned that a picture of a '49 convertible that Brewster has posted may be a pre-production model. Here are some questions the answers to which an inquiring mind would like to know;
-How many examples of a pre-production model would GM manufacture?
-Would they be basically complete, operating vehicles?
-Would they have serial numbers fitting into the regular production series; have a special serial number, or have a serial number at all?
-After being used for the purposes they were made, were they scrapped, fitted up and sold as production units, or sold as is to favored people?

Good questions.
I would guess most were probably sold to GM employees, possibly with some minor modifications made.
I would think they were driveable as some appear in the 16MM Jam Handy movies.
Serial number???

Not sure I would consider it a "favour" to buy a pre-production '49 Chevrolet!!

One of my friend's Dad was very high up with GM of Canada before he retired. He got to bring home pre production vehicles that were sent up here for cold weather and real life road testing. Not under wraps stuff, but the ones that had done the show circuit, etc. Around 2000 or 2001 he brought home a pre-production Hummer H2. We took it out for a tour around town. Man, the looks we got, as they weren't even released for sale yet! Inside... it was a piece of junk! They were still figuring out the final interior components, and testing parts from various suppliers. The dash had plastic parts held on with duct tape, and pieces missing. It looked like it had been driven 200 000 miles, and rattled and squeeked like it too! We had to test that 4 wheel drive, and drove it accordingly! I hope they crushed that thing...

All manufacturers ran a few next year models down production lines. Those "Mules" were used for durability testing among other reasons. The fate depends on the year they were manufactured. Because of income tax laws in the later years they were all crushed or taken apart because they were written off. The Feds didn't particularly like them to be written off on tax returns and then given away or sold.

My experience with Chevrolet between the 50's and the 90's the Test vehicle progression was:

Pre-Prototype - a combination of an earlier vehicle with some major purposed component (chassis, Front Sheet metal, drivetrain). A new program might have one to three such vehicles.

Prototype - Complete future vehicle containing experimentally built parts and body panels formed with early production tools or kirksite dies. Depending upon the scope of the vehicle line up. There might be anywhere from Three to Ten such vehicle per carline. In the 60's each Prototype vehicle was said to cost One million dollars. I'm guessing it's Two Million each or more in today's world.

Pilotline - Complete vehicle using production tooled parts and assembled with production tools and workers. There might be rTen to Twenty such vehicles assembled.

True Production Vehicles: What the customer gets.

Serial numbers in the Pre_prototype and Prototype vehicles had numbers affixed like EX**** indicating "Experimental". These vehicles were never sold. They were pretty much used up by the time testing was completed. Pilotline and Production vehicles were given serial numbers in keeping with Federal Laws for saleable vehicles. Per GM rules, Pilotline vehicles were never supposed to be sold but that hasn't always been followed and as mentioned, "favored people" managed to obtain a few over the years. For the most part, Pilotline vehicles are disposed of (scrapped/crushed) and not sold when their usefullness was over.

I have seen a few early production cars that have been donated to automotive collages. All the vehicles they use for training have to be crushed when there through with them.