plaid highlander trim - question

[RShaips]

I can see the vertical pattern in the buckets. Anyway my truck came like this. It's hard to tell unless you look real close to the front seats to see which way the pattern runs since they are so faded. I never would have noticed until I got the new covers. I may get the back recovered, not just so they will match but because the new covers look fantastic and make the original look kinda old!

[jocko]

that's an amazing looking jimmy btw! Thanks for draggin out the original seats. Very interesting. I've always been interested in the highlander stuff, not sure why!

[RShaips]

Thanks, I did a complete frame off. Still need to add A/C and heat. I smoothed the firewall and removed all the old A/C stuff. I am going to put 33" tires on it instead of the 35's that are on it now and change the front springs to 4" lift from 6".

[special-K]

That's a sweet Jimmy alright. Started out nice and turning out even better. The seats in it now look different. Are they the factory buckets or something else?

[RShaips]

Seats are the stock ones, only the back is in it. The two front ones being recovered with the new covers. In the picture I just pulled one of the covers over the seat, that is why it might look different.

[Hart_Rod]

Great thread! I've thought about using this material for inserts in a set off buddy buckets for my son's truck. Has anyone done this? Any pictures of the seats if you have? Thanks!

[rlk]

so which way is right vertical or horizontal for a highlander an were bucket seats an option for a highlander ?

[SS Tim]

If you go back through the postings, and I know it is confusing, you will see original Blazer bucket seats with the primary stripes running verticle in #24 and #26. The bucket seats were apparently never offered with the Highlander pickup/suburban promo packages. I have researched this myself as it would look really good in a truck (see #5).

[butler57]

My '72 custom deluxe was ordered with the "highlander cloth interior" as an option (although there is no highlander option code on the order sheet and nothing on the spid). The orginal order form shows the cost to cover the seat was $68 back in the day so it does seem that you could order the fabric in a "non-highlander" truck.

[jocko]

Interesting. You've come full circle to the original question - i.e. having plaid in a non-highlander, or, more appropriately put, did any highlanders NOT have the special promo code on the SPID. I believe the answer to that was YES, it's possible to have a Highlander without the SPID code. So, perhaps you really do have a highlander? Ha, 2 full pages of replies and now I'm even more confused. But cool pictures at least!

[jocko]

Hey, here's one for you Highlander fans...

Here's a pic of s SPID of a 72 Highlander C20. It is a very nice truck, it's been off and on ebay recently. However... note how the SPID calls out the trim combo - it specifically doesn't mention a plaid seat, but it does mention "custom trim combination" -

So, on a Highlander (as denoted by the SPID Special Promo code) does "custom trim combination" mean:
a) it came with something OTHER than a plaid seat (which is what the Special Promo would have included)
- or - does it mean:
b) that it's calling the plaid seat a "custom trim combination" rather than "plaid seat yada yada" like it would normally do on a Highlander?

The truck currently has a parchment houndstooth seat cover in it. No idea what came in it originally, that's why I'm curious. I guess if the case is a), then this could be correct. If it's b), then it's incorrect.

Still looks great either way, and I realize we're nit-noiding this subj to death, but I find it pretty interesting. It's kinda like automotive archaeology...

Here's a link to the truck also - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevr...item2ebee4be42

[Highlander72]

Wow, glad to see the Highlander discussion raging on! I started the referenced thread in the original post here, you can see my truck doesn't have the 'promo package' SPID, but it sure does have 'Highlander plaid'. My theory is that early Highlanders didn't have A, B, and C packages, but I don't know what, if any, options came with it besides Custom Deluxe trim.

As far as getting the Highlander plaid completely separately, I don't know. Wouldn't it be great if we had a member here who was in Chevy truck marketing back then, and remembers how the Highlander evolved?

BTW, just yesterday ordered up orange plaid and embossed parchment from SMS to do the seat in my truck

[SS Tim]

618 is the RPO trim code for the orange plaid trim. Reading through some stuff and want to do some research but I'm thinking that the trim may indeed have been available as an upgrade on the Custom Deluxe (Z62) trucks and the Highlander is a later promo package. If someone has a '72 truck data book with the sections on interior trims and the interior and exterior charts intact please research this or PM me. See factory highlighted section from this data book clip. Might very well be that the trucks we thought were early Highlanders are in fact plaid optioned interiors. However I would really like to see that complete order form and the SPID.
So possibly its like this
Highlanders included Custom Deluxe Z62 with plaid trim
Custom Deluxe Z62 trucks could be ordered with plaid trim to replace the cloth trim.
Interesting and more importantly why we do this. The sharing of information is what will keep the history and specifics of these trucks alive as more and more of the people who designed, built and marketed these trucks leave us.

[SS Tim]

Found this, all these times through and I don't ever remember seeing it.
So Highlander trim could be added to a Custom Deluxe Fleetside or Longhorn truck and would add the plaid and carpet for $68.00!

Or a truck could be a promo package Highlander with specific options at three different levels that included the Highlander trim.
The trim is not listed as an RPO option but simply a trim code that is one of the four colors and triggers the black carpet and dash pad.

So now we have Highlander trim trucks and Highlander promo trucks (A,B or C).

[Highlander72]

How about that! That's a great find, there.

But what about the parchment door panels, seat belts, and visors? Maybe that's in the referenced bit at the end?

[SS Tim]

Let me enhance this a bit.
Chevrolet's RPO option descriptions list content upgrade or change. So it would be expected that from looking at the trim samples that the plaid cloth regardless of color choice has parchment (off white) vinyl trim. As the door panels and visors match the vinyl color, it is expected to have these in parchment as well. If we look at the Highlander description it states that it includes black carpet (upgrade from the color match vinyl mat in custom deluxe) black instrument panel (dash pad), column and steering wheel. Normally these would have been sandlewood (very light tan). The seatbelts are not specified, however it seems they are always white with the highlander trim codes.

[special-K]

Since the Highander promo pkgs included comfor-tilt,the column,carpet,and dash pad were black. That's how a Cheyenne Super w/parchment would be also,w/comfor-tilt. Custom Deluxe pickups were not offered with buckets,so no plaid pickup buckets.

[ls1nova71]

Not all Highlanders had tilt, and the ones without still had bklack columns, dash pads and carpet, where as a Cheyenne or Cheyenne Super most likley would have had sandalwood dash , column and carpet with parchment interior, without the tilt option.

[jocko]

correct - only the 2nd step up the ladder got a highlander tilt, basic highlander package did not. However, I was not aware it would still get you a black wheel/column in a truck that would normally have had sandalwood in other models... Hmm.

[ls1nova71]

At least the ones I've seen were that way. This was a 307 three speed on the column, had a gray plaid seat, but someone had peeled most of it off by the time this pic was taken. Hard to tell in the pic but the wheel and column were black.

[jocko]

was 3ott only available in black maybe? (I'm just stabbin in the dark here) I've only seen (in person) automatics with sandalwood columns (non-tilt) - never actually saw a 3ott in anything other than black - doesn't mean they don't exist, but the plot thickens with it being a 30tt. Interesting!! And that's a cool old truck - there CAN'T be many solid ochre highlanders ever made.... Must been the base model highlander if 3ott as step #2 included TurboHydro.

[SS Tim]

Originally Posted by jocko

correct - only the 2nd step up the ladder got a highlander tilt, basic highlander package did not. However, I was not aware it would still get you a black wheel/column in a truck that would normally have had sandalwood in other models... Hmm.

Right, After all it is "custom trim combination" on at least one Alanta SPID. As the option description says with the Trim, Highlander Plaid Interior the black wheel, column and pad are black in addition to the carpet enhancement. A combination normally only found in the tilt/parchment combination. The most likely reason I can come up with is that there were four possible insert colors, however white and black were common to all four choices. It just makes sense from a production standpoint.

[SS Tim]

Actually that is a good example of a "Group A" Promo package Highlander. It has all the options for that group.
Highlander Plaid trim,
Special wheel covers (PA1),
Custom deluxe equipment,
Chrome front bumper (In this case supeceeded by the front and rear chrome bumpers V37 vs V46),
Upper belt molding,
Door edge guards,
Below-Eye-Line mirrors.

[special-K]

I should have checked on the different group features before posting my explanation why dash pad/wheel/column. My memory isn't as reliable as it once was. 3spd trucks would have a Sandalwood column with Parchment interior...unless it was a Highlander. Since no tilt was offered with 3spd,a Highlander would be the "only" 3spd truck with black column/wheel...unless it had a black interior.
Notice the truck shown above has solid paint. My first truck was a Ochre Group A Highlander SWB w/3spd,much ike that one. That was so long ago I couldn't tell you what color the wheel was. But,it was 1973 and it was just a cooler truck than the new ones to me. I didn't know what models there were or paid attention to which ones got what color steering wheel. Heck,I didn't know it was a Highlander!

[RShaips]

Here are the seats finished. I think they came out great! Cleaned the back seat real good and it looks fine, I am not going to recover it. Getting close to being done with this one, I will have to find another to restore. Well after I restore my 70 Superbee.