Verne Frantz's 63 Impala Anniversary SURVIVOR

[SS427]

Congrats Verne on a spectacular car and one that can truly represent what the defination of a true survivor is all about.

[Bill Pritchard]

Beautiful car , and very nicely equipped for 1963! And I agree, too, about the survivor comments This is a car that defines what it should mean.

[Verne_Frantz]

moparts,
Did your Dad work for Fisher Body or Chevrolet? Fisher painted the body from the cowl back, and Chevrolet had their own paint dept. which did the fenders, hood and splash pan. If it's possible that we're lucky enough that he's still around, I'd love to know if he might know the meaning of the very faint "17" stamped from the front in the cowl tag just under the paint code. I've documented many, many cowl tags from these cars, but have never seen that. I wonder if it meant it was the 17th one painted that color?

People who worked in those plants back then are a precious resource today.

Verne.

[moparts]

He did work the Fisher Body side. I will run that by him and see if he knows anything on the number.

I do have one funny story. One of the discussions was on how each different shift marked the cars that they did. One of the guys that worked with dad said one night on their shift they ran out of the normal marking crayon so they took a ball pein hammer and made a dent in the cowl where their mark was supposed to be. So who knows just because some cars don't have a mark where others do doesn't always mean it was removed.

[Verne_Frantz]

mo,
I love researching those assembly line practices. Please ask your Dad if he'd be willing to talk to me, and if so, PM me with a phone number and preferred times to call.
I only have about 1000 questions I'd like to ask him, but I promise not to wear out my welcome.

Verne.

[sYc]

Verne, he is a wealth of information. I have spent countless hours quizzing him. In fact, when I was working on my Camaro, he stopped by the shop and gave me the once around on how the cars were built and why things were the way they were. My first show out with the car, SC in Memphis, I got docked for some of the things he said were right on. Kind of soured me on the whole judging thing.

[Mr70]

Would Moparts father be able to speak about these Assembly line tactics at an SC Reunion,or just attend in General?
I for one would enjoy listening to what he has to say.
As stated earler,"People who worked in those plants back then are a Precious resource Today"..

[SS427]

Or how about signing him up on here. I think we would ALL like to hear the stories. I know I would.

[Verne_Frantz]

Tom,
I've already heard from mo. Unfortunately, right now his Dad is having some hearing problems, so I'm going to send him some questions.
As I said, having the opportunity to speak with someone who was actually there and who took part in making these cars is a precious advantage to those of us who want to know how it was really done.
If I decided to restore a car, I'd rather know it was restored with historical accuracy rather than to an established judges' standard. Knowing it was right would be more important to me than a $10. trophy.
Thanks
Verne.

[sYc]

I hear you about being historical correct. Rob and I still bug him from time to time about how things were done. And, I guess the most important thing I learned from him, the cars were built on an assembly line, by hourly paid workers, so each car was/is unique. That is why the history of how the cars were built is so interesting.