Superior Question
- Thread starter Josh Gentry
- Start date
I'd say there's a better chance that a) somebody made a mistake on the title at some point in it's life, or b) it was not sold until '71 and was registered as "new" then. Remember, in the "old days", nobody checked VIN numbers to see what year the car actually was - if you wrote '71 on the form, that's what it was.
Mike McDonald
PCS Member
Year Models
I agree with Steve that's probably what happened but it really should not have with a car... even a commercial chassis as back then there was a definate distinction between one year to another usually changing around September-October of each year..... and a 1970 should have been just that.
On commercial trucks and fire apparatus that look the same for a number of years at a time, they usually title and year model them as they are sold ie; if it was built in September of 1970 but not sold until January of 1971 then it's considered a 1971. MM
I agree with Steve that's probably what happened but it really should not have with a car... even a commercial chassis as back then there was a definate distinction between one year to another usually changing around September-October of each year..... and a 1970 should have been just that.
On commercial trucks and fire apparatus that look the same for a number of years at a time, they usually title and year model them as they are sold ie; if it was built in September of 1970 but not sold until January of 1971 then it's considered a 1971. MM
Clearly not a 71 whatsover but, we've been fooled in the past.
Charles E Snyder II
PCS Member
In this particular case, I have to agree with Steve. The body is a 70, but if it were not sold until 71, it might have been titled as a 71.
Something else that you have to remember about pro cars is that they didn't always follow the manufacturers guidelines. In the case of my 73 Superior Cadillac, it had 72 rear lights. The 73 rear lights on the Cadillac changed a little from 72 to 73 and Superior chose to keep the 72 light housings instead of going to the 73 style. I have had many an argument about my car being a 72 or a 73. If something from one year suited the conversion better, they carried it over to the next year.
Without going on forever, another example was the 59 Superior Pontiac. My father looked high and low to find the wheel covers for his 59 that matched the literature from 59 only to be told that they didn't exist in that style for 59. What happened was that in 58, Pontiac went to a smaller wheel on the passenger cars. Superior was worried about the smaller wheel not being able to carry the weight, so they kept the larger wheel from 57 up through at least 59. The wheel covers that he was looking for were actually 57 covers that were on the 59.
Something else that you have to remember about pro cars is that they didn't always follow the manufacturers guidelines. In the case of my 73 Superior Cadillac, it had 72 rear lights. The 73 rear lights on the Cadillac changed a little from 72 to 73 and Superior chose to keep the 72 light housings instead of going to the 73 style. I have had many an argument about my car being a 72 or a 73. If something from one year suited the conversion better, they carried it over to the next year.
Without going on forever, another example was the 59 Superior Pontiac. My father looked high and low to find the wheel covers for his 59 that matched the literature from 59 only to be told that they didn't exist in that style for 59. What happened was that in 58, Pontiac went to a smaller wheel on the passenger cars. Superior was worried about the smaller wheel not being able to carry the weight, so they kept the larger wheel from 57 up through at least 59. The wheel covers that he was looking for were actually 57 covers that were on the 59.
I believe all 73 Cadillac procar had the 72 tail lights. I know my MM have 72 tail lights. I like them better than the 73 standard Cadillac tail lights.
No idea what an answer to your question would be, but I've seen this car for sale and noticed the year being wrong too. I know it has 1970 taillights though...
Tony Karsnia - Deceased - 1971-2020
September 12, 1971 - November 2, 2020
I would think an examination of the VIN would indicate a title error ocurred somewhere along the line, since the VIN is specific to the model year. Another possibility is the guy has a '71 title, but it is for a different vehicle. Maybe he previously sold his '71 and turned over the 1970 title with it...
John ED Renstrom
PCS Member
I have heard of the hold over cars but can't imagine one that much different being labeled the wrong year. I would to bet it had a mistake some were in it's past and it has just been carried over. who really cars about a old "hearst" anyway