How about a front seat heater in a 1949 Pontiac? Just bought an original car and sure nuf, there it was.
I want an automatic headlight dimmer that automatically *dims the other guy's headlights*!!! Mart3406 ==========
I parted out a 48 Chevy Convertible years ago that had a Vacuum assisted shift option. I still don't know what it did but it sold pretty quick.
I don't think that was rare, but it was common to malfunction. All the old timers I know that had '46-'48 Chevrolets in the fifties and early sixties had nothing good to say about that feature.
My '64 C20 has an aftermarket rear bumper made in L.A. And also found out it has equalizing air shocks you can fill up with a tire chuck, has anyone seen that on older trucks like this before?
64 and up (to 67 anyway) El Caminos could come with factory air shocks. All 4 of the ones I've owned had them. Never heard of them on a pickup though. As far as I know, most trucks came from the factory without a rear bumper. The dealer installed what the customer wanted, usually a big tow bumper or something.
Those pyrex headlight covers on 65 fords were a 20 dollar option. They were standard equipment on 427 powered cars, The last set of n.o.s. ones i seen on ebay went for almost three thousand dollars.
58 Impala, with the vacuum ashtray feature,...it had what appeared to be a "Mason Jar" on the firewall. 56, MoPar record player...... It played 12", 16 rpm records. 4TTRUK
While hitchhiking in the early '60s, I caught a ride in..I think it was a Cad...that had an ashtray that had an opening throught the floorboard to eject cigarette butts to the outside. Wish I could remember more details. Maybe this will ring a bell for someone.
More rare stuff. Back when I was 16 (1966) I drove a 64 Ford Galaxie Fastback with a 427 and 3-speed on the column - no other options that was on a Ford Dealers lot. My uncle was a Chevy Dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 1962, we went to a sale he was having with lots of 62 409's and 61 Bubble Top 348 - 4-speeds. His demos in 1964 were an Impala 4 door hardtop and an Impala wagon - both with 409's. He also sold quite a few COPO Camaros. O/T - in 1967, my Dad ordered a Camaro, Granada Gold, tinted glass, exterior decor group, 327 - 275 HP, auto on the column, posi, and bench seat. A friend of mine has a factory GM service bulletin giving part numbers for the installation of a 4-speed trans in a 58 Chevy car - not sure that ever happened. Same guy has a 1960 Thunderbird with a 430, 3-speed overdrive, and sunroof. Another O/T - I have my Dad's 1978 Factory Ordered El Camino - Gold and Tan, 305, posi, black interior with power drivers seat - said to be rare on an El Camino. My brother owned a 1961 Ford Galaxie 2 door hardtop.(not a Starliner). It had a 390 330 HP, chrome engine package, power steering and brakes, 3-speed overdrive, 4.11 rear. Former Dealer Demo. A friend of mine just sold a 1965 Dodge Coronet 500, factory 426 wedge, automatic, power steering and brakes, factory A/C, factory radio reverberator.
Not especially rare, but my 58 Chrysler has factory cruise control, which was a first year option for any car, and only Chrysler had it. A few years ago, a guy here parted out a '67 New Yorker that remains the most heavily optioned car I've seen...every space on the dash that is normally blank was used for something. Cruise, headlight auto-sentinal, power antenna, rear air and heat, power windows, you name it, it was there. Everything, except it had manual seats. Go figure.
1970 GTO with vacuum operated exhaust (VOE) mufflers. Driver could switch from loud to quiet with pull of a knob.
1978 I was working in a Buick dealer in western New York. The area service rep drove into the shop with a Riviera equipped with a satellite communication system with a dashbord mounted screen. It looked like an early computer screen. He was able to communicate (outside of the shop) with a rep in Detroit. (did not have a camera with me)
Dad's Auburn had that option in 1932. It also had hydraulic shocks with adjustable ride control on the dash, an automatic chassis lubrication system, two-speed rear axle, and free wheeling.
I got a new set of tri - 5 GM power vent window motors with early switches I thought I could put them in my 47.
It was standard equipment for a few years and allowed shifting without you needing to move the lever yourself. I have a '39 setup here and I've had zero interest in it. It may have been more rare on the postwar cars, IIRC it didn't work that well, or was prone to leakage issues.
My 64 Cadillac had one of those too, trouble is it pulled air from the trunk to blow on the glass, in the winter it would freeze the back of your head when it was on. FOrd had them and a kit in the accesory section of the parts book too.
64 Stude Daytona 4 door sedan with power windows, door locks, air & power Disk brakes. also had a 56 Chev 2 door post with the padded dash - best part of the car!!
Maybe the dealer checked the wrong box when ordering stock. I've only ever seen a couple 210 4 door hardtops, pretty scarce I imagine. Kinda of topic car but I am parting out a 67 chevy C10 with a factory hand throttle, only one I've ever seen and it's listed on the option sheet in the glove box. Also last year for the hand choke on chevys. My high school car was a 64 Olds Cutlass 2 door hardtop with factory buckets, 3 speed on the column and 15 inch wheels with dog dish caps. I was the second owner and bought it from the same dealership that sold it new, original owner ordered it that way.
I keep seeing mention of these and all the years (71-93) that I worked at Ford dealers I never saw any of them. I just looked in my parts bood, and there they were! They had rubber seals around the glass, some kind of emblem in the center and rubber seals between the head lamp door, retainer ring, and on the front of the bulb. There is a star next to the parts in the illustration which means the parts were discontinued (book last revised in late 72)... it may have been a special order item or built for foreign market use.
I sold one years ago out of a '63 Riviera. Fairly rare in those, too. Used the same fan motor as the heater did.
Was also on some early Mercs too.... the first ones didn't have a button they pushed, it did it automaticaly as the suspension moved up and down. Yes, that was a fail, cars would come in after a few thousand iles with grease dripping from everything !!! Most owners had the system removed because of that.
Mom had a 51 Mercury conertible with a windshield behind the front seat. Fold out wind wings and all! No clue if it was factory or aftermarket, but it looked cool as hell with the top down...
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